University removes weight scale from gym because TRIGGER
Ninth Anniversary Fund-Raising Drive for Behind the Black
In celebration of the ninth anniversary of the beginning this website, I am now holding a month-long fund-raising drive.
Your support not only keeps this website alive, it gives me the freedom to speak honestly about science and culture, instead of being forced to write it as others demand.
So, I ask you to please consider donating by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
The coming dark age: Carleton University in Canada has decided to remove the weight scale in their gym because someone complained it “triggered” them.
Several students were completely onboard with the decision. Per the Charlatan, one student named Samar El-Faki said it was a good call that accommodated people with eating disorders. “Scales are very triggering,” she said. “I think people are being insensitive because they simply don’t understand. They think eating disorders are a choice when they are actually a serious illness.”
But she was in the minority, as many other students criticized the college for pandering to special snowflakes. “Next it will be the mirrors,” wrote another student on Facebook.
This is essentially the heckler’s veto. One person complains that they don’t like something, and the university bows to that one person’s wishes, banning something that everyone else uses and needs. More important, the whiner had a very easy solution that would not have required removal of the scale: Don’t step on the damned scale and it won’t bother you! That they didn’t take that route illustrates that power and intimidation was their real game.
I should add that even though the university is considering bringing the scale back because of the criticism it has faced for removing it, that its officials were willing to bow so easily to this heckler’s veto suggests this is not a good university to send your kids.
But, then, what university today is a good place? They all seem infested with these fascists who have the support and aid of the administrations in power.
In celebration of the ninth anniversary of the beginning this website, I am now holding a month-long fund-raising drive.
Your support not only keeps this website alive, it gives me the freedom to speak honestly about science and culture, instead of being forced to write it as others demand.
So, I ask you to please consider donating by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
The coming dark age: Carleton University in Canada has decided to remove the weight scale in their gym because someone complained it “triggered” them.
Several students were completely onboard with the decision. Per the Charlatan, one student named Samar El-Faki said it was a good call that accommodated people with eating disorders. “Scales are very triggering,” she said. “I think people are being insensitive because they simply don’t understand. They think eating disorders are a choice when they are actually a serious illness.”
But she was in the minority, as many other students criticized the college for pandering to special snowflakes. “Next it will be the mirrors,” wrote another student on Facebook.
This is essentially the heckler’s veto. One person complains that they don’t like something, and the university bows to that one person’s wishes, banning something that everyone else uses and needs. More important, the whiner had a very easy solution that would not have required removal of the scale: Don’t step on the damned scale and it won’t bother you! That they didn’t take that route illustrates that power and intimidation was their real game.
I should add that even though the university is considering bringing the scale back because of the criticism it has faced for removing it, that its officials were willing to bow so easily to this heckler’s veto suggests this is not a good university to send your kids.
But, then, what university today is a good place? They all seem infested with these fascists who have the support and aid of the administrations in power.
Most people who would be offended by a scale in a gym are unlikely to frequent a gym. I think they should replace it with a talking scale that says things like; “Holy crap are you fat!”. (like in the Garfield comic strip)
Could this be a satire piece? The paper’s name is the Charlatan (independent of the school), and they quote someone named El-Faki. Bet it’s a joke. Well, hope it’s a joke. Reminds me of that great video of the TV news staff that fell for a gag involving a jet crash-landing before it got to the runway, if I remember it hit the water in the bay. Crash was real, but the gag story cited the pilot, Hue Tu Lo (we too low), etc. TV reporters read it straight, eventually realized they had been had.
After reading this article, I asked my wife to remove the scale from our bathroom. Her answer: “Fat chance, Jumbo. “