Victimhood

[colin_g]

victim - noun1. a person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action or agency: a victim of an automobile accident

Comments

[syrjustus]

That touches on a huge sore point for me. "Lack of Personal Responsibility"

There was a "victim" on the radio yesterday describing how she had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend at a party and been knocked unconscious. She said "They just let me lie there because they were scared to call the police or ambulance because there was drugs and underage drinking at the party, I guess none them were really my friends"

How about a little self criticism? if you go to a party like that, wit ha person who has been abusive to you in the past, and something bad happened to you, and nobody helps you because you are at a party like that, do you bear NONE of the responsibility?

This is where someone chimes in with "Sure, blame the victim" and all civilized conversation leaves the room.

The fact is that bad things happen to people all the time that are not their fault in anyway, that is called being a victim. If you stick your hand in the fire and get burned, you are not a victim.

-Justus

[vom_schwarzwald]

"If you stick your hand in the fire and get burned, you are not a victim."

QFT

Although, that said, even WITH self criticism, even with self fault for willingly entering a bad situation, some crimes still should not be placed on a victims shoulders...

[colin_g]

I believe true victims should be supported and helped down the road toward recovery. How much support do you give a person that "sticks their hand in the fire?" Hard to say. It could be each case is different. For example:

1) Person has unprotected sex with a "stranger" in DC and gets AIDS. Victim?
2) Wife goes back to her husband after a 3rd beating and doesn't testify. Victim?
3) Guy goes to a PETA rally dressed as a dear hunt and gets the shit kicked out of him. Victim?
4) Person votes for Obama and taxes go so high their boss has to cut jobs and they get laid of? Victim(s)?

(Sorry, couldn't resist...ignore #4) :)

[vom_schwarzwald]

"Is victimhood a "temporary state" or a "state of being?"

Both.

[colin_g]

Impossible. You can go from one temporary state of victimhood to another (based on some other occurance)...or you can live your life as a victim. One person can not exist in both states at once.

Well...

That said and leaning on Justus' point I suppose someone living in a state of mind that they are victim can constantly seek out situations that allow them to be cast as victims...but boy is that a cynical evaluation of man.

[stitchwhich]

but boy is that a cynical evaluation of manNow as cynical as you'd think. People tend to re-create the familiar, to respond with more ease to habitual situations even when those situations are horrific in the eyes of others. Children rescued from abusive family situations are good clinical examples - one of the biggest challenges a new 'parental figure' has is in habituating those traumatised kids to situations that are NOT abusive and in resisting those same children's attempts through misbehavior and attitude to recreate the world that they already knew. After all, at least those 'rules' are familiar

[vom_schwarzwald]

"One person can not exist in both states at once."

I didn't mean some weird Schroedinger's Cat superposition of states...I meant that BOTH are possible for any given person...