College Student Says You’re Just Not Smart Enough to Understand Safe Spaces

By Katherine Timpf

Monday, April 06, 2015

A Brown University senior wants everyone to know that he’s not weak for wanting “safe spaces” where he won’t feel offended or uncomfortable  — it’s just that he’s smarter and more culturally aware than you are so you wouldn’t understand.

In response to an article that a classmate wrote that criticized “safe spaces,” Joseph DiZoglio writes:

“The current rally that generational pundits make against me and my peers in college today is that we have forsaken freedom of speech and multiple viewpoints for ‘comfort.’”

“I’m afraid that it is a product of jargon that is too easily mistranslated by opinion columnists hoping to pass a deadline,” he continues in the letter, a portion of which has since been published in the Wall Street Journal. “If delved with any honest intent into the vast discourse of social justice, they would see how far from the mark they really are.”

Now, you might think that a kid who criticizes columnists for using “jargon” right after using a phrase like “generational pundits” won’t be capable of teaching you anything worthwhile. But DiZoglio assures you that any disagreement that you have with him is just due to your ignorance:

“When I say your argument makes me uncomfortable, it is because I am greatly concerned that you have not done the requisite thought and research into generating an inclusive thesis that considers as many nuances as necessary to deliver a sound debate,” DiZoglio writes.

“If you do not believe that skin color, age, religious identity, sexuality, class or (dis)ability have an effect in cultural political or economic problems that we debate at universities, then it is you who is trying to remain comfortable despite such frightening realities.”

Got it, people? You’re just not as smart and enlightened as Mr. DiZoglio is. And if you think that college kids demanding “safe spaces” are wimps who could never make it in the real world, that’s because you just don’t understand the actual real world. If only you knew as much about the “frightening realities” of the world as this bright young Ivy Leaguer. How kind of him to be “greatly concerned” for big dummies like me!

Despite having pumped his letter full of words he learned on thesaurus.com, it’s clear that DiZoglio has no idea what he’s talking about.

There is only one thing that he gets half right: He finishes the letter by asserting that “being uncomfortable is the strongest form of rhetoric that our millennial generation wields in the struggle against all forms of oppression.”

Just replace the word “oppression” with “discussion,” and he’s right on the money. (By the way, that wouldn’t even be a huge leap considering the fact that college students have referred to common expressions like “you guys” as “oppressive.”)

These days, whining and playing the victim puts you in a greater position of strength. It’s a way to gain influence, respect, and power without having to actually know anything.

After all, if someone dares to question a “cultural sensitivity” or “pro-diversity” activist, he’s labeled a racist bigot, an evil old white guy who spits on the poor, or — if he dares to challenge a feminist — a rape apologist. Knowing that anyone who tries to argue with them will be attacked is also how these people are able to casually spread false narratives (like we see with much of the campus-rape discussion) without having to actually prove anything.

DiZoglio understands all of this. You may be tempted to think that none of this matters because he’s just some college kid; but before you say “Haha, wow, just wait till this kid gets to the real world,” ask yourself: What will happen when kids like him are the real world?