I’ve always thought Peter Pan was a ‘wrong un’.
Well it’s patently obvious that any fella who refuses to grow up and insists on flying around on mythical islands messing about with fairies and pirates and the like is for the watching.
Fortunately Aberdeen University has recognised the dangers that this dodgy fairy tale character poses to young impressionable minds.
It has issued a trigger warning to them about the perils of exposing their still developing mentality to even a few lines of JM Barrie’s prose about Peter Pan’s nefarious activities.
Now admittedly the sort of student who’s likely to be “triggered” by reading a fairy tale is unlikely to be of much use once they enter the real world.
If they’re the sort who’s thrown by a few words in a novel, then the prospect of becoming a cop, or a paramedic, or a firefighter – the sort of person who is confronted by dangerous folk wielding knives, bottles, iron bars while high on drink and drugs – is probably not for them.
Still their careers section will surely be able to point them in the direction of a worthwhile vocation in Never Never Land.
Not the only classic slapped with a trigger warning
Fortunately in the New Scottish Enlightenment, we have fearless academics ready to battle against the kind of dark and diabolical thoughts which Barrie and his ilk have penned.
Because the range of dangerous authors and writers to avoid doesn’t stop outside A Window in Thrums.
There appears to be a whole list of brazen books which Aberdeen University has courageously recognised as potentially threatening to young minds.
The Railway Children, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are also pinpointed as the dons on the Don seek to shelter their charges from the potential harm involved in reading such frightening tomes.
Even Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s supposed classic, Sunset Song, has shockingly been revealed to contain “content which may be of concern to students”.
And the least said about The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil by John McGrath, the best.
Apparently the thousands who read the book and watched the stage play of this Scottish masterpiece were either comatose or in deep denial as to its hidden hazards.
I'm trying to work out what bit of Peter Pan is meant to be "triggering", according to Aberdeen University. Is it the bit where children learn they have to grow up?
— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) January 9, 2023
It might be acceptable for a very brief peek at such menacing works of literature if these young folk were ensconced in a place dedicated to free thought and expression, where rigorous intellectual assessment and discussion was its core aim.
But we surely shouldn’t expect that youngsters cloistered amid the groves of a university should be exposed to dodgy works by world renowned authors.
As a note to students from one tutor said: “If you feel it is in your best interests to avoid participating in discussion of a particular topic, you may do so at your discretion and without judgment.”
That paragraph sounds like an opt out for life.
Peter Pan trigger warning is poor preparation for life
When I was Rector at Dundee University a student complained that I had retweeted something by the MP and noted King’s Counsel Joanna Cherry.
I hadn’t made any comment about the contents of her tweet. I was merely interested to gauge others thoughts on it.
That a student at a place of learning and inquiry should be so narrow minded as to object to someone seeking to further their knowledge of any issue was deeply depressing.
Once in the real world students will find that avoiding participation and discussion isn’t an option.
Difficult decisions and hard choices will abound.
Failing to equip students for the natural vicissitudes of life is doing them a huge disservice.
And anyone trying to thwart their experiences of dealing with and tackling contentious issues is actually doing them real harm.
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