If I Say You’re Too Sensitive, Would You Take Offense?
posted by Dominque Elliott | March 27, 2019 | In OpinionIs our society too sensitive? This is a question I continuously ponder when I actively watch and participate in constant pop culture arguments with my friends. Our discussions range from serious topics, such as sexual assault allegations and the #MeToo movement, to less serious topics, such as Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson taking a selfie on her rest-in-peace Stan Lee’s Instagram post.
The subject of the possibility of oversensitivity in America has been covered by national news outlets such as CNN, Fox News, Huffington Post, and the Guardian. It seems every other day we’re hearing about someone committing some type of social offense, whether it comes it comes in the form of 10-year-old tweets, celebrities accused of cultural appropriation, the media’s constant reinforcement of our culture’s white, heteronormative ideals, or even news anchor and politicians getting criticized for how they report female presidential candidates.
A lot of the discussion surrounding sensitivity seems to center around if and how society is sensitive, but not why society seems more sensitive.
Andrew Anderson, a computer science major, commented, “I mean, people are starting to become more and more offended by things like dark humor. Also, the fact that representation in stories, shows, et cetera is starting to be more obvious and shoe-horned in, replacing actual good storytelling.”
Another computer science major, T.J. Houston stated, “I think a lot more issues can be
broadcasted through social media, and thus it creates a wider vacuum of things people can perceive and react to. Society, as itself, doesn’t feel like it’s more sensitive , just a different set of issues and more people weighing their opinions in.”
“Like antivax” Anderson suggested.
“True,” Houston agreed. “Like antivax was always an issue but through social media you see a lot more presence as opposed to before.”
“Flat Earth, too” Anderson added.
Tyree Wheeler noted, ”I’m gonna say people were more sensitive in the past. The 1700 duels were a great example of that: ‘You insulted my honor? We duel at dawn!’”
Bristol McLean, a visual arts major, summarized, “We’re a more sensitive society, only because those that make an offense are finally being held responsible for their actions. Now we’re in a position where there isn’t room to poke fun at anyone. Social media tends to feed to fire, with groups of people being able to rally against an offender.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.