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A review by jillian_lw
'i Find That Offensive!' by Claire Fox
4.0
After finishing I Find that Offensive by Claire Fox, I find myself with mixed feelings. There are parts of her thesis that ring true— free discourse with respectful consideration of all viewpoints is a pillar of democratic society. I do think that this is essential, even when certain viewpoints are considered offensive. I can also see her point about the coddling of Millennial youth. Having been taught from a young age that we are valuable and unique, we readily believe it. I found the section in part II entitled "Culprit: student voice" especially resonant when Fox observed, "Fees turned what was once a teacher-pupil relationship into a service-customer one" (123). Although a close read of this point goes beyond the scope of this book, her observation acknowledges that the imposition of cripplingly high university fees has shifted the balance of power away from university officials. When students are courted as consumers, it follows logically that they expect to be catered to as consumers. This systematically undermines the authority of professors and administrators to act as moral arbitrators and disciplinarians to their students.
Back to my impressions of the book as a whole: Fox's declaration that "You all need to toughen up and make a virtue of the right to be offensive" (178) has some truth to it, but doesn't completely hold. She seems to generally dismiss emotional reactions to offensive speech, behavior and associations. I would counter that the ability to proffer objective and cool-headed responses to offensive stimuli is asking a lot in the immediate aftermath of an offense. Furthermore, I don't believe that infusing offended reactions with authentic human emotion automatically invalidates the reaction. President Obama's tearful condemnation of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting comes to mind.
Fox posits that instead of reacting to the offensive with histrionics, offenders should be challenged to a debate in which their ideas are thoroughly unpacked, and valid criticisms are entertained. This approach doesn't hold up when the "offense" is a dismissal of a person or group's humanity. Fox urges, "Whether you are Snowflakes or anti-Snowflakes, you need to learn the trick of turning subjective outrage into measured, passionate, coherent argument capable of convincing others..." (178). To my knowledge, the white supremacist rally-goers in Charlottesville, Virginia were not open to the suggestion of entering a Battle of Ideas with counter-protestors. Should the onus fall to women, people of color, Jews, queerfolk etc. to convince neo-Nazis and religious extremists that they are human beings, entitled to equal treatment in free society?
Back to my impressions of the book as a whole: Fox's declaration that "You all need to toughen up and make a virtue of the right to be offensive" (178) has some truth to it, but doesn't completely hold. She seems to generally dismiss emotional reactions to offensive speech, behavior and associations. I would counter that the ability to proffer objective and cool-headed responses to offensive stimuli is asking a lot in the immediate aftermath of an offense. Furthermore, I don't believe that infusing offended reactions with authentic human emotion automatically invalidates the reaction. President Obama's tearful condemnation of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting comes to mind.
Fox posits that instead of reacting to the offensive with histrionics, offenders should be challenged to a debate in which their ideas are thoroughly unpacked, and valid criticisms are entertained. This approach doesn't hold up when the "offense" is a dismissal of a person or group's humanity. Fox urges, "Whether you are Snowflakes or anti-Snowflakes, you need to learn the trick of turning subjective outrage into measured, passionate, coherent argument capable of convincing others..." (178). To my knowledge, the white supremacist rally-goers in Charlottesville, Virginia were not open to the suggestion of entering a Battle of Ideas with counter-protestors. Should the onus fall to women, people of color, Jews, queerfolk etc. to convince neo-Nazis and religious extremists that they are human beings, entitled to equal treatment in free society?