Do you think our culture has a blame-the-victim mentality?

Question

Example: The harassed are accused of being "too sensitive".

Example 1: The harassed are accused of being "too sensitive".
Example 2: It is implied that people are responsible for, or overreacting to, their spouse's infidelity.
Example 3: The term "road-rage taunters" is an attempt to deflect attention away from the dangerous driver's actions.

Answer 1

Heck yes. It's always about scapegoating.

Answer 2

It depends. You see, sometimes people are too sensetive. Sometimes people get offended over something that never happened to them. I have been accused of being racist for not apologizing to blacks about slavery, yet slavery was abolished before I was born. I never owned a slave, nor would I have wished to. The black guy who called me racist had never been a slave and had never even known anyone who had been a slave. Why SHOULD I apologize? For being born 'white' (and I'm not even 100% white)? Isn't that a racist idea in the first place? White slavery and black slavery still exist, yet whites should apologize to blacks for slavery? Why not make it fair? Have slave owners apologize to slaves after setting them free, regardless of race. This is but one example of over-sensitivity. On the other hand, some people out there say some pretty offensive things. While it is not illegal (freedom of speech), they still get upset when people call them offensive. Those who were offended, those people who were the target of the offensive words, also have a right to free speech, and can exercise it by telling the offensive person what they think of him or her. It goes both ways.

Society is made of individuals, and as such some of society, some individuals, is oversensitive. Some of society is not sensetive enough. Some of society has found a balance. Our culture cannot be said to have a 'blame-the-victim mentality'. It would simply be untrue (not all people within the culture blame the victim-and in fact sometimes the 'victim' is not a victim of anything at all except their own oversensitivity and need to take the spotlight).

Answer 3

I wouldn't blame culture per say as much as I would blame people within a culture. Culture as a whole has something to do with who we are, what we think and how we believe. With that in mind I am inclined to want to believe we are generally good, we tend to have good positive thoughts and we believe in ourselves as well as our fellow man (or woman).

What I do believe is that structures within a culture such as a governing body of a culture, tend to focus more on perpetrators rights than the victim due to other governing bodies criticizing them for doing something to these perpetrators.

Personally I believe we have too many watchdogs in our culture and that means that certain governing bodies have to dance through hoops just to make sure that everyone is somewhat happy when forced to make an unpleasant decision.

For example I think if there is proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, that someone caused unnecessary bodily harm or even took the life of another, at that point in his or her life, he or she is no longer a human with rights and they should have to face the consequences for their actions. Let's face it, did they give the victim a fair chance? No they didn't, so why should we give the perpetrator a fair chance when the victim never had one?

Answer 4

I don't know about blaming the victim. I Think too many people WANT to be a victim. It gives them a little status, attention and possibly financial gain with a lawsuit. If you haven't been a victim of .....( fill in the blank here) then you just ain't nothin'.I would guess at least 80% of all "victims"cant or wont take charge of their own lives or be responsible for their own decisions. Just the way I see it.

Answer 5

Definitely. People say "oh you're too sensitive" don't realize that the person who is so called to sensitive was probably made fun of and harassed most to all of their lives.

Answer 6

were an individualist culture. Each person is supposed to have control over their own lives so anything they gain is theres and what they lose is a fault of there own. We see ones own culture as being good so when someone is unsettled by a remark that seems commonplace then we have to defend the culture.

Answer 7

Sometimes, just like a women that's been raped. There are a large number of people that don;t reports rapes becasue they fear that they will be accused of asking for "it." It's really sad. I think that our society is really dismissive of issues that really count. We live in a suck it up society and that can be damaging to someone's life. Good question, I'll star you.

Answer 8

Were not sensitive enough? I get what your saying but im not sure...

Answer 9

of course no one wants to take responsibilty for there actions so blame someone else.

Answer 10

100% try viewing the legal system for pete's sake