https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2018/09/universities-and-the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/
The root of the problem, argue Lukianoff and Haidt, is that parents, teachers, professors and college administrators have been leading young people to believe Three Great Untruths.
The first of those is, as they call it, the Untruth of Fragility. That is the idea that what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker, and therefore young people must be protected against everything from a stray peanut to hearing any “hateful” ideas. Drawing an analogy to the human immune system, which can’t develop unless it occasionally has something to fight against, the authors say that trying to shield students against stressful ideas results in their weakness and anxiety. And when students haven’t learned to cope with ideological adversity, they’re apt to retreat into “safe spaces” or lash out with anger or even violence.
The second great untruth is that you should trust and follow your emotions. Emotions frequently get in the way of sound reasoning, but young people are often told that because theyfeel that something is true, then it really is true. Therefore, if you feel that someone has committed a “microaggression” against you, then he has. You need not weigh the matter, asking if you might have misunderstood the person or are judging too hastily. Just follow your emotions and fight back.
And third is the Us Versus Them Untruth—the erroneous view that the world is divided into good people and evil people. You need to side with the Good and battle the Evil. Once that mentality soaks in, there is no need for dialogue or debate since everything the other side might say will be lies and propaganda. Consequently, we see a tribal mindset emerging in some young people that reduces everything to the black and white.
I’d summarize them thusly:
- You are constantly under assault and must protect yourselves against the “bad ideas”. We, the educators, will tell you what the “bad ideas” are.
- Feeling is superior to thinking. Do what feels right for you in the moment. Thinking is dangerous.
- All interactions are Oppressor vs. Oppressed. If you are white (and especially a white male) you are the oppressor. Everyone else is a victim.
