In “The Coddling”, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt talk about a concept they call vindictive protectiveness, which is when individuals shield themselves from ideas that may potentially make themselves or others uncomfortable, they state, “The ultimate aim, it seems, is to turn campuses into “safe spaces” where young adults are shielded from words and ideas that make some uncomfortable.” (Lukianoff/Haidt). Recently, students have been making complaints about how certain topics learned and talked about in class make them uncomfortable or have the possibility of making other students uncomfortable. Colleges have turned into these safe spaces because many students these days are believed to have what Lukianoff and Haidt refer to it as, vindictive protectiveness. Coates speaks of the United States not being able to study reparations because it makes them uncomfortable, or scared, “But we stand to discover much about ourselves in such a discussion—and that is perhaps what scares us. The idea of reparations is frightening not simply because we might lack the ability to pay.” (Coates). The United States will not study reparations or pass the HR 40 bill because they’re scared, it makes them uncomfortable to discuss reparations. I don’t think America is ready to face reality.
Recently, students have been making complaints about how certain topics learned and talked about in class make them uncomfortable or have the possibility of making other students uncomfortable. Colleges have turned into these safe spaces because many students these days are believed to have what Lukianoff and Haidt refer to it as, vindictive protectiveness.In “The Coddling”, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt talk about a concept they call vindictive protectiveness, which is when individuals shield themselves from ideas that may potentially make themselves or others uncomfortable, they state, “The ultimate aim, it seems, is to turn campuses into “safe spaces” where young adults are shielded from words and ideas that make some uncomfortable.” (Lukianoff/Haidt).Coates speaks of the United States not being able to study reparations because it makes them uncomfortable, or scared, “But we stand to discover much about ourselves in such a discussion—and that is perhaps what scares us. The idea of reparations is frightening not simply because we might lack the ability to pay.” (Coates). The United States will not study reparations or pass the HR 40 bill because they’re scared, it makes them uncomfortable to discuss reparations. I don’t think America is ready to face reality.
In this paragraph above I slightly rewrote my paragraph by getting my claim to the beginning of the paragraph so that people immediately know what I’m talking about and claiming right from the beginning. I feel like rearranging my paragraph this way helps to make more sense and get my point across better.
Conclusion:
White Americans in the early 1900’s all had fixed mindsets, especially when it came to African Americans. Whites were not willing to change their mindsets to accept blacks as people, exactly the same as whites. Whites refuse to pass reparations for black people because they aren’t willing to learn about it, it’s just full of misperceptions. Americans haven’t actually paid attention to how the reparations will benefit our society, they just hear misperceptions and assume they’re true. These Americans with fixed mindsets are all protected by vindictive protectiveness. They don’t talk or think about things that they think will make them uncomfortable, like reparations. They just do what they please and don’t really think about how that can affect others.
