LINK: This video illustrates how the thinking described by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff in The Coddling of the American Mind can manifest in real life:
This is not an isolated incident. The mindset of “vindictive protectiveness” is taking over campuses across the country. An anonymous column entitled I’m A Liberal Professor and My Students Terrify Me appeared on Vox. Jonathan Chait wrote Can We Start Taking Political Correctness Seriously Now?
And it’s getting worse. The vitriol endured by the Yale professor was so relentless that he and his wife who is also a professor there have decided not to teach next semester, saying they “worry that the current climate at Yale is not, in my view, conducive to the civil dialogue and open inquiry required to solve our urgent societal problems.” The Dean of Students of Claremont McKenna College also resigned after suffering similar persecution.
There’s a frightening similarity between the behaviors of the “safe space” protesters and the following list of Emotional Symptoms of Behavioral Disorders from the Boston Children’s Hospital and PsychGuides.com.
Easily getting annoyed or nervous
Often appearing angry
Putting blame on others
Refusing to follow rules or questioning authority
Arguing and throwing temper tantrums
Having difficulty in handling frustration
There’s evidence that The Yale Problem Begins in High School. I believe it Starts in Kindergarten. The suggestion is strong that twelve years of coddling by our primary and secondary education system, and potentially four more at university, creates entire generations of citizens with rates of behavioral disorders much higher than normal, or necessary. What have we done? What sorts of future leaders, workers, and teachers are we sending out into the world?
