This post is completely based on hearsay, so feel free to disbelieve it, as opposed to my other posts, which I’m sure are greeted as oracular pronouncements. It’s probably about fourth-hand to any reader.

Last night the board of a local contra dance met to decide whether to ban a dancer who had been found to be a registered sex offender. He had not threatened anyone, nor had he misbehaved in any way since reforming. Someone had, however, noticed that he was in the registry, and when the news circulated, some members of the community felt unsafe.

Unsafe is not being used with its dictionary definition here, rather, it is a keyword for a wide variety of people who feel they are frequently mistreated, often bullied, due to their differences. Some are members of the LGBTQ community, some have mental illnesses, and there are countless others. Unsafe is never ok in the PC universe. The key thing is for everyone to feel safe, which is the opposite of unsafe.

I can see why this word was selected by these groups, but it implies a level of threat I feel is often exaggerated, and worse, implies those feeling unsafe will be either protected or victimized by everyone else. In other words, it implies they have no power to enact change, and no way to move through the many parts of the world that aren’t officially safe.

Worse, there is a very limited set of activities and experiences available to someone who insists on feeing safe all of the time. Existing inside a cocoon is not conducive to growth, connection, or understanding.

The reason spaces should be safe is so they will be inclusive. Even folks who have never felt a moment of unsafeness in their lives will be safe in a safe space, so why not make every space safe so no one has to worry? Answer: There is literally no place in which everyone is safe.

Yes, I tired of using italics. You can work it out.

This sex offender is such a case. The person’s completely unverified story is that he was abused as a child and became an abuser as an adult because he thought it was normal behavior, just as childhood victims of corporal punishment or bullying often similarly torment others. The person in question found out that his behavior was criminal and turned himself in, rather than being charged and tried, and this demonstration of integrity and repentance has now led to him being ousted from a safe space.

It seems sad. How lonely he must feel!

It seems wrong. Who are the bullies now?