It seems as though every day something new is being declared “problematic.”
For example: long, adorned nails. That’s right — in January, they
were declared “cultural appropriation.” That same month, an academic article by an Australian professor
claimed that small chairs in pre-schools are “problematic” because they’re “disempowering” for teachers, and also kind of sexist. In March, “God Bless you”
was deemed an anti-Muslim micro-aggression. In February, a writing guide at Purdue University
advised against using words with “man” in them.
In terms of campus insanity, Purdue is far from the only offender. In fact, it seems as though things on our college campuses have gotten completely out of hand. In the fall, Kings College in London
actually employed “safe space marshals” to police speeches for offensive content. In December, a group of student protesters at Western Washington University declared
that defending the First Amendment was “violent.” Earlier this year, the University of Connecticut offered counseling to students who
might be upset at “even the thought of” a Ben Shapiro speech. Earlier this month, Penn State forbade its Outing Club
from going outside on the grounds that it was just too dangerous.
This is sad stuff — and there’s far too much of it for me to list here — but the truth is, the only way that people can fight it is by first knowing what’s going on. That’s why I try to use my National Review column to keep people updated on the latest political-correctness insanity and college-campus craziness. If people who disagree with the latest cultural trends want to see them change, then they have to start by being informed about what’s happening.
If you want people to continue to be able to stay informed about these issues,
consider donating to National Review’s Spring Webathon. That way, I can keep writing about cultural craziness — and you can keep your nails as long and bedazzled as you want.
Many thanks,
Katherine Timpf
