[RD] Diversity of Safe Spaces

[Sommerswerd]

So like begging Twitter or Blizzard or The Mods to "fix it" for you by silencing the irritant, you do the same thing with your University instead of learning to stand up for yourself, in the physical moment, when the pain's about to get real and dirty?

Well, when people cuss out or shout down real-life trolls, they get accused of attacking free speech and wanting safe spaces.

When people cuss each other out or shout each other down, the cussers and shouters are not building a space where discussions can be had in a respectful manner. That fails Okeke's second definition of safe spaces,

Thinking about this some more... I realize that my memory of how things worked when I was young wasn't complete. While RL trolling, etc was often met with different forms of physical violence, there was one non-violent option that was also consistently used at least where I grew up. You might have heard it refered to as "The Dozens"... that wasn't what we called it growing up, we had a different name for it... but that was generally the only way to resolve a dispute without physical violence. Ironically, TL;DR, "the Dozens" is essentially an exchange of vicious personal attacks, until one person is either stumped as to how to respond, humiliated enough to give up, or the onlookers basically force the loser to give up with a chorus of "oooooohs" and "ahahahahas" and general derision.

Again... that kind of thing is frowned upon online... and is regarded essentially as "cyber-bullying" nowadays, and plain "bullying" when done in RL. So... that's why we have safe spaces. Imagine how the FOX would react to a bunch of "SJW"s surrounding an unwelcome let's say "conservative" visitor to one of their meetings... getting in his face and viciously mocking everything about him from his hair to his clothes to his intelligence, to his parents etc... FOXytime would literally lose their mind complaining about "intolerance"... so... To the Safe Space Robin! *Batman theme plays* Dun-na, Dun-na, Dun-na, Dun-na... Dun-na, Dun-na, Dun-na, Dun-na... SAFE SPAAAACE, Dun-na, Dun-na, Dun-na, Dun-na... SAFE SPAAAAACE...

 

[warpus]

Can someone show me an example of a safe space, as they exist today? I have really never seen one of these anywhere. They probably exist on American campuses only? Canadian ones too maybe? I am just curious to see the set up and the logistics involved.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Can someone show me an example of a safe space, as they exist today? I have really never seen one of these anywhere. They probably exist on American campuses only? Canadian ones too maybe? I am just curious to see the set up and the logistics involved.

It's not really a specific type of place as I understand it. It's more like a rule that is observed by a group of people meeting somewhere. You know how an internet forum works obviously, particularly a private room on an internet forum... same concept just in RL. You go to a room on campus, a dorm room, a conference room, a class room etc... It might be as simple as a particular table in the dining hall, or a particular tree in the courtyard and only "approved" folks are allowed in to participate in the discussion, while disruptive people are either excluded or expelled via some sort of administrator (I assume).

EDIT: The way I imagine it works in practice is similar to the way that class works in school. Imagine you're in class and someone who is not in the class comes into the room. The teacher would immediately kick them out, especially if they began trying to talk. Of if it was outdoors, they might lurk around listening, but the instant they started interrupting, asking questions, the professor would say, "sorry, you're not in this class, please stop interrupting and go about your business."

Again this is speculation on my part... "safe spaces" didn't exist as a concept when I was a young'un.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Can someone show me an example of a safe space, as they exist today? I have really never seen one of these anywhere. They probably exist on American campuses only? Canadian ones too maybe? I am just curious to see the set up and the logistics involved.

There are no photographs of them. Cameras are not allowed in because they might trigger a student who had a traumatic experience with a camera.

If you "Google Image" the phrase safe space, you start out with scores of mockeries of the concept. Only late on the page do you get an image of a tent that has been set up as a safe space, from a Wall Street Journal article on the subject.

I can't figure out how to post the picture, but you can find it yourself with those directions.

 

[BvBPL]

A lot of therapists, health professional, academic advisors, ombudsmen, and faculty members at colleges have stickers like the following on their doors. These stickers indicate that the party in question considers him- or herself a person who LGB students can approach and talk to without worrying about being judged on their sexuality. So that’s a safe space in a private area that’s intended for the support and health of students who seek the assistance of the office’s owner.

Then there’s the University of Missouri’s common which was declared a safe space during the Mizzou Protests about two years ago. The public common was cordoned off by the demonstrators as a space free from journalists during the demonstration.

The use of the term “safe space” has become really broad. Hence this thread.
It might be a mainly college thing though.

 

[warpus]

Interesting, that answered my question from several different angles, thanks! I wonder if we have anything like this on our campus..

If it's not a physical room though, it seems that it'd be easy enough to disrupt the safe space, by virtue of it being in a public place that anyone can walk into.. But I suppose the pretext is that only those who know about that particular safe space (whether it's by a particular tree or wherever) will show up there, or there will be enough people there (such as in the image above), to scare away any troublemakers?

My main concern then is, who decides who's allowed into a safe space and who isn't? It's easy enough to label anyone you disagree with or dislike as a "troll" and to kick them out, it seems

 

[Arwon]

At most Australian universities there's a queer space or queer room which is pretty much just a room within the campus, often within the student union's area. It houses queer student group meetings, has various resources, etc. Mostly there were computers and beanbags and a small kitchenette.

Pretty much the same thing exists for women in the form of a women's room. Again the idea is it is just a space with resources where people can meet, retreat, sleep and so forth.

Students with disabilities had something similar as well.

My uni also had an international student space which serves a similar resources and social space type role. Plus people could get mail directed there.

In all cases they were nominally within student union space but maintained by the relevant groups of students' "collectives".

 

[Lexicus]

At most Australian universities there's a queer space or queer room which is pretty much just a room within the campus, often within the student union's area. It houses queer student group meetings, has various resources, etc. Mostly there were computers and beanbags and a small kitchenette.

Pretty much the same thing exists for women in the form of a women's room. Again the idea is it is just a space with resources where people can meet, retreat, sleep and so forth.

Students with disabilities had something similar as well.

My uni also had an international student space which serves a similar resources and social space type role. Plus people could get mail directed there.

In all cases they were nominally within student union space but maintained by the relevant groups of students' "collectives".

Sounds like the first breath of creeping Stalinism to me

 

[warpus]

That's sort of what I was initially imagining actually when I first heard the phrase "safe space"