“The Chalkening” stalks US campuses in backlash against terrified anti-Trump students

OK – we need a disclaimer right off the top: this is not – I repeat, not – in support of Donald Trump.

But, really — can the presence of TRUMP 2016 scrawled, in chalk, on a stairway on an university campus be construed as an act of violence? As an act of intimidation so dire that it requires the protective intervention of the university authorities?

At Emory University in Atlanta, evidently, the answer is “Yes.” A group of students professed themselves to be so threatened by this deed, that they went crying to the administration, which — at first — promised to help by reviewing security cameras to see if the identify of the Mad Chalker  could be determined.

I say “at first” because of what ensued: an immediate backlash of anger, scorn, and ridicule — from other students, from commentators and (most importantly, if you’re the admin) alumni. In the end, the president was forced to write – in chalk – that Emory believes in free speech. How reassuring.

In a further demo of the law of unintended consequences, the episode provoked an onslaught of TRUMP 2016 messages — collectively, The Chalkening – at campuses across the country.

It really seems as if there’s no upper limit to the childishness of a meaningful segment of Millennial snowflakes still in university. They need protection — from ideas that contradict theirs, from harsh language, from tasteless humor, from cultural appropriation and micro-aggression and a seemingly endless list of offensive words and phrases. It’s good to know that many other Millennials, also in university, refuse to let themselves be identified under the same branding.