In September of 2015, an article written by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff was published in The Atlantic titled โThe Coddling of the American Mind.โ ๐ฐ
At first glance, the title of this article could easily be mistaken for a right-wing polemic on โthe snowflake generationโ and โsocial justice warriorsโ. ๐คฌ
But itโs far from it! In fact, the authors themselves are openly left-leaning in their political views! ๐ฏ
It was the insistence of their publisher asking for a more provocative title than the one they proposed that โCoddlingโ was born. (https://bit.ly/30URyJt) ๐
Initially, the article was written to discuss various instances happening on college campuses where students were protesting words, ideas, and subjects they deemed offensive. โ
๐ Guest speakers who were coming to campus were being disrupted and shouted down.
๐ Ideas like โmicroaggressionsโ, โtrigger warningsโ, and โsafe spacesโ were being introduced and implemented by college administrators.
๐ Words were starting to be equated by some college students as โviolenceโ.
๐ Colleges were catering to studentโs demands with little critical discussion.
The point of Haidt and Lukianoffโs article was to illuminate the problems and to try and understand why they were occurring. ๐
Haidt and Lukianoff could understand the measures being taken by colleges, measures such as Microaggression Training, were being done with good intentions. ๐
But coming from his work as a social psychologist, Haidt saw these measures as being ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ฒ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ.
โ ๏ธ The idea of โmicroaggressionsโ go against the very idea of not making the worst possible assumptions of other peoples’ intentions (a cognitive distortion known as โmind readingโ).
โ ๏ธ The idea of โtrigger warningsโ and โsafe spacesโ go against the very methods used in Exposure Therapy to combat phobias and feelings of anxiety.
โ ๏ธ The idea of continuously giving into angry studentโs demands reinforces the likelihood they will use the same angry methods for demands in the future.
With the publication of the article, the reception was…controversial! ๐
Many readers, including college faculty and students, sent in responses confirming Haidt and Lukianoffโs concerns. ๐
Both faculty members and college students expressed fears of being unable to share their different viewpoints outside the status quo of their peers, less they not be reported to college administrators. ๐ฑ
Haidt and Lukianoff learned that some colleges had implemented a “Bias Reporting System”, where students could anonymously report anyone (including faculty) for sharing views they perceived to be discriminatory. ๐จ
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ. ๐จ
That said, there were also criticisms to Haidt and Lukianoff’s article as well. ๐
The primary criticism was that the authors were using only a few isolated incidents to justify their national concerns. In other words, they were inciting a moral panic over a minor problem. ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐…
Only a month after the articleโs publication did another college incident happen. And then another. And then another. And then another. ๐จ
One of the most infamous incidents happened 2 months later at Yale University. ๐ฑ
Erika Christakis, a lecturer at Yale Child Study Care Center had written an email expressing concern over whether Yale administrators should be giving guidance to students about appropriate and inappropriate Halloween costumes. ๐ง
She believed administrators should let the students make their own decisions and let them talk among each other if they had disagreements. ๐ฃ๏ธ
After all, they are adults over 18 years old. ๐
โ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณโ, she noted in her email. โ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ต๐บ.โ ๐
This email sparked outrage from some Yale students who interpreted Erikaโs words as meaning she supported racist Halloween costumes. โ
Soon after, around 150 student protesters surrounded the courtyard of Christakisโs home on campus, writing statements in chalk which included: โ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ก๐๐ซ๐โ. ๐
Erikaโs husband Nicholas went out to the courtyard to try and reason with them. Students demanded he apologize and renounce his wifeโs email. ๐คฌ
In a tense confrontation which lasted over 2 hours, Nicholas was accused of being โracistโ, โoffensiveโ, and โcreating a space for violenceโ. ๐คฌ
At a later point, one student even screamed in Nicholasโs face:
โ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐พ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐พ๐! ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐! ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐๐๐โ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!โ ๐คฌ
(Excerpt footage of the Yale incident: https://bit.ly/2zBgrPg)
Similar incidents echoed in the coming years. ๐
Another infamous incident happened at Evergreen State College. Every year the school took part in an Day of Absence tradition where minority students and faculty would voluntarily stay off campus to highlight their campus contributions. ๐
But in 2017 the tradition was flipped. Administrators decided they would now ask white students and white faculty to voluntarily stay off campus to be educated on race issues. ๐ฒ
Biology professor Bret Weinstein (who openly identifies as a progressive and left-leaning libertarian) emailed the campus expressing concern over the change. ๐โโ๏ธ
Included in his email ๐ง:
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ถ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ดโฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ. โ๏ธ
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง. ๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ โ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ โ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ.โ ๐ฏ
As with Yale, this email sparked outrage. About a month after his email, students surrounded Weinsteinโs classroom entrance and berated him. As with Christakis, students demanded Weinstein denounce his views and lose his job. ๐คฌ
Campus police were called, but students barred them from reaching Weinstein so they had to call for backup. ๐
The same student protesters eventually marched to the administration building, surrounded the College Presidentโs office, and provided him the same beratement. ๐คฌ
There was even a point where student protesters barricaded the main entrances to the administration building and refused to let President Bridges leave his office unless they escorted him. โ
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ. โ
(Excerpt footage of the Evergreen incident: https://bit.ly/2XZswqE)
For even more protest instances, I’ve provided Sources at the bottom of this post. โฌ๏ธ
So perhaps, you may have the same question I was also askingโฆ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง?! ๐
What initially started out as a small article in The Atlantic was now having its initial concerns realized. ๐
By September 2018, Haidt and Lukianoff had far more incidents and insights to report on, which ultimately was to become their full-length book: โThe Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failureโ. ๐
But before I get to the book, itโs important we back up for just a momentโฆโ
First off, what is the purpose of a university? What is the aim (or ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด) of a university? ๐ค
Most people I know would say it is to learn. To pursue truth. And yes, perhaps to also enjoy the frat parties! ๐
But this idea is even shown on the crests of universities like Harvard (โ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ดโ/truth) and Yale (โ๐ญ๐ถ๐น ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ดโ/light and truth)! ๐
The point is: we go to a university to be enlightened, to be exposed to new ideas and viewpoints, to be among other students who may have different life experiences we can learn from. ๐
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐
Let me emphasize: ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐. But when it becomes a substitute for truth and knowledge, it sets a dangerous precedent on the very purpose of what attending a university is all about. ๐ซ
In the book, Haidt and Lukianoff go into greater depth on what they see being taught on some college campuses.
The key word here I want to emphasize is โ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐โ. The initial criticism directed at their article about overgeneralizing every college in fact turned out to be correct. ๐
So, for those who are concerned these incidents are reflective of every US college campus, you can be assured they are not! ๐
๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ, ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ. ๐
In the book, Haidt and Lukianoff talk about what’s being taught at them in what they call the Three Great Untruths.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ.
๐๐ด๐บ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ: ๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ โ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆโ; ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ : ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ.
๐๐ด๐บ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ: ๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐ด.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ: ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.
๐๐ด๐บ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ: ๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด (๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ-๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ-๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ) ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
Now of course, the authors are NOT saying these Great Untruths are LITERALLY being taught, but that they are taught IMPLICITLY. ๐
Another big problem they mention is whatโs known as โconcept creepโ, where the definition of words have grossly expanded in meaning over time in academia. ๐
๐ The idea of what constitutes โracismโ has expanded from individual acts to now include an all-encompassing society (e.g. systemic racism, racial essentialism).
๐ The idea of what constitutes โtraumaโ has expanded from severe reactions to events like war to now normal aspects of life (e.g. divorce, bereavement, mean text messages).
๐ The idea of what constitutes โsafetyโ has expanded from physical safety to now include โemotional safetyโ (e.g protection from criticisms you disagree with).
In other words: if you see 2 people fighting over what is or isnโt โviolenceโ, thereโs a great possibility they may be using 2 separate definitions of the word! ๐
The dictionary definition of โviolenceโ is NOT the same definition being used in some academic circles, where speech has also come to be equated with “violence”. ๐ฒ
As one UC Berkeley alum wrote in an Op-Ed โ๏ธ:
โAsking people to maintain peaceful dialogue with those who legitimately do not think their lives matter is a ๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ.โ ๐คฌ
๐ฉ โBUT DONALD! NONE OF WHAT YOU’RE SAYING TELLS ME WHY THIS IS HAPPENING!โ ๐ฉ
Great point! That’s what I’m going to talk about right now! ๐
According to Haidt and Lukianoff, they propose the following reasons why they believe these things are happening. โฌ๏ธ
๐ ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
– Because of the political climate, liberal colleges have shifted even further to the Left, thus tribalism is quick to ostracize differing viewpoints out of fear and group loyalty.
– This in turn has created distrust and hostility among those further to the Right, who now see colleges as lacking political diversity (in some places the ratio of Liberal to Conservative professors is 17 to 1), which in turn encourages their racial provocations towards the Left (e.g. “social justice warriors”, “snowflake generation”).
๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฑ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ (๐๐จ๐ซ๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐).
๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ๐ข๐/๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ .
– The paradox is children are safer today in the US more than any other time in history, yet at the same time they are also the most overprotected.
– Overprotection causes children to mature at much older ages. The emotional maturity of an 18 year old today is more equivalent to a 16 year old of the previous generation.
๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ.
– Parents driven by unrealistic fears of strangers and kidnappings (which are extremely rare in comparison to the 70’s and 80’s when it was a problem).
– Overuse of smartphones and social media.
– A rising competitiveness for parents to get their kids into top universities.
๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ.
– Students are treated like customers, so thereโs a financial incentive for colleges to continue giving into student’s demands.
– Market pressures to compete with other universities for future students.
– Bureaucratic means of resolving studentโs problems may encourage students to become overly dependent on schools to solve their problems.
๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐.
– Thereโs an ongoing desire for social justice activism.
– Social justice movements can be used to remove barriers to equality of opportunity. But when social justice efforts aim to include fighting for equality of outcome, it’s aiming for an goal which cannot be reached without also violating equal opportunity.
– Correlation does not equal causation. When there is a correlation of an identity group membership with an outcome gap, it does not automatically mean it is evidence of discrimination. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isnโt.
If individuals cannot raise alternative possible causes without also being shouted down, collectively we will not arrive at the most accurate understanding of a problem.
.
๐ค “SO, IF THESE ARE THE PROBLEMS, WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS???” ๐ค
๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐:
๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐, ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐.
– Assume your kids are more capable this month than they were last month.
– Let your kids take more small risks.
– Encourage your child to walk or ride bicycles to and from school at the earliest ages possible.
– Send your children to an overnight summer camp in the woods for a few weeks โ without devices.
– Encourage your children to engage in A LOT of โproductive disagreementโ.
๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐๐๐.
– Teach children the basics of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).
– Teach children mindfulness.
๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ .
– Give people the benefit of the doubt.
– Practice the virtue of โintellectual humilityโ. Intellectual humility is the recognition that our reasoning is so flawed, so prone to bias, that we can rarely be certain that we are right.
– Look very carefully at how your school handles identity politics.
๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐ฌ.
– Give more recess with less supervision.
– Discourage the use of the word โsafeโ or โsafetyโ for anything other than physical safety.
– Have a โno devicesโ policy.
– Cultivate the intellectual virtues (e.g. curiosity, open-mindedness, intellectual humility)
– Teach debate and offer debate club.
– Assign reading and coursework that promote reasoned discussion.
๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐.
– Place clear limits on device time.
– Protect your childโs sleep.
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ: ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐.
– Take a โgap yearโ.
– Encourage volunteer work.
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๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐:
๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐ฒ.
– Endorse the Chicago Statement (https://bit.ly/3e7Ohu0).
– Establish a practice of not responding to public outrage.
– Do not allow the โhecklerโs vetoโ.
๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฑ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
– Admit more students who are older and can show evidence of their ability to live independently.
– Admit more students who have attended schools that teach the โintellectual virtuesโ.
– Include viewpoint diversity in diversity polices.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ.
– Explicitly reject the Untruth of Fragility: What doesnโt kill you makes you weaker.
– Explicitly reject the Untruth of Emotional Reason: Always trust your feelings.
– Explicitly reject the Untruth of Us Versus Them: Life is a battle between good people and evil people.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ – โ๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐, ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ.โ
– Foster school spirit.
– Protect physical safety.
– Host civil, cross-partisan events for students.
.
While reading all this can be overwhelming and sound like an uphill battle, Haidt and Lukianoff do conclude the book with hope. There are countertrends currently happening! ๐
๐ Recent studies are showing the ineffectiveness of trigger warnings. They also show that trigger warnings may even worsen a personโs feelings of anxiety (https://bit.ly/2YxhzMk).
๐ There are increasing discussions over the negative effects technology is having on kids, especially social media. Organizations like the Center for Humane Technology are aiming to reform the tech industry so products are healthier and less addictive.
๐ More states are passing laws to allow โfree-range parentingโ so a parent cannot be arrested for allowing their child to play without supervision.
๐ More writers like Timur Kuran, Amy Chua, and Jonathan Rauch are calling for a rethinking on identity politics and how both the far-Left and far-Right are feeding off them.
Even the Dalai Lama tweeted his own statement:
โ๐โ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง, ๐โ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ฆ๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.”
๐ More universities are starting to emphasize truth as their ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด and adopting the Chicago Statement on Principles of Free Expression (https://bit.ly/3e7Ohu0)
๐ Author Jonathan Haidt himself has created Heterodox Academy, which includes thousands of professors, administrators, and students who are dedicated to promoting open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in higher education.
Since the bookโs publication, Haidt has continued to speak at various universities about these issues, and “Coddling” has won numerous awards for its ideas. Lukianoff is the President at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), addressing student rights violations on college campuses (freedom of speech, due process, religious liberty, etc). ๐
Of course, my summary doesnโt do the book justice. If any of this peaks your interest, Iโd recommend picking up a copy of the book. Itโs only 5 dollars on Amazon Kindle! ๐ฒ
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐? ๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐! โค๏ธ
.
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๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐:
๐ The Coddling of the American Mind (Article): https://bit.ly/3huxlQr
๐ Readers Respond to Coddling (Article): https://bit.ly/3fpfsRl
๐ The Coddling of the American Mind (Book): https://amzn.to/2zvV0yT
๐ The Rise of Victimhood Culture (Book): https://amzn.to/37BH7M5
๐ What is Concept Creep? (Article): https://bit.ly/2YQRqZ5
๐ The Free Speech Crisis on Campus is Worse Than People Think (Article): https://bit.ly/37xX7ii
๐ Free Speech For Me, But Not For Thee (Article): https://bit.ly/2Y46S4O
๐ฅ๏ธ Disinvitation Attempts of College Speakers (Database): https://bit.ly/2UGYJAY
๐ Chicago Statement on Principles of Free Expression (PDF): https://bit.ly/3e7Ohu0
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๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐:
๐ผ Jonathan Haidt Speech About โCoddlingโ at UCCS (Video, 2019): https://bit.ly/2AAhm2Q
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๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐:
๐ผ Yale University – Halloween Email Protest (Video, 2015): https://bit.ly/2zBgrPg
๐ผ McMaster University – Jordan Peterson Protest (Video, 2017): https://bit.ly/2UFfNHG
๐ผ Villanova University – Charles Murray Protest (Video, 2017): https://bit.ly/2N20epq
๐ผ Evergreen State College โ Day of Absence Protests (Video, 2017): https://bit.ly/2XZswqE
๐ผ UC Berkeley โ Milo Yiannopoulos Riot (Video, 2017): https://bit.ly/3hsQHWl
๐ผ UC Berkeley โ Ben Shapiro Protest (Video, 2017): https://bit.ly/2B6M0Rk
๐ผ Oberlin College – Gibsonโs Bakery Protest (Video, 2019): https://bit.ly/2UIYnd4
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๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ:
๐ Coddling Book Update 1 โ Introduction (Article, 2020): https://bit.ly/37wLKqI
๐ Coddling Book Update 2 โ Trigger Warnings, Social Media Use (Article, 2020): https://bit.ly/3d2BUyj
๐ Association for Psychological Science – Trigger Warnings Fail to Help and May Even Harm (Article 2020): https://bit.ly/2YxhzMk