Why Safe Spaces Matter

Whenever I read an article bemoaning anything branded as ‘p.c’ I can’t help but think of the infamous quote: ‘When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression’ (1). People are starting to rally against being called out for ‘speaking their mind’ when ‘speaking their mind’ is actually offensive. They claim that their right to free speech is being oppressed, ignoring that their speech continues to perpetrate existing social structures that oppress others, because hey, it’s just locker-room talk, isn’t it Trump?

If your views hurt minority groups, someone telling you to shut up isn’t oppression- you are in the privileged position here and so cannot be oppressed. What is happening is that someone else is asserting their right to not be oppressed, i.e. is arguing for equality. Being anti-hate speech is not the same as being anti-free speech, it’s anti-being a dick.

In particular, anger over safe spaces has become an issue. For me, safe spaces are places to share experiences, places to learn and grow together. This is especially important for minority groups who do not have the privilege to be able to do this in normal society. Recently, we have seen the growth of these across university campuses allowing students to connect and cope. Obviously, in order to be a safe space certain rules have to be laid down which can involve content notes or not allowing certain speech such as racist slurs. Why anyone would want to barge into this space and start telling people what’s what without any consideration for their struggle is beyond me. Why they would then become angry when people told them to shut up is, frankly, ridiculous.

Moreover, people often claim that ‘mollycoddling’ is causing university students to become ‘soft’ rather than robust people who can debate until kingdom come. People seem to forget that for some every day is a struggle. Whether this is being victim blamed by the media, being threatened to have your ‘pussy grabbed’, being laughed at in the street for holding hands with someone you love- sometimes you just need a break. A break where you can be yourself completely and unapologetically because you struggle to do so in everyday life. This same argument of struggle applies to content notes. Sometimes people are just not strong enough on that day to cope with listening to certain things and that’s okay. Taking a couple of seconds out of your day to say a few words on content is not an oppression on free speech, it’s not mollycoddling: it’s a way of helping people. It could even save someone’s life that day.

So the message I’m trying to convey in this article is perhaps the oldest and wisest piece of advice in human history: just be nice. It’s far easier than getting all het up and writing a Facebook rant or Spectator article about safe spaces. If they really bother you that much then ignore them, simple. 

• equality
• politics
• Safe Spaces