Silence.exile.cunning.

edwardshallow:

i don’t get them. everyone is affected by different matters in strange and unusual ways. i understand it’s a pleasantry and it’s to help people avoid falling upon something which may upset them or stir up emotional turmoil. but if people are wrapped up in cotton wool there will be a point where such topics may arise when they cannot be avoided, and it’s about finding a way to cope. through whatever.

Hey Kyle, trigger warning aren’t just a ‘pleasantry’: for  domestic abuse victims, survivors of rape, and just general former victims of trauma, trigger warnings can sometimes stop a horrific reaction that can lead to really dangerous mental health places. I understand the desire to want to be able to talk about these issues frankly and honestly, and I applaud you for that, but I think that (as someone who has to heed trigger warnings relatively often) a small tag or page break is two seconds well spent to helping someone choose when to be bombarded with other people’s opinions on something EXTREMELY personal. If people can do it with spoiler warnings for TV shows, they can do it with something like this and it does no one any harm. Society constantly tells victims of abuse, rape, and violence how THEY SHOULD be dealing with their issues and rarely stops to ask HOW AND WHY they are going through what they’re going though. It’s a systematic hegemonic oppression present in our culture, and I’m not saying that I don’t participate in it at moments, but I would at least like to choose when I am confronted with these types of things instead of having them rammed down my throat. Not saying everyone who talks about this does that, obviously; I also think discussion about these issues in an honest manner is important. I just want to always participate in a space where this type of conversation is helpful, open, and most importantly, safe.