ART IN THE AGE OF THE OFFENDED

Art is made to shift perspectives and challenge ideas and thought processes. In the age of "trigger warnings" and "safe space" art is slowly being censored. While political correctness has its place, art is not that place.

The army of the perpetually offended are literally killing art. Books are being removed from shelves, classical art is censored, and artists and comedians are not showing up because of fear of being shamed for not being PC at events. Another unfortunate side effect of this wave of forever offended Internet warriors is the death of Internet.

The Internet has democratized content and conversations and made them accessible to anyone. Anyone could share their art, poetry, blogs, photographs and performances online. In the 90's, the Internet was not very censored. You could easily search and find anything you want. With the dawn of the PC age, much is being cleansed from social media and other online platforms. For example, pictures of women who are breastfeeding are blocked and reported on facebook and twitter for indecency. Specific art, which includes naked male and female figures, get flagged by facebook and twitter because of nudity.

It is my opinion that this wave of PC and forever offended people is a symptom of the helicopter parents of the early 2000's. Keeping children (and eventually adults) perpetually sheltered from challenging ideas and thought provoking situations breeds ignorance, fear and "offense". People get offended these days because they don't understand a perspective. How about instead of demanding that perspective be locked away so you can stay in your "safe" ignorant bubble, you try and understand? How about thinking in more than a one-dimensional mind space??

To conclude, this PC movement, fueled by ignorance, is killing art and stifling creation as well as sharing of art. People really need to be able look past themselves and the safe bubble that they dwell in, and attempt to understand the world on a deeper level.  The whole purpose of art is to push the limits of your perspective, and the ability to view the world in a new perspective. If you never challenge the current paradigms, then nothing within will change. And the world will grow blander and greyer as everything beautiful, frightening, and challenging is snuffed out.