I'M A VICTIM VOTE FOR ME!
(OR YOU'RE A BIGOT)
First of all there is definitely crime, discrimination, prejudice, hatred and abuse. The subjects of these criminal and immoral acts are certainly victims. Law enforcement, management and our legal system are set in place to deal with these offenses but unfortunately many fall through the cracks.
There are therapists, support groups and spiritual councilors to help the victims of these traumas. My heart goes out to anyone who has experienced crime, cruelty, abuse or unfairness.
A person who has been victimized suffers physical, mental and emotional damage. This damage will effect them through their lives to one degree on another. The question is do they perceive themselves as a person who has been victimized or do they identify as a perpetual victim?
Most credible therapists will help a person process their traumas and move on to live a happy productive life. This may take many years but ignoring this process leaves them damaged. Without help many get stuck in permanent victim status and live a resentful and fearful life seeking pity, revenge or worse.
Unfortunately there are some so called friends, therapists, support groups, counselors and spiritual leaders who do the opposite and encourage victims to continue to wallow in their victimhood. Instead of pointing out the need to heal and move past their trauma they support their feelings and leave them in a very unhealthy place. In spite of their good intentions they victimize their subjects again.
A few counselors with their own issues use this control to stoke bitterness and hatred and turn them into super victims. Victims find relief in this type of therapy because it justifies narcissism. They learn to enjoy the power of victim status. They are always morally right, they are not responsible or accountable and forever entitled to sympathy.
We now have several camps. The victim who earnestly seeks healing, finds good council and works hard to move past their traumas. The earnest victim who is misled by counsel, they may feel better but they remain damaged. And there are many who fully embrace the narcissistic power of being angry perpetual victims.
Now that I have tip toed through the mine field of saying anything about victims I'll get to the point.
Today there are political movements using real victims and manufactured victims. Real victims are used as props. They say they care but these victims are more useful if they remain unhealed. They want them angry and encourage them to hate the people they point to as the source for their problems.
There are manufactured victims, these are people or groups who falsely seek the power of victimhood. They use this victim status as a shield or wild card. Any criticism or disagreement is labeled as an attack. Many hide behind actual victims and use them as spokesmen.
An offense is based on how things are perceived not the actual words or acts. Actions and words can be hurtful and should be policed but feelings now determine guilt. No facts are needed just a mood or opinion.
It is a mine field should I smile, say hello, hold a door, offer a seat, give a compliment or have an opinion? Should I just ignore everyone and stay silent? Do I risk using the wrong pronoun and do I have the wrong genitalia? It is a crap shoot that hinges entirely on how we are perceived.
I'm not seeking sympathy I just want clarity. The unwritten rules are ever evolving and applied retroactively. What was correct this morning can by noon be a racial slur. It is like changing all of the speed limits and then issuing tickets for speeding five years ago.
Victim power has shut down most debate. If feelings and fears override laws, rules and common sense there is no safe place to have them. Hate speech has been redefined as speech that triggers.
This tactic has slowly taken over leadership. A decade or so ago electing someone who identifies as a victim to any leadership post would be out of the question but now it is a virtue and selling point.
In the nineties I began to notice that things were changing. At that time victims were to be helped not used. A person who came up the hard way moving beyond their troubled childhood, economic hardships, bullying, hatred, prejudice and tragedy to become a wise strong willed and qualified leader was valued.
Today these success stories are not valued and sometimes criticized. If they commit the sin of encouraging victims to embrace personal responsibility and hard work to move beyond their limitations. They are labeled as mean, heartless, sellouts or worse.
Like everyone I faced an unfair world. I could explore the measuring game of unfairness and I'm certain others had it better or worse but my point is I was never encouraged to lay down and quit. In fact I had a few kicks in the ass and hard consequences for my poor choices. Self-centeredness, laziness, complaining, blaming and demanding attention was still looked at as shameful. I was expected to get up every morning and carry my own weight.
Sure there were victims in my generation. They needed understanding and help. The council they received was focused on moving toward healing. There were others who embraced their victimhood and dropped out. Generations later this has started to change because all shame is gone.
Yes I'm complaining but mostly I'm feeling sorry for our kids. What do they look forward to? The religion of global warming, unprotected gun free schools, pandemic nightmare, mind controlling social media, lethal drugs, looming World War III, student debt, gender confusion, unstable job market and an ever widening racial divide and indoctrination.
At a time when a call for personal responsiblity is needed more then ever there is a deafening silence. Political speeches and debates rarely use any of this language. However the calls to embrace victimhood are loud, clear and angry. Narcissism, entitlement and taking it to the streets is encouraged.
All I had was a nuclear Cold War, Vietnam, an imminent ice age, drugs, muscle cars and a poor economy, but we did have responsible adults that refused to coddle us. Yes there were things that needed to be addressed but perpetual victimhood was not encouraged. Overcoming hardship and adversity was a virtue as it should be today.
I'm not discouraged, there are some amazing young people who have these same values. They still perceive me as an old guy but they do have a handle on life and reject taking the easy way out. I admire them, they give me hope for our future. I'm middle aged if I live to be 140 so the future is theirs.
As I leave this world to them a backpacking rule for campsites comes to mind. Always leave it cleaner then when you arrived and make sure the fire is completely extinguished. I feel like we are leaving a smoldering campfire, maybe we could have done a better job.
