Althouse: "The book, intended for readers ages 18 and older, contains a lengthy trigger warning which includes gratuitous violence, depression, suicide, torture, domestic violence..."

April 21, 2022

"The book, intended for readers ages 18 and older, contains a lengthy trigger warning which includes gratuitous violence, depression, suicide, torture, domestic violence..."

"... eating disorders, hallucinations, misogyny, poisoning, sexual assault, mention of pedophilia, romanticized mental illness, gore, death of a loved one, child abuse, decapitation, female oppression, hostage situation, body shaming, panic attacks, mention of incest. But there was no mention of transphobia - and the woke mob were quick to attack. Szeker has since posted a groveling apology and says the book will be revised to remove the 'offensive' content. She also announced plans to work with 'sensitivity readers' - woke publishing house staff employed to remove supposedly offensive content from books - for the remaining books in the series."

From "Woke TikTok mob forces horror author to CHANGE published debut novel over transgender pedophile character because she failed to mention ‘transphobia’ in lengthy list of trigger warnings printed at start of book" (Daily Mail).

42 comments:

Yancey Ward said...: People need to relearn this phrase, and use in situations like this- "Go fuck yourself and the horse you road in on."; 4/21/22, 5:11 PM
Beasts of England said...: ‘Transphobia’ is a political winner, for sure!! The left should definitely keep pushing this terminology. Really lean into it…; 4/21/22, 5:11 PM
What's emanating from your penumbra said...: What weak people. Made out of paper mache. Would you want to rely on these people to do anything that takes strength, courage, determination or resilience? Who ruined these people? Ruined. They have a net negative impact on the world (also a gross negative impact) and you can scarcely see how they will ever be better. These people could turn anyone into a eugenicist.; 4/21/22, 5:18 PM
Robert Cook said...: I assume this author has not yet reached the degree of success as J.K. Rowling, who has plenty of "Fuck you" money (and name recognition among readers who have not decided to boycott her work) and can freely ignore the avidly-waiting-to-be-triggered mob.

It's a shame this author caved in, but there may have been circumstances impossible to ignore, (e.g., continued support and publication by the publisher, loss of income, fear of grievous or even fatal career damage, etc.).

It might be easier for writers and publishers to simply put disclaimers on all books written for an audience older than 2-3 yrs old: "WARNING: This book deals with real life issues, and you may be triggered by one or various things depicted or discussed. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK."; 4/21/22, 5:18 PM
Readering said...: Boy I hate trigger warnings.; 4/21/22, 5:36 PM
John henry said...: I'm a bit bemused by all these warnings. I've commented before on history of rock and roll in 500 trigger warnings (which I love and pay $10 monthly for)

Currently binging on tThe Crown. Last night they had a big, black screen warning that it showed the dreaded eating disorder.

Every other ep has a small caption warning about smoking, language and nudity.

So far 3 1/2 seasons in and not even a flash of anything. Should I complain about false advertising?

Only reason I've hung is is a rumor of the queen mum in a shower scene.

Seriously it is pretty good if you don't mind seeing a hagigrapbic gloss on a thoroughly despicable bunch of people.

There should be a trigger warning for season 4. "this season contains Kevin Nealon portrayal of Margaret that were too bad to make the cut on SNL"

John LGKTQ Henry; 4/21/22, 5:36 PM
rhhardin said...: It's a drug side-effects warning sheet, basically.; 4/21/22, 5:44 PM
Lucien said...: Warning: This story triggers schadenboners.; 4/21/22, 5:48 PM
rhhardin said...: Transmousos, amusement by trans people.; 4/21/22, 5:55 PM
Quaestor said...: Here's hoping for an extinction-level event to flushthe gene pool of these worthless parasites.; 4/21/22, 6:00 PM
Jupiter said...: I'm thinking maybe the suppression of this book is not a big problem.; 4/21/22, 6:00 PM
MayBee said...: Isn't it kind of funny that the people who want to teach really young kids all kinds of woke ideology think that older kids need trigger warnings for everything?; 4/21/22, 6:01 PM
mesquito said...: This is the world I saw coming at Major University, about 1987. Glad I’m no longer part of it.; 4/21/22, 6:02 PM
mesquito said...: This is the world I saw coming at Major University, about 1987. Glad I’m no longer part of it.; 4/21/22, 6:04 PM
Jupiter said...: "I am an advocate of the LGBTQ community, as well as a liberal with all the according views. I truly hope that you can forgive this short sightedness, this complete arrogance,' Szeker said."

I like that "all the according views". But shouldn't she denounce her parents? Why has she kept their name?; 4/21/22, 6:06 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: So, people who use their tick tock to do this don't suffer any consequence? I thought I knew what harassment meant... not anymore.; 4/21/22, 6:13 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: See my post 2 thread before. (No I don't mean for you to actually know what I said or look it up.) Just mean that this is a recurring theme. Crazy people need normal people to join the ranks of the insane or be destroyed.; 4/21/22, 6:14 PM
stutefish said...: I had to put down a horror novel halfway through, recently. Each chapter was just a harrowing emotional roller coaster and I could not handle it. I was all set to complain about the lack of a comprehensive trigger warning, but then I remembered: "Oh yeah - it's a fucking horror novel."; 4/21/22, 6:19 PM
n.n said...: She's not alone. Not transphobia, but transphobic spectrum. Trans/bis are not politically congruent ("="). Transgender conversion therapy through medical, surgical, and psychiatric corruption is.; 4/21/22, 6:37 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'It might be easier for writers and publishers to simply put disclaimers on all books written for an audience older than 2-3 yrs old: "WARNING: This book deals with real life issues, and you may be triggered by one or various things depicted or discussed. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK."'

Funny how this hasn't been necessary for the past 5,000 years or so.

What changed?

Liberalism. It kills everything.; 4/21/22, 6:40 PM
n.n said...: Trans- refers to a state or process of divergence from normal, including: trans-social, transhumane, translation, discombobulation, etc.; 4/21/22, 6:40 PM
Narr said...: Write what you know, and the hell with the critics.; 4/21/22, 6:57 PM
Lurker21 said...: “If more people with compassion chose to see the ugly and not turn a blind eye, maybe this world would be a better place.”
― Brandi Elise Szeker, The Pawn and The Puppet

Or on second thought, maybe not.

Gratuitous violence, depression, suicide, torture, domestic violence, eating disorders, hallucinations, misogyny, poisoning, sexual assault, mention of pedophilia, romanticized mental illness, gore, death of a loved one, child abuse, decapitation, female oppression, hostage situation, body shaming, panic attacks, mention of incest.

I was wondering why modern dads were braiding their daughters' hair and not just reading to them.

I guess I have my answer.

And because everything seems to be connected to everything else, I'll add that Brandi looks like another victim of bad plastic surgery.; 4/21/22, 7:31 PM
Dude1394 said...: Yancey Ward nailed it.; 4/21/22, 7:32 PM
Assistant Village Idiot said...: I sent my children to Baptist schools that frowned on rock music with its references to sex, violence, the occult...well, you know the script. I used to chuckle with the boys and their friends we drove, because we often listened to Steeleye Span and lots of early folk music with its murder, abandoned pregnant women, pagan references, rape, human sacrifice, pointless battles, grinding poverty, hideous disability, etc. But that sounds very educated, very NPR to listen to that.

It is worth being careful, because plenty of children have had traumatic events - I have two sons from a Romanian orphanage and another abandoned by both parents. Yet it pays to remember that reading about such things is not the same as going through them. Be watchful, but don't get crazy about it. Hard events make it into literature for very good reasons.; 4/21/22, 7:37 PM
Beasts of England said...: ’Funny how this hasn't been necessary for the past 5,000 years or so.’

Precisely.; 4/21/22, 8:13 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: If you need a list of trigger warnings, you shouldn't ever leave your sanctum. Just stay in mama's basement, never turn on the t.v., nor fire up your computer. You might come across something that would upset your little tummy and cause you to breakdown with a crying jag.; 4/21/22, 9:08 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Currently binging on tThe Crown. Last night they had a big, black screen warning that it showed the dreaded eating disorder.

Trans-people have a supersized mental disorder. Their shrinks should be uncovering the root of their mental illness, not enabling it. Bulimia and anorexia are not conditions to be encourages, and neither is gender dysphoria.; 4/21/22, 9:14 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: During the Civil War, territory between the Appalachian mountains and the Mississippi River was call the cis-Mississippi, and territory west of the Mississippi River was called the trans-Mississippi. Who knew!? The Mississippi River was both cis- and trans-!; 4/21/22, 9:23 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Am I the only one who read Yancey Ward's first comment and thought "If the author goes and fucks herself and the horse she rode in on, will she have to add another trigger warning (Heh! 'Trigger' - get it?) for horse-fucking?"; 4/21/22, 9:33 PM
Dr Weevil said...: I'm also a bit surprised that a book with that long a list of trigger warnings wasn't titled "The Aristocrats".; 4/21/22, 9:35 PM
David-2 said...: Seems like you could do a fun "Sokal hoax" style project by taking a totally innocuous book, a mean totally innocuous - like the owner's manual for a refrigerator, or a nicely formatted table of the first 1000000 prime numbers - giving it some name appropriate to a horror/romance/fantasy novel with some typical-of-the-genre cover "art", wrapping it up with an identical "trigger warning" page as this one - and putting it out there somewhere. Perhaps with a press release. Put it on Amazon as a Kindle book.

Then, you tweet about it, or tiktok, or whatever you like - saying how terrible it was for one reason or another (why not transphobia? we know that works) - and see how many people pile on claiming to be offended by it and trying to cancel you.; 4/21/22, 11:31 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: The tiara was a nice touch.; 4/21/22, 11:49 PM
tim maguire said...: Once you start catering to activist groups, it makes a statement when you chose not to cater to one. You make yourself a lightening rod, drawing the ire of people who have anger to spare.; 4/22/22, 3:29 AM
Jason said...: Everything woke turns to shit.; 4/22/22, 3:43 AM
wendybar said...: People who get easily triggered, should just stay locked away with their masks in a room where nobody can see them anymore.; 4/22/22, 3:49 AM
gilbar said...: David-2 said...
Seems like you could do a fun "Sokal hoax" style project

i wanted to see what you meant, by "totally innocuous book".. So i started reading;
BUT then i got to (WARNING!! Brace yourself!!)
35201546659608842026088328007565866231962578784643756647773109869245232364730066609837018108561065242031153677

Now, How the HELL am i supposed to be able to live with myself? you bastard!
I'm sending you a bill, for my therapy; 4/22/22, 6:15 AM
Leland said...: tl;dr; 4/22/22, 7:13 AM
mikee said...: I am unclear on how a warning for, (or against?) transphobia works, exactly. Is the author being chastised for not warning that there is transphobic content in the books, or for having transphobic content in the books? Or for not warning transphobics that they will be triggered by the decent treatment of transexual characters in the book? Or what?

This sort of problem, due to having no logic to the cancel culture, is becoming more and more common. I guess I'll just avoid the book and its problematic contents altogether, and stick with Stephen King for horror, despite his long history of writing extremely vile content with zero warnings whatsoever.; 4/22/22, 8:41 AM
Achilles said...: Joe Smith said...

What changed?

Liberalism. It kills everything.

It isn't liberalism.

It is Progressive Statism.

People who want the government to control things destroy everything.

Classic Liberals like me want to leave everyone alone.; 4/22/22, 9:19 AM
Narayanan said...: The mistake ab initio was listing any specific trigger warnings =

read at your peril and discretion was long understood implicitly before any of this started; 4/22/22, 11:57 AM
Andrew said...: Imagine the trigger warning for Pet Sematary. I was a teenager, and that book left me comatose for a week.

Which wins out: Trigger warning, or spoiler alert? "This book contains pseudo-resurrections."; 4/22/22, 1:00 PM