The Coddling of the American Mind.

Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt express the fragile emotional well-being of modern-day college students who are demanding protection against microaggression, and how these contemporary activists are acting a little too victimized. Certain comments, which previously were commonplace, are now arising as microaggressions—which are defined as “small actions or word choices that seem on their face to have no malicious intent but that are thought of as violence nonetheless.” (Lukianoff) As the title connotes, many adults and college campuses have buckled under and capitulated to the outcries of these victimized students. The ancestral generations are babying the millennial generation in a way that leaves them unprepared for the “real world”. This phenomenon is creating a passion for protection against anything potentially hostile towards the modern day generation. Ultimately, this generation is banning together and becoming more and more hostile towards any trivial microagression that comes their way.  (Graff 109)

            Lukianoff and Haidt interpret this movement as one “to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense.” (Lukianoff) This trend, which generally focuses on emotional well-being, unintentionally exemplifies fragility of this generation’s psyche to the point where collegiate students and victims alike resort to vindictive protectiveness. Consider the feasible access of social media, for example. (Graff 136) Social media gives collegiate students a chance to raise their voice against any hints at inequality, whether it be against religion, sex, race, etc. The access to the internet links young people to be more engaged with prosocial enterprises, giving rise to a mob affect that allows students to have more power over their professors. While it is true that many of the mentioned groups above are endlessly victimized each day, it does not necessarily follow that students should resort to vindictive protectiveness (Graff 89). Vindictive protectiveness, explained by Lukianoff and Haidt, “is creating a culture in which everyone must think twice before speaking up, lest they face charges of insensitivity, aggression, or worse.” (Lukianoff)

The question is: Is the confrontation of microaggression healing the youth of the nation? This article makes the point that “attempts to shield students from words, ideas, and people that might cause them emotional discomfort are bad for the students.” (Lukianoff) Coddling this generation prepares them poorly for what challenges lie ahead. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the balance of the freedom of speech (Graff 99). As much as universities and other comparable institutions should attempt to obliterate inequality, it should not disparage the psyche of this millennial generation.

Lukianoff, Greg and Haidt Jonathan. 'How Trigger Warnings Are Hurting Mental Health On Campus'. The Atlantic. N. p., 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say / I Say. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2015. Print. 12 Oct. 2015.