Is this taking "triggers" a bit too far?

Can you give me a source of this, like the original episode where his line came from? I don’t think I can properly judge this without a proper context.

I’m fairly certain this is the formula:

People who balk at the concept of “triggers” find a couple of comments from random person online and say, “See? This is how absurd all of this ‘trigger’ stuff is.”

It doesn’t necessarily reflect a movement or a large part of the population, and it’s meant to flatten all pushback as overblown and invalid.

So, it is absurd. But that’s the point. These Daily Mail articles pushing the narrative that Prue is on the verge of being cancelled is to infect the public with the idea that all pushback is silly.

Yeah, criticizing Pru for that line really requires removing one’s hinges, if one had hinges.

I heard her say that while watching, and thought about the phrase for a moment after. I reflected that it’s a jolly, funny way to express something that is said repeatedly on that show, which (put literally, with no humor) is that almost no one could always eat baked goods, especially not sweets, and not put on unwanted weight.

So I’d say:

1) It’s a baking contest show, about baking yummy baked goods.

2) The show has a good sense of humor, about baking, eating, and many other things.

3) The show also has at least as healthy an attitude, atmosphere, intentions and culture as pretty much any other TV show I can think of, not to mention the attitudes present in most other cooking contest shows (by comparison).

4) If there are people triggered by that line, I expect they’re going to be triggered by any baking show, have no balance, and to avoid being triggered, would need to be kept away from all screens.

5) I don’t even want to know what they thought of all the other things said in humor in that series! Not that much of anything said in that series deserve that sort of criticism either.

I think criticizing Pru for saying that requires not getting Pru’s sense of humor, and/or detaching one’s critical capacities from one’s wisdom, sensibility, humor, and/or humanity. I think it’s going WAY too far with criticism, and is just absurd. Worthy of an SNL or Monty Python sketch, even – the critic who looks for the most innocent thing to criticize, would criticize that line in that show.

@Mimishu1995 It’s in the show. Prue is a woman and she says it on occasion when tasting a treat. That’s all there is to it.

@product Yes. That’s somewhat true. But it is not just The Daily Mail that is covering it. Here’s an article from The Independent and there are many more. It is a proper flap but to my mind a very silly one. And one can accept a concept and still think there are places where it goes too far. Such as not teaching about slavery properly because white children night be triggered.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/dame-prue-leith-eating-disorder-calories-b1978976.html

In my experience The British seem to speak in Idioms quite a bit. That is how I view the statement.
I have experienced the directness in comments that are rather direct and in many cases do not come from a sensitive or empathic point of view and can be somewhat out of line.

@Mimishu1995 It’s in the current season, in one of the later episodes. I recommend watching the whole season, and if you’re like me, you may find yourself watching ALL the seasons, because it’s a really nice fun funny show with lots of nice amateur bakers baking interesting nice baked goods. I also find it soothing, because the show has such a pleasant atmosphere, with cooperative benevolent attitudes (as opposed to contest shows that try to push competition). My only (NOT serious) complaint is that I get an attitude for real baked goods more than I usually would have.

@janbb: “Here’s an article from The Independent ”

Exactly. These things feed off each other. Note that The Independent article you linked to embeds two tweets as examples. One Twitter user has only 4 followers and the other only 349. This is far less than even I have, and I can assure you that the only traction this got on Twitter was from anti-PC conservatives.

Prue: ”It’s worth the calories.” >
“I think it’s worth the calories in my opinion, for my health/system/body”.
-

Viewer: ”It’s not worth the calories (for me).”

@product Doesn’t make it necessarily wrong to discuss. Black and white thinking does no side any good. Of course all these cancel culture flaps are distractions from more important issues.

@Forever_Free I hear what you’re saying but I’ve heard that said in America too and said it myself – that something was worth the calories. Do people really think that there aren’t lots of calories in good baked goods?

@rebbel Sure it is an individual decision. I make them daily and I am constantly fighting gaining weight.

@janbb: “Doesn’t make it necessarily wrong to discuss.”

I’m only saying that the reason we heard about this was not because people were upset with Prue. Quite the contrary. The only reason was because conservatives want to destroy the notion of pushback altogether. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were only one or two conservatives who did the initial pushback against Prue just to prueve prove a point.

Anyway, I completely agree with you that it’s ridiculous. But I disagree that the source of the pushback was earnest or real.

^^ Got it. Apparently it is from an eating disorder association called BEAT. But probably the pick up could be from conservative media or pundits.

I just thought it would be fun to discuss and we could leave the wolf along for a bit.

The whole thing with the current trend of talking about something triggering them upsets me.
I have PTSD and have had for over thirty years. Saying that something triggered a flashback or a symptom is serious. Now that the word it used so often, it’s significance has been watered down.

Yeah, I believe this is reaching pretty far. After all, the show itself is a giant trigger, just by the visuals alone.

@janbb Oh my lord there are a lot of calories in baked goods in general. It is extremely difficult to substitute ingredients to make it a healthier choice and still taste good. I try to do all I can to adjust recipes to be healthier options as a cook and a baker in my own home. One example is that there is way too much butter in so many recipes.
I completely agree that the statement as quoted is insensitive and takes no consideration to anyone’s healthy eating.
In fact, I think it an example of why there are problems with obesity in many countries and cultures.

Ah, A lot of this trigger warning stuff is getting out of hand. A trigger warning has a valid purpose. An example would be if a film being shown at a lecture includes a rape scene or a graphic murder then a warning is very warranted for those who have PSTD or are sensitive to those things. It is the right thing to do in those situations.
An offhanded comment about “worth the calories?” Give. me. a. fucking. break. To equate those two things is idiotic. No, that comment in no way whatsoever deserves a trigger warning. When people complain about trigger warnings getting out of hand this is usually what they mean. It is no sinister conservative ploy to undermine trigger warnings either. Jesus.

@Forever_Free I’m more in the “everything in moderation” camp. Bake it the way it should be baked with butter and sugar but factor in the calories, etc., and balance it out with other eating. It’s more about portion control for me. I’m sure there are tv shows about healthy eating but TGBBS is about baking.

The food itself would be the trigger, not what is said. This is why I don’t like people much.

My husband told me about this yesterday.

We love that show, and we think Prue is great.

We both think that taking issue with the phrase she used is ridiculous. She was speaking for herself not pressuring anyone.

I have a friend who tells me to eat food that is terrible for my health because “it’s a holiday” or “it’s just one cookie” and I take big issue with what she does. She also bakes cakes and cookies for people constantly.

The problem is these things have a way of spreading. Yes, right now it might be mostly conservatives deliberately blowing up these fringe examples of “sensitivity” and getting outraged over them (“now we can’t say ‘calories’ anymore because of the loony left!” “so-and-so said ‘calories’ and is now going to be cancelled by the woke crowd!”) but what ends up happening is well-meaning liberals hear stories like this and think that it’s something they have to now be mindful of and say (or avoid saying). For example, I’d never heard “birthing person” for “mother” outside of the internet (and mostly right-wingers complaining about it being the “new thing” we all have to say) until I heard it on a left-leaning podcast I was listening to, in which they gave a warning about their usage of the term “mother” in the story they were about to relate because some people prefer “birthing person”. And I’m like who? Who prefers that? I’ve never heard anyone say it outside of a ranting article, but nonetheless, it had spread to this podcast. I’m sure no one at the podcast prefers “birthing person”, but they heard about it and in their attempt to be inclusive and sensitive, they now say it. So I have no problem calling out this kind of crap because it has a pernicious way of making it into the mainstream. It might start out as a joke or fake-outrage that it’s the “new thing” we all need to say but it can become the “new thing” fairly swiftly.

Looking forward to a dressing-down from @product for this comment. :)

@Demosthenes Sadly, there are just as many nutty left wingers who would cry the need for such a warning as there are hard line right wingers who will blow up the significance of it to use as a straw man argument. Things like trigger warnings have a way of becoming political propaganda tools. For example, an anti-gun activist would want to use a trigger warning for anything to do with guns, not because it’s needed but because it supports their agenda. The gun nuts will instantly call this out as they should.

@Demosthenes: “Looking forward to a dressing-down from @product for this comment. :)”

Sorry to disappoint, but I mostly agree with you. My only objection is that if we engage in a discussion of this as if this isn’t just a tactic used by conservatives, we’re doing the work of conservatives for them.

So, yes – ridicule this as silly. But it’s important to note that the silly party is not an organic entity or a large group of people or anyone really engaging honestly. We can understand that this isn’t “going to far”, because this really isn’t a linear measure for how any of this works. And it’s important that we reserve the right to push back and criticize culture when it is wrong and when it can do better. This isn’t one of those times, and the pushback isn’t genuine.

We can’t constantly take the framing that conservatives hand us and argue within that framework. And if we were to have to get defensive about every bullshit article in the Post about some supposed liberal parents who supposedly call for the firing of a Spanish teacher because the word for black (negra/negro) is offensive or some supposed liberal who wants to ban men from television because it triggers past abuse or some shit. Running with the crazy ideas as though they are in the same group as legitimate, organic concerns flattens it all and makes it all seem crazy. And that is the point.

@product I’m not sure what conservatives would have against trigger warnings except when they’re being used politically. There is no reason for them to be against it other than that.

@Blackwater_Park there has been an ongoing conservative culture about being tough and manly, and mocking “trigger warnings” and “safe places” and such as being weak and liberal. Rather like the idea that being concerned about Covid, and adhering to and supporting health mandates is “living in fear”. The rampant male conservatives on fluther have been doing this for awhile.

@canidmajor I don’t buy it. Right-wing news and social media propaganda sure. I’m around deeply conservative people daily. I live in the armpit of the south alongside the reddest of necks. I have heard it all from them. Trigger warnings are not something that ever comes up in that context or really at all. Safe spaces is not very common to hear about either but that does come up. Vaccine mandates do though. Frequently.

Fine. Don’t buy it. It’s out there, whether you believe it or not.

@Blackwater_Park I think that’s the difference between the kind of people you encounter in daily life and the opinionated people who post on forums like these.

@Demosthenes I usually try to make an underlying point here that the vast majority of the liberals on this site only know conservatives from a distance. In other words…they don’t really know any.

@Blackwater_Park Probably true. Likewise, conservatives who think every liberal is some hyper-feminist latte-sipping academic in New York or SF constantly talking about what “triggers” them probably don’t know any either. The internet is not really an accurate sampling of most people.

@Blackwater_Park We all live in the world, just like you do. We live in different parts of the country, yes, but there are vocal conservatives even in CT and MA. Our lives are not limited to social media and the internet, any more than yours is.

Conservatives I know have major misconceptions about liberals. I have to correct them on things all the time and I take a lot of shit for it. It’s a very common thing for people to believe they know how one group thinks from a distance or from the adjacent vocal ones but they usually don’t.

(I’ve requested that this be moved to Social. It has ranged far afield but I don’t mind at all.)

[Mod says] Moved to Social on request

I’m jumping in on this conservative liberal conversation and my take is extreme Libertarians are the most lunatic regarding anything anti-Liberal and that whole “rise up” and “fight” and “we aren’t afraid” bullshit. Some Conservatives respond to this rhetoric because the lunatics and right wingers use Christianity in their craziness. Trump was the master of playing to the base of the Republican Party that responds to that sort of thing and these anarchist Libertarians.

Recently, a friend of mine posted this on Facebook:

Tonight on Tucker Carlson, Dan Patrick, the GOP Lt. Gov. of Texas said:

“The people in this country who have courage are people who have faith who believe in Jesus Christ…” Carlson agreed.

Makes me sick! Thankfully, there are Christians who speak out against this. On the Facebook thread was a woman who kept saying these men were just good Christians. She doesn’t see how destructive this messaging is.

That word “courage” is a dog whistle. Plus, naming only Christians as righteous or worthy or courageous is saying people who aren’t Christian aren’t American.

The extreme Liberals in the Democratic Party are a problem. I agree they latch on to anything that they think sounds enlightened and wanting to protect hurt feelings, and it’s too far and creates room for a backfire effect from the other side.

Basically, all the extremes are bad. Destroying my country and other countries around the world are at risk too.

Something else I have noticed is that regionally conservatives and liberals act different on average. In areas that liberals are the majority conservatives tend to be more extreme. Same goes for liberals in more conservative areas. I think there are several reasons for this. One I see clearly is that politics and religion often share the same regional association where the dominant ideology is where most will tend to associate and the minority tends to collect those who have issues or are somewhat outcast. That’s one reason people have a skewed viewpoint. Liberals here are honestly kind of mean more than you would think. Visiting the west coast they’re super nice. Like really nice.

@Blackwater_Park Conservatives are plenty extreme where they dominate. Look at the Bible Belt.

I do agree it varies by region though. Lots of things vary. Living in the South was the first time I met lots of Democrats who are socially conservative and fiscally liberal.

In NYC plenty of Democrats Vite for Republicans on a local level. Or, they used to, I’m not sure if they will risk giving the Republicans any more power or reinforcement now.

Personally, I wish all these people coming here from California would vote more socially liberal but leave their fiscal vote in Cali.

@Blackwater_Park I’m not sure where you are, but that’s interesting to me that the Californians moving in where you are are mostly Democrats. I was in a Texas Facebook group for a while that was inundated with conservative Californians. I’m in Florida and Californians are moving here too. My husband works in Nashville and a ton of Californians have been moving there. They are part of the housing problem in FL and TN. Pushing prices up. There are other factors too.

The Northeast is mostly socially liberal and fiscally moderate to conservative. I thought most of the US population was like that Republican or Democrat, but now who knows. I was in my Northeast, upper Midwest, and Southeast Florida bubbles for a long time.

@JLeslie I’m showing my own uninformed bias now. I would assume they’re mostly liberal, wealthy suburbanites fleeing the consequences of their own voting behavior. That’s the stereotype here anyway. I’m in a big city in East Tennessee. It would not surprise me if they’re conservative. It’s just not the first thing that comes to mind.

@Blackwater_Park From my own observations, it is people who are leaving the high cost of housing in California to a certain extent but mainly the droughts and wildfires that are not of their doing.

@janbb They’re partially responsible for driving up the costs here. Housing in the area nearly doubled in price over the pandemic. They’re still snatching up anything the day it comes on the market. It’s pricing a lot of locals out of new housing.

@Blackwater_Park It’s happening where I live in New Jersey too but here it’s a certain group of New Yorkers who are snatching up all the houses. Houses in my middle class neighborhood that might have gone for $400,000 to $600,000 a few years ago are being sold for a million plus! It’s really unfair for local buyers.

It’s happening in WV, too. As soon as a house hits the market, it is sold. I just saw a house that I looked at in 2003 that was listed at 125,000 then, go on the market for 259,000 and sold within hours. I looked at pics of it and didn’t see many updates.

Did you see the Q I did where companies are “helping” people buy houses by putting the contract in the company name and writing it as cash to win in the bid. It sounds like a catastrophe waiting to implode

Several conservative channels are buzzing with a mass exodus of people from California to escape the effects of liberal office holders. In droves they are seeking homes in conservative, sensible communities.

@Patty_Melt I think they are all working each other up into causing more and more people to move. The conspiracy theorist paranoid part of me thinks it’s very purposeful to change the political make-up in the country regarding electoral votes, but probably it’s just to save on taxes, and for some to move to a warmer climate. Like the people leaving Illinois and moving to Florida.

No, they each have their specific list of reasons. There is a lot of frustration over San Francisco. Turd hopping is nobody’s sport of choice. Businesses went belly up. Politicians keep setting regulations which they completely ignore themselves. The failed recall attempt was the final straw for many. Some others tried to hold off for their jobs, or other reasons, but conditions caused by persistent shutdowns, something Florida is not reeling from, has forced still more to make initial preparations. Worsening school conditions has lots of people livid. Kids are coming home with videos of teachers behaving in very despicable ways. It is a shit tide out there. My state isn’t experiencing any of that. However, that doesn’t mean some other states aren’t. Calling them conspiracy theorists is not only rude, it is very wrong. Former business owners have lost a lifetime of building.
Oh, real estate costs, boo hoo. Fuck that. Lives are being wrecked. There is no way the mandates should continue. The same guy who said people could pass AIDS eating from the same cereal box, is who you are trusting as an expert.
Sit there comfortably in a state where not only are mandates not allowed, but soon will be profiting big-time from the shipments California won’t process. Enjoy your economy boost while citizens in another state see one more thing torn away from them.

The “leaving in droves” thing is mostly bullshit.

People have definitely left, but most people who’ve left the Bay Area have simply moved to another part of California. Many people who left to work from home due to the pandemic have come back. The real estate market in the Bay Area is still hot; homes still go quickly for way over asking price.

The good news, it is turning liberals red.

I was speaking of more than just the bay area.

It applies across the state. The biggest exodus has been from Bay Area and Los Angeles area counties, and most of the people have gone to the Central Valley and the Inland Empire.

Most of the people who’ve left (either to another part of the state or to another state entirely) have been middle and lower income. Not surprising considering the ridiculous cost of living. It’s part of the reason I’m in Nevada.

Nonetheless, California’s slowed growth between 2020 and 2021 is mostly due to a decline in visas, declining birthrates, and pandemic deaths. No part of the trend could be described as “leaving in droves”. That’s a right-wing headline that doesn’t match reality. There are definitely some people who’ve left California for places like Texas and Idaho because of its progressive culture, but most people who’ve left are fleeing the high cost of living, especially in the Bay Area where it is most out of control.

@Demosthenes I can tell you first hand the amount of California plates here in Tennessee has increased somewhat dramatically. A lot of conversations are being had about this. Seems East Tennessee and Western North Carolina are select choices for those leaving.

Yes, Asheville, Austin, and Boise are some of the top destination for those leaving the state. Not denying it’s happening. But to act like it’s evidence that California is a failed state that will dramatically lose its population soon, it’s an exaggeration. I predict the decline from 2021 to 2022 will be less than 2020 to 2021. But we shall see.

@Patty_Melt I was calling myself a conspiracy theorist not them.

@JLeslie, I read it wrong. My bad. I owe you brunch if I ever finally make the trip.

^^No worries. :).