How is the victim culture or victim mentality created?
Today, we’re just going to focus on the first:
- By insisting that people are victims even when they’re not
- By excusing all bad behavior with the perpetrator’s story of suffering (which is likely real, but not an excuse)
- By insist on doing both the above regarding all your pet issues, even when you need to turn into a total hypocrite and contradict your own values.
Today, we’re just going to focus on the first:
- Insisting that people are victims even when they’re not.
When I was in high school, a teacher wanted to discuss in class discrimination against pregnant girls.
She wanted to highlight how pregnant girls were treated unequally compared to the guys who got them pregnant.
Now, my high school had a high rate of pregnant girls and none of us saw any discrimination or inequality.
But she insisted there was anyway.
So the teacher brought out the time-honored example:
“If a girl gets pregnant, she’s kicked off the cheerleading team. But the boy who got her pregnant can still play football.”
We all looked at each other. We’d heard this one a thousand times already, but only on forums impossible to confront—like TV programs.
(This was before you could tweet TV shows and stuff.)
Finally, one brave girl ventured to say what we were all thinking:
“Well, um, isn’t it dangerous for the girl and the baby to perform stuff like, you know, human pyramids and cartwheels, while pregnant?”
Ah! At last! At last someone asked that question! We'd always wondered, but could never ask. It was like the story in which a little boy finally pointed out that the emperor had no clothes.
Our brave classmate, Charlene, continued: “I mean, the guy isn’t pregnant, so he can play football. If he was pregnant, then being tackled and stuff would be dangerous and he’d get kicked off the team, too…right?” Hunched-shouldered, she looked around at us hopefully. We nodded and smiled reassuringly at her. That’s right, Charlene! You go, girl!
Then we looked expectantly at the teacher.
She looked startled for a moment, but quickly recovered and smiled superciliously. “But she’s not kicked off the team for health reasons,” said the teacher, “but because she’s pregnant.”
We looked at each other in confusion. Right! Because she’s pregnant! What’s wrong with that?
The teacher smirked at our seeming obtuseness. “It’s because they don’t want a pregnant girl on the team representing the school,” she explained. “It looks bad.”
“But you don’t even show at the beginning of pregnancy,” attempted another girl. “There’s no reason to kick a girl off the team because of how it looks because, um, you don't look pregnant.”
“Right!” said the teacher. “She’s only kicked off because she is pregnant, even though she’s not showing. The girl is penalized—but the boy is not.”
Now we were confused again.
“Well, that’s what I meant,” said that second girl. “I think it’s not healthy to be on the team when pregnant, like also at the beginning of pregnancy. Cheerleading is pretty strenuous and stuff. And maybe—maybe she could lose the baby.”
Then our hero, Charlene, said, “Also, do you even want to be doing backflips when you’re pregnant? I mean, don’t you get nauseous and stuff when you’re pregnant?”
“I think you’re tired a lot, too,” said another girl. “I think maybe you don’t feel like jumping up and down and waving pom-poms and stuff when you’re pregnant.”
“Okay,” said the teacher. “But she can just stand there. She doesn’t have to move.”
We all started exchanging Am I the only one who’s not getting this? glances again.
“So then what’s the point of being a cheerleader,” said Charlene, “if you can’t cheer or do any of the routines?”
The teacher gave another supercilious smile and said, “But the boy isn’t penalized at all. He still gets to continue his life as usual.”
“Because he’s not the one who’s pregnant,” said Charlene.
“Exactly,” said the teacher. “Society penalizes girls for getting pregnant. The girls are doing the same thing as boys, but the boys are never penalized.”
Huh?????
And then she went on with the class.
But the damage was already done.
She wanted to highlight how pregnant girls were treated unequally compared to the guys who got them pregnant.
Now, my high school had a high rate of pregnant girls and none of us saw any discrimination or inequality.
But she insisted there was anyway.
So the teacher brought out the time-honored example:
“If a girl gets pregnant, she’s kicked off the cheerleading team. But the boy who got her pregnant can still play football.”
We all looked at each other. We’d heard this one a thousand times already, but only on forums impossible to confront—like TV programs.
(This was before you could tweet TV shows and stuff.)
Finally, one brave girl ventured to say what we were all thinking:
“Well, um, isn’t it dangerous for the girl and the baby to perform stuff like, you know, human pyramids and cartwheels, while pregnant?”
Ah! At last! At last someone asked that question! We'd always wondered, but could never ask. It was like the story in which a little boy finally pointed out that the emperor had no clothes.
Our brave classmate, Charlene, continued: “I mean, the guy isn’t pregnant, so he can play football. If he was pregnant, then being tackled and stuff would be dangerous and he’d get kicked off the team, too…right?” Hunched-shouldered, she looked around at us hopefully. We nodded and smiled reassuringly at her. That’s right, Charlene! You go, girl!
Then we looked expectantly at the teacher.
She looked startled for a moment, but quickly recovered and smiled superciliously. “But she’s not kicked off the team for health reasons,” said the teacher, “but because she’s pregnant.”
We looked at each other in confusion. Right! Because she’s pregnant! What’s wrong with that?
The teacher smirked at our seeming obtuseness. “It’s because they don’t want a pregnant girl on the team representing the school,” she explained. “It looks bad.”
“But you don’t even show at the beginning of pregnancy,” attempted another girl. “There’s no reason to kick a girl off the team because of how it looks because, um, you don't look pregnant.”
“Right!” said the teacher. “She’s only kicked off because she is pregnant, even though she’s not showing. The girl is penalized—but the boy is not.”
Now we were confused again.
“Well, that’s what I meant,” said that second girl. “I think it’s not healthy to be on the team when pregnant, like also at the beginning of pregnancy. Cheerleading is pretty strenuous and stuff. And maybe—maybe she could lose the baby.”
Then our hero, Charlene, said, “Also, do you even want to be doing backflips when you’re pregnant? I mean, don’t you get nauseous and stuff when you’re pregnant?”
“I think you’re tired a lot, too,” said another girl. “I think maybe you don’t feel like jumping up and down and waving pom-poms and stuff when you’re pregnant.”
“Okay,” said the teacher. “But she can just stand there. She doesn’t have to move.”
We all started exchanging Am I the only one who’s not getting this? glances again.
“So then what’s the point of being a cheerleader,” said Charlene, “if you can’t cheer or do any of the routines?”
The teacher gave another supercilious smile and said, “But the boy isn’t penalized at all. He still gets to continue his life as usual.”
“Because he’s not the one who’s pregnant,” said Charlene.
“Exactly,” said the teacher. “Society penalizes girls for getting pregnant. The girls are doing the same thing as boys, but the boys are never penalized.”
Huh?????
And then she went on with the class.
But the damage was already done.
"Liberating" American Youth from Morality and Common Sense!
She was one of the most popular teachers in school and these wacky condescending brainwashing episodes didn’t happen every day.
And while the first time, you might question the presumption, you stop questioning when it happens a lot—especially when it comes from someone you both like and respect.
When an idea is presented in a You’re-So-Stupid-If-You-Don’t-Get-This manner, only either a dim-witted or very gutsy and thoroughly informed person will challenge the idea.
She didn’t even address the issue of choice or healthy accountability.
Despite copious media propaganda to the contrary, EVERYONE in my generation knew since elementary school HOW babies are made AND how to PREVENT conception. All and any myths about preventing pregnancy were also addressed ad naseum. You couldn’t escape it. It was in school, in every teen magazine, on TV, and so on. The media and Leftist pundits wanted us all well-informed and we were.
So girls who got pregnant either did it on purpose or suffered from cognitive dissonance (i.e. “Yikes! But I never thought it would happen to ME!”).
The boys either cared or they didn’t. One even made it his goal to get one girl pregnant from every school in our district. And he succeeded.
(Thank you, Liberals and Feminists, for liberating jerks like him!)
But are cheerleaders somehow a special class of “girl”?
Are they somehow incapable of not preventing pregnancy?
As a side note, only girls can pretend to use birth control and then not actually use it.
This has happened countless times throughout history that a female has gotten pregnant on purpose after having promised her partner that she wouldn’t.
So maybe you have high school athletes who are being lied to by their girlfriends.
How about that, Ms. Lefty? So why should they male athletes be kicked off the team? Maybe she needs to advocate for an inquiry every time a cheerleader gets pregnant, to see whether the boyfriend was duped or not. After all, we don’t want boys getting kicked off the football team (or the chess team!) for no reason.
_________________________
Anyway, this is how the victim mentality develops.
The Leftists decide who the victim is and ignore straight-forward facts (like how somersaults and human pyramids are not recommended during pregnancy) and possible extenuating circumstances (like how it doesn’t always take two to tango).
And while the first time, you might question the presumption, you stop questioning when it happens a lot—especially when it comes from someone you both like and respect.
When an idea is presented in a You’re-So-Stupid-If-You-Don’t-Get-This manner, only either a dim-witted or very gutsy and thoroughly informed person will challenge the idea.
She didn’t even address the issue of choice or healthy accountability.
Despite copious media propaganda to the contrary, EVERYONE in my generation knew since elementary school HOW babies are made AND how to PREVENT conception. All and any myths about preventing pregnancy were also addressed ad naseum. You couldn’t escape it. It was in school, in every teen magazine, on TV, and so on. The media and Leftist pundits wanted us all well-informed and we were.
So girls who got pregnant either did it on purpose or suffered from cognitive dissonance (i.e. “Yikes! But I never thought it would happen to ME!”).
The boys either cared or they didn’t. One even made it his goal to get one girl pregnant from every school in our district. And he succeeded.
(Thank you, Liberals and Feminists, for liberating jerks like him!)
But are cheerleaders somehow a special class of “girl”?
Are they somehow incapable of not preventing pregnancy?
As a side note, only girls can pretend to use birth control and then not actually use it.
This has happened countless times throughout history that a female has gotten pregnant on purpose after having promised her partner that she wouldn’t.
So maybe you have high school athletes who are being lied to by their girlfriends.
How about that, Ms. Lefty? So why should they male athletes be kicked off the team? Maybe she needs to advocate for an inquiry every time a cheerleader gets pregnant, to see whether the boyfriend was duped or not. After all, we don’t want boys getting kicked off the football team (or the chess team!) for no reason.
_________________________
Anyway, this is how the victim mentality develops.
The Leftists decide who the victim is and ignore straight-forward facts (like how somersaults and human pyramids are not recommended during pregnancy) and possible extenuating circumstances (like how it doesn’t always take two to tango).
Epilogue
At the beginning of 12th grade, a classmate informed me that Jaime was pregnant.
At first, I didn’t believe my classmate. I’d known Jaime since her nerdy junior high days. She was a straight-A student who’d been on honor roll since kindergarten. She’d played on the girls soccer team before becoming a cheerleader and was known to be intelligent, responsible, and mature. And she didn’t even date that much. In fact, I hadn’t known she had a boyfriend.
The classmate laughed at my disbelief. “Oh, you don’t really know Jaime,” she said. “When she was five, her mother came home with a new baby and Jaime said, ‘Okay, Mom, that last baby was yours. But this one’s mine!’”
That didn’t sound like something a five-year-old would say, but Jaime was always pretty advanced.
“Jaime has always wanted to have a baby,” said my classmate. “And she finally got the chance. She set out to do it and now she’s done it. Man, she is so happy and proud of herself.”
“What’s with the guy?” I asked. “Did he agree to this? Are they getting married?”
My classmate shrugged. “I don’t know if he knew she’d get pregnant. She doesn’t want to get married, she just wants a baby.”
Later, every time I saw Jaime in the hallway, she had a very smug look on her face. Why was she so pleased with herself? I don't know. After all, for most girls, acing calculus is much harder than getting pregnant.
Anyway, it’s hard to imagine Jaime doing this prior to the Liberation movements. I mean, she would’ve at least gotten married first.
(Thanks so much, Liberals and Feminists, for liberating girls like Jaime!)
And I can’t remember what Jaime did regarding her cheerleading. Ms. Lefty became the cheerleading coach and I seem to remember Jaime cheerfully sitting on off to the side with her pom-poms, but she dropped cheerleading after that—and why wouldn’t she? I mean, I've been pregnant several times and believe me, cheerleading is the last thing I'd want to do. Heck, just getting up off the sofa seems hard enough at times.
Okay, that's all I wanted to say for now.
Who do you think is really the victim here?
At first, I didn’t believe my classmate. I’d known Jaime since her nerdy junior high days. She was a straight-A student who’d been on honor roll since kindergarten. She’d played on the girls soccer team before becoming a cheerleader and was known to be intelligent, responsible, and mature. And she didn’t even date that much. In fact, I hadn’t known she had a boyfriend.
The classmate laughed at my disbelief. “Oh, you don’t really know Jaime,” she said. “When she was five, her mother came home with a new baby and Jaime said, ‘Okay, Mom, that last baby was yours. But this one’s mine!’”
That didn’t sound like something a five-year-old would say, but Jaime was always pretty advanced.
“Jaime has always wanted to have a baby,” said my classmate. “And she finally got the chance. She set out to do it and now she’s done it. Man, she is so happy and proud of herself.”
“What’s with the guy?” I asked. “Did he agree to this? Are they getting married?”
My classmate shrugged. “I don’t know if he knew she’d get pregnant. She doesn’t want to get married, she just wants a baby.”
Later, every time I saw Jaime in the hallway, she had a very smug look on her face. Why was she so pleased with herself? I don't know. After all, for most girls, acing calculus is much harder than getting pregnant.
Anyway, it’s hard to imagine Jaime doing this prior to the Liberation movements. I mean, she would’ve at least gotten married first.
(Thanks so much, Liberals and Feminists, for liberating girls like Jaime!)
And I can’t remember what Jaime did regarding her cheerleading. Ms. Lefty became the cheerleading coach and I seem to remember Jaime cheerfully sitting on off to the side with her pom-poms, but she dropped cheerleading after that—and why wouldn’t she? I mean, I've been pregnant several times and believe me, cheerleading is the last thing I'd want to do. Heck, just getting up off the sofa seems hard enough at times.
Okay, that's all I wanted to say for now.
Who do you think is really the victim here?
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