Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

The Cult of Personal Fragility

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Once upon a time, Americans prided themselves for being tough and resilient. They were strivers. They were survivors. They bounced back from adversity. Now they have become a nation of wimps, whiners and victims.

In writing a column about the absurd proliferation of “emotional support animals” on airplanes, George Will absolutely nailed what is happening:

A cult of personal fragility is becoming an aspect of the quest for the coveted status of victim. The cult is especially rampant in colleges and universities, which embrace the therapeutic mission of assuaging the anxieties of the emotionally brittle.

Well said! I predict that the phrases, “cult of personal fragility” and “anxieties of the emotionally brittle,” will enter the national lexicon. People are fed up with this nonsense.

Trigger warning, crybabies: Nobody cares about your anxieties. It’s time to grow up and act like big boys and girls.

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16 responses to “The Cult of Personal Fragility”

  1. solufh Avatar
    solufh

    Thank you.

  2. Andrew Roesell Avatar
    Andrew Roesell

    Dear Jim,

    Actually, you should call it the “Cult of Passive Aggressiveness.” Like spoiled, and even not so spoiled, children, this behavior is manipulative. If I have a temper-tantrum or a crying “jag” then Mommy & Daddy or “Guvvy” or “Schooley” will give me what I want, often right away. Hey, and they do! Which means it keeps getting reinforced. Which means there is ever more of it, because that is what the “Grown-ups” are rewarding. Bad behavior is rewarded. Good behavior is ignored, or even, punished! As Michael Dukakis said, “A fish rots from the head.” Our elites need to get fired at all levels, eventually, and replaced with people who will encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior. The current crop, to me at least, seems to admire the “younglings” bad behavior. “They’re so cute! Awww!” “Guvvy[, etc] will make it better!”

    Sincerely,

    Andrew

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      re: ” If I have a temper-tantrum or a crying “jag” then Mommy & Daddy or “Guvvy” or “Schooley” will give me what I want, ”

      a lot of private sector companies..

      but these folks are not “victims”.. most are just gaming the system.

      but I do suspect they are the left-lane blockers on the roads, also.

  3. Andrew Roesell Avatar
    Andrew Roesell

    Dear Jim,

    We should call the current elites’ method, “helicopter governing.”

    Sincerely,

    Andrew

  4. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    Recall from a recent post here that Patrick Hogan, Chief Operating Officer of the University of Virginia at an annual salary reported to be $450,000, sent an email community advisory on Jan 19 to students, faculty, and staff asking that people witnessing “suspicious activity” such as posting “offensive flyers and memes” to please call 911.”

    Here is how UVA’s Chief Operations officer described what he apparently considered an existential threat to UVA students.

    “The University of Virginia is aware of reports of solicitations by national organizations to encourage distribution of offensive flyers and memes at colleges and universities across the country during the upcoming weekend. The reports indicate that the organizations are specifically interested in buildings and centers for under-represented groups, particularly Women’s Studies. We are not aware of any specific threats to the University of Virginia and its facilities. We still believe it is prudent to make members of the University community aware of this possible activity.

    If you witness individuals engaged in suspicious activity, including posting offensive flyers or other material in violation of the University’s Policy on Exterior Posting and Chalking, please call 911.

    The University Police Department and the Ambassadors are aware of this information and will be closely monitoring activities on and near Grounds. We will be maintaining an enhanced security environment across Grounds this weekend.

    The safety and well being of every member of the University community remains our top priority, and we ask for your assistance in remaining vigilant of your surroundings.”

    Imagine the example this senior officer at UVA sets for students. No wonder large groups of UVA students have recently suffered from multiple episodes of chronic hysteria. Why should Mr. Hogan not be fired? Or at the least be put on an extended leave of absence under supervision of a qualified health care professional until competent authorities can certify that UVA’s Chief Operations Officer has been cured of his chronic anxiety disorder.

    1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
      Reed Fawell 3rd

      Jim –

      This is confidential but I’m getting reliable local reports out of Charlottesville that “suspicious activities on or near the Grounds” has been spotted by University police and UVA Ambassadors. Apparently three white Caucasian males are now thought to be lurking about UVA buildings and centers for under-represented groups, particularly Women’s Studies, carrying satchels full of “offensive flyers and memes” thought to be printed copies of Bacon Rebellion postings & comments.

      One report just out now fingers Andrew and Don, and yes you Jim, as the culprits. Accordingly Patrick Hogan, Chief Operating Officer of the University of Virginia, is said to have placed the University on High Alert and summoned outside support from out of state, forces now on their way to the scene.

      This is confidential, of course, but I will keep you posted, Jim. And meanwhile suggest utmost caution by all involved in this important operation. Good Luck. And Good Hunting.

      1. Andrew Roesell Avatar
        Andrew Roesell

        But, Reed, YOU told me to do it! ;-))<

        Reservedly,
        Andrew

        1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
          Reed Fawell 3rd

          No Andrew, I said “case the joint.”

          It did not say go in there armed with memes and flyers in satchels before we had backup reinforcements in place.

          How stupid. Imagine if that hothead Don had jumped the gun and pasted a meme on a bulletin board in a building housing under-represented UVA women doing Women’s Studies on the Grounds. What then? Surrounded by angry young women, you three guys, without backup, would have been toast. Forget R E Lee. We’d be looking at Custer’s Last Stand all over again!

    2. Acbar Avatar
      Acbar

      Ooooh! Ooooh. ‘Microaggression!’ I’m going to turn you in and trigger a year’s worth of bureaucratic factfinding (unless you buy me off).

    3. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
      Reed Fawell 3rd

      News Break – Another senior official at UVA has identified and issued a warning alert for more offensive memes threatening our democracy, this time located not in the Rotunda on the Grounds of UVA but instead lying in state in the Rotunda of the US Congress in Washington DC.

      Barbara Perry, the Gerard L. Baliles Professor and Director of presidential studies at the Miller Center for presidential and political history at the University of Virginia, sounded the Alarm proclaiming that “honoring someone whose primary service was the conversion of people to a certain faith with a Rotunda ceremony violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Although Graham was an adviser to presidents, Perry noted, tapes came out later revealing Graham and President Richard M. Nixon sharing anti-Semitic views, and civil rights historians have noted that Graham urged the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others not to press hard on the cause of racial equality.

      “Not that he shouldn’t be lauded, but does he deserve to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol? And once you open that door, where do you stop?” Perry said. “Lying in honor should be someone who served their country. Well, how did he do that?”

      Note please the gratuitous smear of a dead man lying in state.

      See Michelle Boorstein Washington Post’s article found at:

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/02/28/billy-graham-is-the-first-religious-leader-to-lie-in-honor-at-the-u-s-capitol-some-say-he-should-be-the-last/

      The Article was also linked into and advertised in UVA Today.

  5. djrippert Avatar
    djrippert

    Jim Bacon steps to the plate. It’s a scortcher out here folks! The pitcher looks back the runner on first. And here comes the pitch to Bacon. Man oh man, he crushed it! Deep center field. Fans, this one’s not just out of the yard, it’s out of the stadium. Bacon is rounding the bases. They won’t forget this shot in River City any time soon. A towering home run from the pen of Jim Bacon!

  6. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Reminds me of the John Belushi skit from the 1970s. He’s dressed up as an 18th century warship captain or something and says to the crew:

    “We are MANLY men doing MANLY things!”

    1. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      Better MANLY men than GIRLY men!

      1. Acbar Avatar
        Acbar

        Like the lumberjack, “leaping from tree to tree” — Monty Python.

  7. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    As Winston Churchill said of the Royal Navy: “It’s all rum, sodomy and the lash.”

  8. V N Avatar
    V N

    Amen!

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