Weekly Opinion Editorial
VICTIM?
by Steve Fair
A victim is described as a person who suffers because of some adverse
act by another person. Victims are
duped, tricked, swindled or deceived by others.
In modern America, many believe they are victims based on the color of
their skin, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, gender or
indebtedness. They hold a pity party and
cry about how everything and everyone in their life is predatory toward
them.
The solution to modern victimhood seems to be to shout louder about your
victimhood. Moral authority in modern
culture is directly proportional to how many ways a person can claim to have
been to have been victimized. The more
victim categories people are in, the more empowered and authoritative they are. Pick the right victim level and you can have
a ‘free pass’ to do and say almost you want in modern America. Three observations:
First, there are real victims.
There are those in society who experience harm as victims of crime,
abuse, natural disasters, and social injustice.
It is important a society acknowledge and address their needs. Showing compassion and understanding to those
who in need is a mark of a civilized Christian society. Throughout
the Bible, oppressing innocent victims is condemned by God. People do suffer unjust evil at the hand of
others.
Second, there are fake victims. There
are those who falsely portray themself as a victim to gain sympathy, attention,
or to manipulate others for personal gain.
They falsely accuse others of wrongdoing and fabricate stories to promote
themselves. These self-entered, conceited
narcissists never take personal responsibility for their actions. The actions of "fake victims" undermine
the credibility of genuine victims. It
makes it more difficult for true victims to receive support and justice.
Third, there are no victims. Jesus,
who was the ultimate innocent victim, did not adopt a victim mentality. He recognized God is sovereign over all
things. Jesus (1) trusted the Father,
(2) did not repay evil for evil, and (3) loved His enemies. Playing the victim can
distort reality, damage relationships and suck the joy out of life. Embracing a philosophy that everything
happens for a reason is biblical. John
MacArthur says, “The default position of all fallen human beings is to blame
someone else for our condition, blame someone else for our issues, and blame
someone else for our troubles. We say to ourselves: I’m basically a good person
but I’ve been affected by bad people.“ MacArthur says those who paint themselves
as a victim seek to avoid facing their
own shortcomings.
Victimhood drives modern morality and politics. Identity politics divides society into
victims and oppressors. Liberals and
conservatives perceive different victims.
In the past, calling yourself a
victim was synonymous with weakness. Now
it is used to gain an advantage over your opponent. Playing the victim is cowardly. Blaming events, circumstances in the past as a
reason to misbehave in the present is spineless and shows weak character.
Holocaust survivor and author Edith Eger, 97, says, “Suffering is
universal, but victimhood is optional.”
Okay, Steve, you have a good grasp of the dictionary definition of 'victim' here, but how will you swing it? Let's see.
ReplyDeleteYou're on the right track with your second paragraph, but you lose me in the second half. Although you aren't hitting every legal definition of a protected class, you do propose equality and liberty for many of them. Pity parties and crying? I am starting to lose you.
Here in this third paragraph, you purport yourself to be irrationally angry at victims because they have spoken out. You don't cite any specific examples. Rather, you just whine about victims and why they can have things that you cannot.
"First, there are real victims." Yes, of course. That word wouldn't exist without an antecedent. Yes, we need to address victims in a civilized manner. Though you mentioned Christianity, the need to help those in need is not predicated on religious faith. I'm glad you mentioned that God puts suffering unjust evils at the hands of others. A loving God, He is, indeed.
On your second point, of course. People lie! All the time, people lie for the benefit of themselves. What "self-centered, conceited narcissists" are you talking about here? It sounds like an apt description of the Commander-in-Chief.
Thirdly, there are no victims? What does that mean? Steve, if you are privy to my comments on your posts, you know that I throw a dash of sarcasm into every remark. How can you say that there are no victims because...Jesus existed and died on the cross? I honestly don't get what you're saying here.
Even in the context of the Bible, what do you mean that there are no victims? Look up Jared Fogle, Bill Cosby, Casey Anthony, O. J. Simpson, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Timothy McVeigh, the Boston Marathon bomber, James Earl Ray, Mark David Chapman, John Hinckley Jr., Jodi Arias, Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, etc. What were their targets if not victims? Jeez, that is a disgrace, Steve. And this is a good week to disgrace Republicans, but I still think that statement is reprehensible. Jesus may have allegedly died for our sins, but that didn't stop us from committing them!
On your second half of the third point, you say, "Embracing a philosophy that everything happens for a reason is biblical." You follow this with a quite from John MacArthur that discusses where to place blame. Are you using this quote as a means to blame victims? Because you don't seem to speak anything to the contrary, Steve.
"Playing the victim is cowardly." What do you do if you are the victim? Just roll over and suffer? I know you wouldn't do that, Steve, as you are a straight, white man. What a mind-numbingly misguided take. Have some empathy for your fellow man for Pete's sake.