Easily Triggered Snowflakes Afraid of Chicken Sandwiches?
A chicken sandwich would seem the last thing that a young person should be afraid of, especially one that tastes so good as the one you can get at Chick-fil-a. Yet, the eatery known for its great chicken has become the object of fear at an institution of higher learning called the University of Duquesne, a private, Catholic-run college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The American Daily Patriot explains:
“The latest example of childishness comes from the University of Duquesne, where students are being triggered into the fetal position due to the horrific news that a new restaurant will be coming to their campus.
“As reported at Yes I’m Right, students at Duquesne have proposed a resolution urging the school’s administrators to reconsider a plan to bring a Chick-fil-a restaurant to the campus.
“These special snowflakes claim that the chain’s stance on same-sex marriage will make LGBTQ students feel ‘unsafe’ on campus as a result.”
It should be noted that even though one of the owners has expressed reservations about same-sex marriage and even gave money to a group that promotes traditional marriage, Chick-fil-a does not discriminate against LGBTQ people, not in hiring nor in customer service.
The atmosphere of fear that exists on colleges campuses about the smallest thing is something that astonishes older generations, especially college graduates. The time was that one could invite an actual Nazi to speak on campus, and then treat him appropriately by heckling and jeering him. Now, anyone to the right of Karl Marx is more likely than not to be chased away by mobs of cry bullies as if he were a soul-stealing demon.
The idea that anyone can be triggered by the idea that someone has reservations about same-sex marriage seems especially astonishing. In living memory, the only celebrities who were not gay and favored same-sex marriage were Dick Cheney and Donald Trump.
Cheney has a gay daughter whom he adores. Trump, is, of course, just Trump. Even Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had to be “woke” late in the game, attracted more by LGBTQ votes and campaign contributions more than anything like a change of conviction.
In any case, Sean Parnell, a former US Army Ranger, appeared on Fox News and had a tart message for the students who had been driven to distraction by the threat of chicken sandwiches.
‘They’re a bunch of babies,’ he said.
‘College is suppose[d] to prepare you for the real world, not shield you from opposing opinions, and safe spaces do exactly that.’
‘My message is toughen up,’ Parnell explained.
‘There are no safe spaces in the real world. If you’re going to be successful in this life after you leave college, you’ve got to learn to embrace diversity and open yourself up to a litany of different opinions.’
He closed his rant by saying, ‘Safe spaces don’t prepare students for the real world. That is fascism cloaked in free speech. That is not what America was founded on.’
Captain Parnell knows of what he speaks. He served a 16-month deployment in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, a region that infested with Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists. He set down an account of his experiences in a book Outlaw Platoon, which has become popular among military circles.
Truth to tell, the students at Duquesne might benefit from the lessons Captain Parnell is trying to teach. One does not have to dodge IEDs and terrorist bullets in Afghanistan, not to mention scale Pont du Huc in Normandy, as a different generation of rangers did, to know that no place on Earth is entirely safe.
The business world is filled with people who will not pat you on the head and say “that’s alright” if you mess up. Heavens, some bosses actually yell at their employees who are not performing.
Even romantic relationships are not safe. The old adage that one has to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince is very apt, even if one is looking for a princess. Swiping a picture on Tinder is not a satisfying way to either meet a life partner or even a fun person to be with on a Saturday night.
What Captain Parnell is saying is, get out there, have adventures, take a few risks. On occasion, you might get your feelings hurt. Sometimes more than feeling can be hurt. But the possibility of living a full, interesting life can be very rewarding indeed.