Oh this word might hurt someone, lets skewer it so not only does it bring all the focus to the word itself, but forces people to think about the word specifically and how big of a deal it should be!
Whoever did this really needs a smack upside the head
I like to think of myself as pretty supportive, but is there really any evidence that specifically reading the word "trauma" is traumatic? And if so, is the removal of the "U" really a solution to that?
Because it seems like asterixing one letter is more of a performative measure to signify ones support for the overall cause rather than an actually means to reduce suffering.
How close can the "U" be before it starts to upset someone?
"Tra u ma"
Uuuuuuuuuuuuu
Tra ma
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu
I don't believe that someone who is affected by the word "trauma" would view the above examples with a complete non-reaction because the U is vaguely obfuscated.
Like, we can agree that the asterix is just a display of consideration to someone, rather than an actually effective measure, right?
It's actually counterproductive! People who want to screen stuff about abuse from their internet experience can set up filters. Those filters are broken when you censor the relevant words!
An alternative explanation is that sites like TikT*k are trying to please advertisers by reducing coverage of videos that talk about sensitive topics like trauma, suicide, and death, and that behaviour has been blindly copied by zoomers who are getting their primary internet exposure from Tiktok.