You Couldn’t Make It Up

I give up.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear.

You can all carry on with your judgement and taunting in peace.

One of my least favourite phrases is be kind. But there are times when I think it could be adhered to and we could stop mocking people.

How very odd that you should post that Alegrias.

Why so much ire?

The only ire appears to be yours, Alegrias, against other posters who are bemused by these dire warnings about literature.

Those of us who read it without realising must all be scathed beyond help.

Jane Austen was well aware of the snobbery that existed in her time between the upper classes and the middle classes and those in trade. It is the theme of many of her books, along with the misery it brought to those who couldn't cross the insurmountable barriers. Reading them is a history lesson. Flagging them as something that people might want to skip as they might be disturbed is like wrapping up history itself as though it were poisonous and a danger to life.

That she herself somehow failed to notice the reality of servant life belowstairs is evidence of just how deepseated the stratification was. (If you would like a different angle on the events in Pride and Prejudice, the handsome officers, and the Bennets at home, with the domestic staff as the central characters, read "Longbourne" by Jo Baker.)

We do these children/young adults no favours by giving them these trigger warnings. We are failing to build resilience in them to face what life has to throw at them. We are in danger of letting them think they will be warned about all the nasties life will throw at them instead of teaching them how to cope. The older generation has built up resilience and fortitude., we know life's shocks are not accompanied by trigger warnings but are sudden, unexpected and often life changing. Our grandchildren need to learn this too.

Urmstongran

Chris Roberts, in his book, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown, says that "Jack and Jill is a cautionary tale of pre-marital hillside sex, with a metaphorical breaking crown".

Who knew? ?

It does have supposedly dark origins - one theory is that is about Louis XVI and Mary Antoinette losing their heads.

Made more palatable for children with vinegar, brown paper and a nice rest in bed for Jack.

Of course I'm serious.

I think all these trigger warnings go a bit far. The Kidnapped one especially. On that we can agree.

However I don't know what all the fuss is about. Some people complaining that the students need to toughen up. Some people saying they'll have seen worse on the video games or GoT. Some people saying that the academics are mollycoddling them. Why so much ire? Just let them get on with it.

Its not costing you money, its not undermining the fabric of society, its just being a bit thoughtful for people who might be affected by something.

One of my least favourite phrases is be kind. But there are times when I think it could be adhered to and we could stop mocking people.

BTW MayBeMaw, try self-appointed.

MaizieD

P.S Alegrias, I'd ignore the xenophobic digs...

But nobody else is angry or riled though are they - it's just too silly ???

Chris Roberts, in his book, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown, says that "Jack and Jill is a cautionary tale of pre-marital hillside sex, with a metaphorical breaking crown".

Who knew? ?

I think it's worrying that anyone is taking this seriously!

Perhaps GN should come with a warning:

Please be aware that some posts may cause stress to those of a nervous disposition.

Well you seem to be the only person attempting to excuse or justify their actions which makes you an apologist and as far as I am aware nobody else has appointed you as their champion.
So self-styled indeed Alegrias

Alegrias...are you acting as devil’s advocate on this topic?
You surely can’t really be serious.

A correction. "they needed protection from the things" should have been "they needed protection from awareness of the things". I don't think anyone is advocating actual practical sessions in animal abuse, etc etc.

As MaybeMaw says, they are big boys and girls now, no longer in the reception class.

Ahh that explains it PTSD from reading all the above mentioned novels.

Given the violence of the computer games that played and violent often sexist lyrics to a lot of rap songs I am amazed to hear this.

Isn’t the point of reading novels among many others is that they are of their time?

Lucca

So it’s not official yet then? Just a Students Union thing
My gut feeling is it’s a bit OTT especially when the clue is in the title !

Yes, student union/ council nonsense enabled by the University. There’s a long list of things they want to be warned about in advance.?
As some others have already said, when you think about the gaming and films that 18 year olds watch it’s staggering that a few of the top union bods ( students) have decided that they are shrinking violets where literature and lectures are concerned.It’s actually quite pathetic.

If you were terrifed as a child at witnessing an attack by a rabid rabbit and still have palpitations at the sight of creatures with long furry ears, should you expect all books of children's stories that include ones about cuddly bunnies to contain a warning?
I do think the Peter Rabbit films should have come with a warning for unwary grandparents that they might get upset at the thought of Peter going into a pie.
My little DGD had to console me, held my hand and said "It's OK, Granny, don't get upset, Peter does escape"

It wasn't me who brought in xenophobia.

Self styled means that I describe myself that way. Which I didn't.

Just a bonkers thought. Get the facts about something before you comment on it.

MayBeMaw

^And yet, the request was initiated by the students. ?^

No conclusion unjumped

As their self-styled apologist * Alegrias* why bring in the notion of xenophobia into it at all and not just admit that maybe some young people in their late teens need to put their big person knickers on and face up to a literary representation of a past age which is infinitely less shocking than Game of Thrones, any x-rated film and the vast majority of computer games.
It is just bonkers though.

It does make me wonder how these young people have got through nursery, primary school, senior school seemingly unscathed by all the nursery rhymes, children's books (Roald Dahl, Harry Potter anyone?), literature which they must have encountered at GCSE and A level.

Not to mention all that they may have encountered at the cinema, online and on tv.

Alegrias "And yet, the request was initiated by the students. ?
No conclusion unjumped.

The vice-president elect of the student council proposed the motion and the student council held the vote. It wasn't demanded by all the students. Most of them probably had no idea that they needed protection from the things that the vice-president elect was concerned about
"She argued that her fellow students should be shielded from unwanted references to a number of subjects:
animal abuse Her own particular bete noir
racism
sexual abuse and harassment
suicide
drug and alcohol abuse
ableism
homophobia
transphobia
She added: “This policy does not stop the university from talking about these subjects.
It just calls on it to better safeguard students by presenting content warnings and provide a list of resources when needed.
Students are still going to be exposed to all the material, they will just be aware of what they can expect and prepare emotionally.
We all need to be more accepting and aware of people surrounding us and their experiences and protect each other.

Surely those studying accounts (in fact and and fiction) of people's life experiences also need to be aware that the whole course is likely to have examples of these things? The tutor doesn't need to flag each and every example separately in each and every book studied? When they leave the course and read even more widely, they won't find the author has handily flagged up the scary bits or the sexy bits so that they can skip them.

And who judges what is going to disturb? If you were terrifed as a child at witnessing an attack by a rabid rabbit and still have palpitations at the sight of creatures with long furry ears, should you expect all books of children's stories that include ones about cuddly bunnies to contain a warning?

And yet, the request was initiated by the students. ?

No conclusion unjumped

As their self-styled apologist * Alegrias* why bring in the notion of xenophobia into it at all and not just admit that maybe some young people in their late teens need to put their big person knickers on and face up to a literary representation of a past age which is infinitely less shocking than Game of Thrones, any x-rated film and the vast majority of computer games.
It is just bonkers though.

Petera

annodomini

MayBeMaw, All I can think of in Jane Austen's work might be in Pride and Prejudice: Lydia's elopement - under-age sex.

I think that promotion the white upper class patriarchy is rampant...

Isn't that the whole point of reading this literature - to discuss it, the era in which it was written, the mores of the time, to explore ideas?

A Tale of Two Cities (my version)

I went to Paris once. I fell in love, he broke my heart, well it was more of a dent really but I've never forgotten him. Came home and lived in London.

The End.

So one may assume these students
Won't have been watching many of the recent Netflix series,
The Walking Dead springs to mind and even Game of Thrones

annodomini

*MayBeMaw*, All I can think of in Jane Austen's work might be in Pride and Prejudice: Lydia's elopement - under-age sex.

I think that promotion the white upper class patriarchy is rampant...

Nobody actually bothers reading the links, do they?

The ones that say the students' representative body asked for it to happen.

The ones that say no book is off the agenda.

The ones that say they are trying to prepare people for things they might read that might be upsetting.

No no, stop being so soft, be an adult, you'll be fine.

Kindness, consideration and empathy can be shown without the condescension of treating them as though they couldn't use their own brains. The books they will encounter on a course of English (or any language) literature are guaranteed to be about all the thoughts, emotions, experiences and sufferings that the authors had met or imagined and recorded. If they started on the course without being aware of that, or that some of those experiences might not be pleasant ones, they must have been living in a glass box for the last 18 years.