Trigger Warning: This is about Trigger Warnings
Each day, Move Me Poetry Poets pour their hearts and souls into moving, passionate words on the page. Many times, the writing is so deeply sensitive that it warrants a trigger warning. I find myself, as an editor, fielding explanations on these warnings behind-the-scenes when they are actually much too nuanced to fit into the character limits of Medium’s notes section. So, let’s take a moment to talk about trigger warnings as a community.
I’m going to be real with you. I read ALL the pieces with trigger warnings! I read them, not just because I’m a generally curious human, but because they nearly always offer me some type of growth. Does that mean I believe trigger warnings are unnecessary? A thousand times No! It means I think they work!
When driving down the road, I’m grateful for every single road sign on my way to my destination. Trigger warnings are simple road signs for reading. They give me the information I need to navigate a vast highway system of content. I’m not afraid or worried when I see a caution sign on the side of I-85 and trigger warnings are met with that same open mindset. They allow me to set my own intention (drive carefully; if you will) as I read, or to decide I’m not in the headspace to go down a road *just yet*.
I didn’t always read the trigger warning pieces. I’ve survived a lot of trauma in my 53 years. Growth has been a long journey that I’m hopeful I’ll always be traveling. When I was closer to my trauma on my personal timeline, I drove around certain content entirely because those road signs unheeded meant I’d end up in a ditch. Again, trigger warnings worked! It is hard to grow while we’re in a ditch.
“But Mags,” you say, “people won’t read my stuff if it has a trigger warning!”
Let me remind you that I started this write saying I read EVERY piece with trigger warnings now. I find most people to be the same. I’ll pose a couple of questions for you to ponder. Who was your target audience with your piece? Does it include someone that veers into a ditch upon reading? I’m guessing it doesn’t or you wouldn’t have read this far.
I understand that it’s hard to imagine your word children evoking such a response, but it does happen. It is a bit like when a small child innocently insults an adult without knowing their words had hidden meaning. It really isn’t the child’s fault. It isn’t the adult’s fault either. Or even the parents’ faults. ~Oh the poor parents!~ Thankfully, real children come with their own warning labels just being them…generally, people know what they might get when a child innocently opens their mouth to speak their simple truths. Our word children are similar.
Most of us want some sort of human connection from sharing our written word with the world. Trigger warnings give your audience what it needs to find you, so you can connect. People who read beyond trigger warnings are more prepared to receive your piece for the depth that it offers and the personal hurdles you’ve overcome to share something so sensitive.
I leave you with this. On my journey from Ditch Dodger to Curious Content Curator, I noticed something else about trigger warnings — something magical that goes unnoticed.
They are a quiet beacon of hope for those who choose to take a left at the caution sign! They symbolize someone growing past their hardships and struggles to a place of perspective. They are a gentle nudge that maybe someday they too will reach that point. If you can do it, then they can as well! They can write their own brave write, add the trigger warning, and reach back for others who are waiting, ready to read!
I read ALL the trigger warning pieces… and I celebrate each one.
~Mags
MMP Editor
