I read an amazing quote from psychologist Roger Skinner the other day. He said, "Those who cannot control their emotions have no choice but to try and control the actions of others." What a brilliant synopsis of America in 2016.
We live in a nation of emotionally immature people who are increasingly unable to control their emotions. Students at Emory University in Atlanta lined up and protested at the office of the president because someone wrote, "Trump 2016" in sidewalk chalk on the campus. To hear the protestors you would have thought someone had been murdered. However, what was going on here was simple emotional immaturity. They saw something they didn't like. They perceived it as racist or whatever current trendy "ism" is used to justify outrage. They couldn't control their emotional reaction to it, so therefore they had no choice but to try to control the behavior of others- namely, the notorious terrorist who put a name and a date in chalk on a sidewalk.
America is increasingly becoming a nation of victims. It seems that everyone everywhere is persecuted. Everyone everywhere, it seems, is on the receiving end of a systematic structure whose sole purpose is to hurt, to keep down, to discriminate against them. Because of this, people are marching in the streets. People are violently protesting at campaign rallies. People are getting into huge arguments on social media and unfriending people they used to truly like. People are sharply divided, each claiming the other side is actively and systematically discriminating against them- each side clambering for the moral high ground in America by claiming the other side is bigoted, racist, homophobic, or whatever other convenient word is used to try and shut people up.
However, the main problem isn't that everyone is out to get everyone else. The main problem is simply that Americans have no maturity, and because of that, have no ability to control their emotions.
It is now incredibly widely accepted to fly off the handle at every little thing that we hear that we don't like. Measured response, wise response, overlooking an insult, overlooking something that is no big deal- all that is out the window. Emotionalism is what is prized in this society. It would almost seem that the highest ranking person in the social order is the one who has been "discriminated against" the most.
This is a brand new social structure. It used to be that the one with the most popularity was the one with the best looks, or the most money, or the most athletic ability. That has all been replaced by the one who is the biggest victim. Whoever can manage the biggest emotional reaction to an event, a saying, or an encounter is now the new "popular" one. Society, previously, heaped praise and status upon those who had achieved something. Now, it heaps praise and status on the one who has their feelings hurt the most. We have achieved a brand new social order- where the loudest victim is now the most popular one in the room.
However, this can only carry on for a short time before people start to take notice. People who emotionally react to every little thing get very tiresome to be around. Therefore, the professional victim class had to come up with another way to justify their inability to control their emotions in order to stay on top of the social pecking order. They invented a thing called "triggering."
Now the social status of the emotionally immature can be completely solidified and justified, because now their emotional reactions are beyond their control. It is not their fault that they react the way they do. The fault doesn't lie with emotional immaturity. It lies with a "trigger" event that moves the victim into an area where he or she is no longer responsible for his or her actions.
Once "triggered," these people throw off all wisdom, restraint, accountability, and consequences. The explanation given is that whatever "triggered" them- sidewalk chalk, microaggressions, a comment, an insult, a political opinion they disagree with, whatever it is- is so horrible that the person has no option but to lose control and act in ways that, prior to the triggering, would be unacceptable, but now because of the triggering, are completely understandable. People are justifying violence at Trump rallies because they were "triggered" and therefore are above accountability. Professors at colleges are stealing pro-life signs, claiming the slogans "triggered" them and therefore were justified in their actions. Once the blame can be placed on the "trigger," people no longer accept responsibility for their actions, claiming that they are victimized and therefore justified in whatever it is they do.
All of this boils down to Skinner's quote. These emotionally immature people cannot control their emotions, and therefore they have no option but to try to control the actions of others.
However, just because you can't control your emotional reaction to the truth doesn't mean I shouldn't speak it.
And that is the issue here in America. We are at an impasse. We have the right to free speech in this country. We also have an increasingly emotionally immature population who can't handle hearing anything they don't already agree with. So, one of two things must be done. 1) We shut down free speech, or 2) the emotionally immature must learn to control their emotions when they hear speech they disagree with.
Sadly, society seems to be taking option #1. We are prizing emotional comfort over the God-given right of free speech. We are favoring not hurting anyone's feelings over the inherent right to speak our minds. I believe this to be the key struggle of our day here in America in 2016. My suggestion to those who do not like option #1 is this- continue to speak freely. Continue to exercise your right to free speech. People will have emotional reactions to it. So what? Speak it anyway. Do not let those who cannot control their emotions control your behavior. Don't let their inability to handle anything they don't already agree with stop you from speaking freely.
The micro aggression/triggering/fascism stuff, sounding so intellectual and new and brilliant, is simple emotional immaturity.
If hearing something you disagree with throws you into uncontrollable emotional fits, the problem is YOU.
If you feel the need to control the actions or words or beliefs of another person because you don't like what they say, the problem is YOU.
If you claim that something "triggered" you and therefore you can justify any kind of action against someone else, the problem is YOU.
If you feel the need to shut down, shame, insult, ridicule, or silence anything you disagree with, the problem is YOU.
Just because you can't control your emotional reaction to the truth doesn't mean I shouldn't speak it.
We live in a nation of emotionally immature people who are increasingly unable to control their emotions. Students at Emory University in Atlanta lined up and protested at the office of the president because someone wrote, "Trump 2016" in sidewalk chalk on the campus. To hear the protestors you would have thought someone had been murdered. However, what was going on here was simple emotional immaturity. They saw something they didn't like. They perceived it as racist or whatever current trendy "ism" is used to justify outrage. They couldn't control their emotional reaction to it, so therefore they had no choice but to try to control the behavior of others- namely, the notorious terrorist who put a name and a date in chalk on a sidewalk.
America is increasingly becoming a nation of victims. It seems that everyone everywhere is persecuted. Everyone everywhere, it seems, is on the receiving end of a systematic structure whose sole purpose is to hurt, to keep down, to discriminate against them. Because of this, people are marching in the streets. People are violently protesting at campaign rallies. People are getting into huge arguments on social media and unfriending people they used to truly like. People are sharply divided, each claiming the other side is actively and systematically discriminating against them- each side clambering for the moral high ground in America by claiming the other side is bigoted, racist, homophobic, or whatever other convenient word is used to try and shut people up.
However, the main problem isn't that everyone is out to get everyone else. The main problem is simply that Americans have no maturity, and because of that, have no ability to control their emotions.
It is now incredibly widely accepted to fly off the handle at every little thing that we hear that we don't like. Measured response, wise response, overlooking an insult, overlooking something that is no big deal- all that is out the window. Emotionalism is what is prized in this society. It would almost seem that the highest ranking person in the social order is the one who has been "discriminated against" the most.
This is a brand new social structure. It used to be that the one with the most popularity was the one with the best looks, or the most money, or the most athletic ability. That has all been replaced by the one who is the biggest victim. Whoever can manage the biggest emotional reaction to an event, a saying, or an encounter is now the new "popular" one. Society, previously, heaped praise and status upon those who had achieved something. Now, it heaps praise and status on the one who has their feelings hurt the most. We have achieved a brand new social order- where the loudest victim is now the most popular one in the room.
However, this can only carry on for a short time before people start to take notice. People who emotionally react to every little thing get very tiresome to be around. Therefore, the professional victim class had to come up with another way to justify their inability to control their emotions in order to stay on top of the social pecking order. They invented a thing called "triggering."
Now the social status of the emotionally immature can be completely solidified and justified, because now their emotional reactions are beyond their control. It is not their fault that they react the way they do. The fault doesn't lie with emotional immaturity. It lies with a "trigger" event that moves the victim into an area where he or she is no longer responsible for his or her actions.
Once "triggered," these people throw off all wisdom, restraint, accountability, and consequences. The explanation given is that whatever "triggered" them- sidewalk chalk, microaggressions, a comment, an insult, a political opinion they disagree with, whatever it is- is so horrible that the person has no option but to lose control and act in ways that, prior to the triggering, would be unacceptable, but now because of the triggering, are completely understandable. People are justifying violence at Trump rallies because they were "triggered" and therefore are above accountability. Professors at colleges are stealing pro-life signs, claiming the slogans "triggered" them and therefore were justified in their actions. Once the blame can be placed on the "trigger," people no longer accept responsibility for their actions, claiming that they are victimized and therefore justified in whatever it is they do.
All of this boils down to Skinner's quote. These emotionally immature people cannot control their emotions, and therefore they have no option but to try to control the actions of others.
However, just because you can't control your emotional reaction to the truth doesn't mean I shouldn't speak it.
And that is the issue here in America. We are at an impasse. We have the right to free speech in this country. We also have an increasingly emotionally immature population who can't handle hearing anything they don't already agree with. So, one of two things must be done. 1) We shut down free speech, or 2) the emotionally immature must learn to control their emotions when they hear speech they disagree with.
Sadly, society seems to be taking option #1. We are prizing emotional comfort over the God-given right of free speech. We are favoring not hurting anyone's feelings over the inherent right to speak our minds. I believe this to be the key struggle of our day here in America in 2016. My suggestion to those who do not like option #1 is this- continue to speak freely. Continue to exercise your right to free speech. People will have emotional reactions to it. So what? Speak it anyway. Do not let those who cannot control their emotions control your behavior. Don't let their inability to handle anything they don't already agree with stop you from speaking freely.
The micro aggression/triggering/fascism stuff, sounding so intellectual and new and brilliant, is simple emotional immaturity.
If hearing something you disagree with throws you into uncontrollable emotional fits, the problem is YOU.
If you feel the need to control the actions or words or beliefs of another person because you don't like what they say, the problem is YOU.
If you claim that something "triggered" you and therefore you can justify any kind of action against someone else, the problem is YOU.
If you feel the need to shut down, shame, insult, ridicule, or silence anything you disagree with, the problem is YOU.
Just because you can't control your emotional reaction to the truth doesn't mean I shouldn't speak it.
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