Sandi L Boucher asks people to use trigger warnings on social media comments to protect Indigenous people and trauma survivors. Her page is a safe space where elders and survivors come to process grief, especially after she posted about Buffy Sainte-Marie. A simple "trigger warning" before sensitive content makes the difference.
Chapters
Okay, today we have to have a really important conversation about trigger warnings. Let's talk about it. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And I thought it's time. Time we have a really important conversation about trigger warnings, especially as it relates to social media. So all of this, the chance that you're on my channel, probably is because of a video I did on Buffy Saint Marie a couple of weeks back. And if you've seen that video, you know it is an incredibly emotional video. A video. It's an emotional video. I ended up crying in the video. That's pretty emotional. It was authentic, it was raw, and it was something I really needed to say, largely because I was starting to receive emails of people asking me about the Buffy St. Marie situation. And at that time, I had just watched the Fifth Estate State documentary episode. I was all up in my feelings, shocked, grieving, as you saw in the video, I was not in a good space. And I did that video to ask you to please not reach out to indigenous people to give us some time to process because we were hurting. And that's why I wanted to do this video about trigger warnings. And if you don't know what a trigger warning is, you see them often when a video may relate to domestic violence, whether it relates to sexual assault, all of these things that can be incredibly triggering for people. It can harm them, it can cause them harm. And it's something I've been really adamant about ever since I started using social media. My career started on my Facebook page. And what a lot of people didn't realize is because I'm indigenous, I'm often seen as a safe space by other indigenous people. And I have elders on my. My list, my followers. I have young women that have survived domestic violence. And I am adamant about maintaining that safe space. If someone says anything that couldn't be triggering, that comment is removed. And the rule I always go by is I don't ever want an elder coming to my page, which they assume is a safe space, and getting hit by some comment. So what I am saying is, could you please do the same with your comments? Understanding. Now, I know there are some problematic people that are going to care to beans and they're going to get removed from the channel because this space is as safe as any other. I'm not operating in an unsafe space. So I'm going to make do my best to make sure it's safe for the people that may read the comments. And I read the comments and I don't want to be triggered. I don't want to be reading BS on here. So I ask you, if you're going to reference something, just type the words trigger warning in the front and then that way they have the choice whether to read it or not. And you've done your due diligence. I cannot ask for more than that. But I do ask you to think of the people that are going to read your words, especially when it concerns indigenous people on Turtle island anywhere in North America. I honestly believe that non indigenous education can no longer be at the price tag of indigenous pain. We have suffered enough. And if you truly want to be part of the solution and honestly, why would you be on my channel if you don't? I believe you all do. Then please be careful with the comments. Just. Just make sure they're not going to inflict pain. And I am 90% of the time. I'm preaching to the choir here that I appreciate the comments and these guys have been so amazingly supportive and do not think for one second I don't notice because I absolutely did. And I appreciate you so, so, so much for allowing me to reach so many more people and be supported by you. But if there's one way we're going to get past all this. I've referenced healing together before. We need to get better at taking care of each other and sometimes that means choosing our words carefully or just typing the words trigger warning in the front. So I hope that made sense. I used my handy dandy index card. That's all I wanted to say today. Except a huge chima Gwench, a huge thank you to each and every one of you because wow, have you ever added to my journey and no, I do not take that for granted. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye Bye.
