Thursday, July 18, 2019
Harvard Study Finds Trigger Warnings Do More Harm Than Good
For regular Internet users, trigger warnings appear nearly ubiquitous. Whether it be Twitter blocking potentially sensitive content, warnings at the tops of articles discussing violent or traumatic events, or a wide array of jokes and memes regarding being “#triggered” by minor shocks, the concept of trigger warnings are everywhere online.
Due to the rise in their presence, and certain activists arguing for an increase in their usage, Harvard University professors Benjamin Bellet, Payton Jones, and Richard McNally decided to explore whether these warnings regarding sensitive materials actually help survivors of traumatic events. Their results showed that trigger warnings might do more harm than good.
This experiment is a follow-up to a previous, smaller work by the professors, completed last year. For this trial, 451 respondents, all self-reported trauma survivors, were randomly assigned into one of two groups, and reported on the change in their anxiety levels after reading passages from classic literature of varying disturbing content, including neutral (wholly nonviolent content), mildly distressing (nongraphic scenes of violence), and markedly distressing (graphic depictions of violence).
One group, when given the markedly distressing passages, were given this preface: “TRIGGER WARNING: The passage you are about to read contains disturbing content and may trigger an anxiety response, especially in those who have a history of trauma” before reading. After each passage, respondents ranked certain emotions out of 100, and a more complex survey after finishing all of the readings.
Interestingly, the trigger warnings proved more detrimental than beneficial for survivors of trauma. The sight of the warning before the passage primed the respondent to fear whatever came next, and the anticipation heightened any effect from the passage itself. Merely describing a passage as potentially triggering imbued it with a previously unearned...
What real racism looks like, from a member of 'the squad'
Finally! Racism perfectly demonstrated by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, one of the four congressional leftist House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls "the squad."
"This is the time to redefine that table," she said. "Because if you're going to come to this table, all of you who have aspirations of running for office, if you're not prepared to come to that table and represent that voice, don't come, because we don't need any more brown faces that don't want to be a brown voice. We don't need black faces that don't want to be a black voice. We don't need Muslims that don't want to be a Muslim voice. We don't need queers that don't want to be a queer voice."
"If you're worried about being marginalized and stereotyped, please don't even show up because we need you to represent that voice." In short, capitulate to our ideology or make yourself scarce. You don't count. You will not be heard.
There it is, once and for all. Only people with the correct opinions as dictated by radical leftists, one of the infamous and ridiculous "AOC squad," will be allowed to be black or brown or whatever their grievance group. Pressley's pronouncement made clear that the American Left is now admittedly and proudly totalitarian. No black, brown, Muslim, or gay person can be heard if he dares to deviate from the party line. What is the party line? You're all victims, you blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, and gays. You must rage against everything for which this country stands. America is a racist, homophobic country, forever tainted by the sin of slavery. That 600K-plus Americans died to end it in 1865 are never acknowledged by this crowd. These leftists are addicted to their own malevolent hatred and the spotlight that their media allies are so happy to provide for them. They think they are heroines, this squad of ignorant anti-...
‘DREAMER’ CHARGED WITH 200 COUNTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT IN ‘SANCTUARY CITY’
Edwin Sangalang, 45, was arrested at his place of employment in Los Angeles by the Lake Elsinore Police Department, according to RSO.
A news release by RSO reveals deputies from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station were called to the 2400 block of Gazania Way on Monday to respond to reports of Lewd and Lascivious Acts involving an adult man and a 13-year-old girl.
Investigators determined that Sangalang “began an inappropriate sexual relationship with the 13-year-old female juvenile approximately four years ago.”
During that time span, Sangalang lived in Chino Hills and Perris before moving to Lake Elsinore within the past year, according to...
Ayanna Pressley’s toxic identity politics
But Pressley has officially gone too far. Speaking at the left-wing Netroots Nation conference this weekend, Pressley spoke about minority representation in politics, in light of the flare up between her “squad” and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Here’s what the freshman congresswoman had to say:
If you're going to come to [the political] table, all of you who have aspirations of running for office. If you’re not prepared to come to that table and represent that voice, don’t come, because we don't need any more brown faces that don't want to be a brown voice. We don’t need black faces that don't want to be a black voice. We don't need Muslims that don’t want to be a Muslim voice. We don’t need queers that don't want to be a queer voice. If you’re worried about being marginalized and stereotyped, please don't even show up because we need you to represent that voice.
Of course, Pressley’s “squad” cohorts and House colleagues Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib sat alongside her and nodded approvingly throughout this tirade, in which the very ability of people of minority races, religions, and sexual orientations to think for themselves was essentially denied.
The Commie squad's acquiescence to Pressley’s blatant racism and homophobia is bizarre and disturbing, but revealing: It shows the toxic nature of identity politics and how it can make bigots out of those who claim to be "progressive."
Think about the implication here: If you are not the right kind of black person, Pressley does not want you in politics. In fact, if you don’t represent blackness in the way she approves, you are not even really...
Leader McCarthy: House Democrats Dead Set on Erasing Economic Gains
Over the last 18 months, the American economy has grown at a record-breaking rate, and the results have had a far-reaching positive impact on communities nationwide.
Since January 2017, 5.6 million jobs have been created with the help of Republican-led tax reform, deregulation, and other pro-growth reforms. The unemployment rate is near a 50-year low with 224,000 jobs added to the economy last month, surpassing economists’ expectations.
At the same time, wages have risen over 3% for an astounding 11 consecutive months. Even The New York Times has admitted that wage growth is in a “higher gear” and is “going to those who need it most.”
Our nation is in the midst of enjoying the best economy we have seen in a generation.
These results did not occur by accident. They transpired because policymakers made an intentional choice to allow free enterprise to flourish and remove unnecessary burdens on families and businesses.
But our economic progress can, and will, be overturned if Congress tries to control the economy from within its bubble in Washington, D.C., as Democrats are attempting to do today.
Their latest Washington-centric proposal is the Raise the Wage Act, legislationthat would artificially raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour—over twice its current amount.
This bill is another misguided attempt by Democrats to impose one-size-fits-all policy on the American people. It is backward-looking and proves that Democrats are dead set on erasing the progress our economy has made since President Donald Trump took office.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently released a study that indicates a $15 minimum wage could result in jobs lost and hurt the very people Democrats claim to want to help.
According to the study, a $15 minimum wage could lead to the loss of as many as 3.7 million jobs. Those losses would fall disproportionately on entry-level workers. Younger workers could account for 46% of the job losses.
Individuals without high school degrees could account for 38%. This means that our most economically disadvantaged population will find it even more difficult to break into the job market, hindering their ability to achieve financial independence.
This disastrous policy would also hurt our working families. About 42% of families with a minimum-wage earner would see a net reduction to their family income. The same Congressional Budget Office report estimates that total real family income could be reduced by $9 billion. That means less money for things that matter: bills, essential expenses, or perhaps the occasional meal out.
There are already real-life cases of local economies being hurt by minimum wage increases.
In Oakland, child care providers, restaurants, and grocery stores either scaled back on staff or closed entirely after the city’s minimum wage went from $9 to $12.25 an hour in 2015. Likewise, after Seattle passed a $15 minimum wage, higher labor costs for child care led to increased tuition costs for families and fewer hours for employees.
As the residents of cities like these know, when government raises the minimum wage, the harms are not just estimations, but carry demoralizing...
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