This is a followup to a March 23, 2016 ANP article titled "Trump 2016' Yanks College Students Out Of Their 'Safe Space' With No TRIGGER WARNING!," where we highlighted "crybully" students attempting to supress the free speech of other students by claiming they were afraid, inimidated and in pain after reading the words "Trump 2016" written in chalk at their college as a group of about 40 marched over to school authorities and demanded that something be done about the "diversity" of opinion expressed by the chalk writings because they disagreed with it.
Since then #TheChalkening has become a rallying call for free speech proponents with examples of students across the country responding to those protesting the "Trump 2016" messages by chalking for Trump at their respective colleges then posting images on social media at Twitter under the hashtag #TheChalkening.
According to the website Fire Andrea Mitchell, this new movement has spread to 20 campuses so far and continues to grow from what is being seen at #TheChalkening twitter hashtag page. (Note- The video at the end of the article shows #TheChalkening movement has spread since the April 1st tweet)
Make no mistake, this isn't about "politics," this is about the coddling of students attending college who think they deserve "safe spaces" from ideas and opinions they do not agree with.
American college students deserve a wake-up call, not more coddling. Colleges should be safe spaces for, not from, the free exchange ideas. Chalk that.
We consistently see the "safe space" proponents and the crybullies quoted in the news as to why they feel so threatened and inimidated and how the "Trump 2016" messages are causing them "pain" and suffering, but rarely does the MSM highlight the other side.... how those that are having their free speech attacked by people that disagree with them are affected.
One University of Tennessee student addresses that in her own blog post titled "Enough is Enough." She explains what happened to her friend after chalking a message then tweeting "Super proud of our art work, but I have a feeling half of UTCs campus is gonna hate it. #TheChalkening #Trump2016."
Her prediction was correct and after only about 30 minutes she deleted the tweet due to aggressive responses from a group of UTC students. One girl in the group took to it to screenshot the tweet and write a Facebook post about it encouraging people to share it and saying things such as "we as a campus support love, diversity, and unity and Donald Trump does not support any of these things" and the student went on to question why someone was allowed to run and be elected who supports someone who "encourages violence at his rallies, inequality, racism, and pure hatred". The student openly says that black UTC students took it upon themselves to "clean up" campus that night. I have many problems with this post, and I know that there are similar views from a number of people because they disagree with Trump. Trump is blunt and to the point, he doesn't sugar coat the truth and for that many people hate him and disagree with his campaign. That's fine, but even if you don't like him you have to respect that some people do agree with his policies.
However, the insanely messed up world we live in has told us that we absolutely must at all times be politically correct. The problem with this is that there is such a thing as being TOO politically correct and now college campuses are filled with students getting their feelings hurt and offended on every corner. Political correctness is out of control in this country and college campuses are breeding grounds for it. Professors are constantly having to watch themselves to make sure they do not say or teach anything that could offend someone and get them in hot water, which in some ways is interfering with their students' education. Political correctness has gotten entirely too out of hand, but it's so engrained that Americans don't even realize it anymore. If we continue to put such an emphasis on it, it will continue to destroy our country and I hate to see that happen. If someone hurts your feelings so what? We have 20 year olds more sensitive than 6 year olds and that's not okay. You don't have to agree with everyone and everyone doesn't have to agree with you, but you should respect that person regardless of whether or not you agree with them. That's what we lack in this country: a lack of respect for people of different views. We preach tolerance, but in reality it only pertains to the people who agree with your beliefs, and more often than not it's liberals preaching tolerance, but the second they meet a Republican (God forbid they be a Trump supporter too) they stop practicing what they preach and they try to tell the other person that their beliefs are wrong. It's hypocritical and childish. I respect people of different beliefs and their right to support whomever they wish in the election regardless of if I agree, and I ask that people do the same, and I sure know Hailey does.
Hailey was degraded on social media for her personal political beliefs after chalking campus Tuesday night, and was even asked to resign from her newly elected position for the following year. While people were yelling about how Trump oppresses people and is evil, they were doing the same thing to Hailey and not even caring they were doing it. This girl couldn't even go to class on Wednesday because of everything going on, and when she did venture onto campus she had to have people walking with her solely for protection. Please tell me how that is spreading love and supporting diversity and unity because I see none of those things. Everything people were saying Trump does that they hate they were doing to this kind-hearted girl.She basically had to hide all day while being blown up and essentially cyber-bullied via Twitter and Facebook, but refrained from saying anything further for fear of her words being twisted even more. People were putting words in her mouth and were trying to make the tweet into things it didn't mean. It's basic knowledge that college campuses are hot spots for young liberals, but can be scary for young conservatives, so if I had to guess when she said, "I have a feeling half of UTCs campus is gonna hate it" who are you to be saying that it meant one thing or the other? I interpreted it as, "all of the liberals and anti-Trump college kids aren't going to agree with this", and not as "black UTC and all of the minorities were being targeted". Not everything has to be about race and gender regardless of what all of the politically correct people of the world will have you think.
It isn't just Conservatives and Trump supporters that are pushing back against the "safe space" mentality, but even liberal sites are attempting to explain why the "coddling" students and offering "protection from words and ideas they don't like," is "disastrous for education and mental health."
The New York Times recently published an op-ed by Judith Shulevitz titled "In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas," where she lists multiples examples of students mortified that they would be forced to confront controversial ideas while at school!
Oh, the horror!
Shulevitz describes a safe space created at Brown University as a room" equipped with cookies, coloring books, bubbles, Play-Doh, calming music, pillows, blankets and a video of frolicking puppies."
"Safe spaces," writes Shulevitz, "are an expression of the conviction, increasingly prevalent among college students, that their schools should keep them from being 'bombarded' by discomfiting or distressing viewpoints. Think of the safe space as the live-action version of the better-known trigger warning."
Looking through the #TheChalkening hashtag at Twitter we saw the following letter sent from the Department of Latino/Latina Studies at the University of Illinois, listed as a "Statement in response to 'Trump' and 'Build a Wall' chalk writings.
According to Will.Illinois.edu, they also published a statement to their Facebook page.
It isn't just "Trump" messages, although that is what started the #TheChalkening push back, but we see a March 8, 2016 article at Reason.com that explains "safe spaces" and counceling are being offered to students who felt "traumatized" by the sight of tiny somberors at a tequila-themed birthday party.
Bowdoin College is offering "safe spaces" for the victims of a recent tequila-themed birthday party in which "ethnic stereotyping" is alleged to have taken place, according to newstalk.com.
Reason's Katherine Mangu-Ward covered the absurd outrage over the party, noting that a "Cold War" theme party hosted by the college's administration prompted no outcry:
The tequila party hosts, at least one of whom is Colombian, will be forced to attend "an educational program facilitated by a faculty member," attend "Active Bystander training," (in case you're wondering what that is, here you go), and "write a letter or paper on these experiences." They have also been forced to move out of their dorms and have been banned from major social events, The Bowdoin Orient notes in an editorial.
Two of the attendees at the tequila party (who do not themselves seem to have been hat wearers or hosts, though the details are unclear) are representatives in the student government. On Saturday, they will face impeachment by their peers.
… administrators have taken disciplinary action and publicly shamed students for throwing a party with silly hats. Were the hats in bad taste? Maybe. Could a dorm supervisor have pulled the kids aside and said "ixnay on the ombreros-say"? Maybe. Should these kids' friends have given them noogies? Maybe. But this simply shouldn't have risen to the level of adult attention in the first place.
The level of absurdity we are reaching and the atmosphere of the perpetual "victim" being made out of anyone that is forced to confront diverse opinions and ideas they don't agree with, is creating a generation of "Peter Pan" children who will never grow up unless this nonsense stops.
According to the video below, students from 100's of colleges across the U.S. are now standing up and "chalking" out! See more images from #TheChalkening hashtag below and at Twitter.
