Killed by words

America, the land of the free and the country where freedom reigns supreme. Well, not anymore. At least not freedom of speech. If you give people the freedom to say what they want, then their words might offend someone, which is obviously one of the major issues that currently plagues our country. I was being sarcastic if you didn't notice. People being offended is the least of this countries concerns, or at least it should be, yet recently this issue has become increasingly, well, more of an issue. Specifically on college campuses.

 In an article posted by Jennifer Schuessler, college students seem to be more and more in favor of putting a cap on free speech. A drastic flip from the previous generations who fought for free speech so diligently. These college students, millennials, immature young adults, whatever you choose to call them, have virtually forced their campuses to create a so-called safe haven where no one's feelings are at risk. Colleges are now being demanded to bring only safe speakers that run no risk of bringing up a topic that would not affirm every student, placing trigger warnings on sensitive assignments that some students might not agree with, even going so far as to make safe spaces equipped with soft upholstery and puppies, in case students are feeling overwhelmed. 

Public graffiti wall at Ohio University

Now sure, you can say that all this is making a more inviting environment and that for the sake of the students, these actions need to be enforced, but what is this really creating? This is making a generation of adults that are so scared of hearing something they don't agree with that they need to lock themselves in their rooms with a batch of puppies. essentially, they are scared of the real world and are not mentally prepared to tackle responsibilities that 100% will be thrown their way. What happened to parents teaching their children in high school how to be responsible. Telling them that they need to do this or that to prepare them for the real world. Well, now what is the point of turning your child into a responsible adult when they're entering an environment where all possible dangers have been censored. 

Another issue that colleges have been called upon to monitor are so-called microaggressions, which are described as "small, often unintentional racial or other slights." Let's take a closer look at that definition, specifically the word "unintentional". The fact that students have to be censored from saying something that was completely misunderstood and unintentional is absurd. This doesn't create a friendly environment, but rather one where people are too scared to open their mouth because of the thought of being rebuked and disciplined for their apparently offensive words. 

Even among people who are seemingly for free speech, using it to fuel a protest or something similar, quickly change their idea when they are on the receiving end of the banter. I agree that free speech is an issue, but not because people are using it as "a weapon" but rather because the people against it are too sensitive to realize there is no issue at hand. America is and should always be known for its freedom, but what these people are creating is a society that places laws simply for the sake of the people's feelings.