Pity the Poor Trigger-Happy Fools [OPINION]

I've never seen such a display of weakness in all my days on this planet. Everywhere you go someone is "triggered" by something or someone. It's a clear sign that we have a mental health crisis on our hands.

CNN commentator Angela Rye admitted this week to being triggered by 16-year-old Covington Catholic's Nick Sandmann's "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" hat, saying it is "just as maddening and frustrating and triggering for me to look at as a KKK hood."

Get a grip, Angela.

Whatever happened to the good old days when people were tough as nails and would never admit to being triggered by anything, let alone an inanimate little red ball cap? I guess I'm just a cranky old white guy who just doesn't get it. Perhaps I need to be triggered more.

For those normal folks who are not so easily triggered and may not be familiar with this phenomenon I borrowed the definition from the Urban Dictionary to try and explain it:

"Triggered
Getting filled with hate after seeing, hearing or experiencing something you can't stand.

Person 1 posts something on the internet.
Person 2: "Relax mate, don't be mad"
Person 1 gets triggered, or angered.
Person 1: "THAT'S IT, YOU TRIGGERED ME"
Person 1 continues to bash on Person 2.

#anger#hate#trigger#getting triggered#trigger#triggering"

To compare a red ball cap with the words "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" stitched to the front of it to a KKK hood is not only a stretch but a display of ignorance and is insensitive to folks who were the victims of people (like the late Democrat Senator Robert Byrd) who proudly wore the hood.

Somehow I suspect that the 40-year-old Rye, a successful attorney and cable TV commentator, is not really triggered by the MAGA hat but is perhaps a bit of a drama queen who is still smarting over the 2016 election.

Toughen up, little cupcake. There is another election next year.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.