Social sensitivity

There seems to be a growing current of people who feel entitled to have society not expose them to upsetting things: whether odious views or reminders of personal trauma or whatever.

Personally I greatly value the opportunity for free and open discussion. Sometimes the mainstream is wrong and where people do hold bad views I would like them to be subject to rational rebuttal rather than their being driven underground by unthinking hate mobs.

Given that I welcome diversity in thinking — one of the reasons I welcome immigration and multiculturalism — and how easily upset some people now seem to be, I believe that expecting society to protect their feelings is scattering too many eggshells. I want people to be able to encourage ideas beyond the goodthink du jour.

At home with family or friends is a different matter: some people really are facing difficult issues and do need a safe space, they are not just a special snowflake, and it is good if they have somewhere to which to retreat, but making that space safe inconveniences just a few people, it doesn't chill discussion in society at large.

Personally I do not have a problem with expecting of people the emotional maturity to handle relative strangers triggering negative feelings in them and, where necessary, to be able to constructively engage with those unlike them.

The same goes for this journal and myself. It is publicly readable and I count that as being out in society. I doubt that I am typically much offensive though I might sometimes be unsympathetic. But, I try not to much indulge eggshell-scattering myself and, though I cast this personal journal more as an unapologetic how I see things rather than you should think this is how things are, I will still try to be tolerant of commenters disagreeing with me.