Back in 2015 Conor Friedersdorf wrote this piece for the Atlantic
The Rise of Victimhood Culture
A recent scholarly paper on “microaggressions” uses them to chart the ascendance of a new moral code in American life.
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When conflicts occur, sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning observe in an insightful new scholarly paper, aggrieved parties can respond in any number of ways. In honor cultures like the Old West or the street gangs of West Side Story, they might engage in a duel or physical fight. In dignity cultures, like the ones that prevailed in Western countries during the 19th and 20th Centuries, “insults might provoke offense, but they no longer have the same importance as a way of establishing or destroying a reputation for bravery,” they write. “When intolerable conflicts do arise, dignity cultures prescribe direct but non-violent actions.”
We’ve all engaged in these actions.
The aggrieved might “exercise covert avoidance, quietly cutting off relations with the offender without any confrontation” or “conceptualize the problem as a disruption to their relationship and seek only to restore harmony without passing judgment.” In the most serious cases, they might call police rather than initiating violence themselves. “For offenses like theft, assault, or breach of contract, people in a dignity culture will use law without shame,” the authors observe. “But in keeping with their ethic of restraint and toleration, it is not necessarily their first resort, and they might condemn many uses of the authorities as frivolous. People might even be expected to tolerate serious but accidental personal injuries.”
But, now, in the Victimhood Culture, people have to play the Victim for the slightest of slights. Everything is The Worst Ever, and requires that everyone know about it, heap “I’m so sorry this happened to you’s” on the Victim, and extoll how Brave they are for coming forward. People will literally make up things so they can be a Victim, which makes them a hero these days. It makes them empowered. Someone said something mildly mean on social media? Well, clap back, and it ends up in the news with the Victim being put on a pedestal and the meanie being shamed. The meanie needs to be destroyed, you know. I could keep going, but, you get the idea, and you know most of this.
Which brings us to Meghan and Harry. We often talk about Peak this and Peak that. But, there’s always a new peak, though, right? I do believe we have strictly hit Peak Victimhood
- Harry takes a flamethrower to family relations and crosses King Charles’ ‘red line’ with searing attack on Camilla: Prince brands Queen Consort ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ with ‘plot’ to marry his father in British network and CBS interviews
- ‘Everyone has stuff that happens with their families… you don’t spread it to the world’: American media reacts to Harry’s attacks on the royals as Fox’s Ainsley Earhardt slams him… while CNN’s Don Lemon says he ‘hopes’ he can heal rift with William
- ‘A declaration of war against the royals’: Prince Harry is accused of ‘shooting his family in the heart’ as global media says ‘it’s good the Queen no longer has to experience this’ following his latest TV broadsides
- The Duke of U-turns! Harry now claims he has a ‘huge compassion for Camilla’ and sympathized with her being the ‘third person in his parents’ marriage’ – less than 12 hours after branding her ‘DANGEROUS’ and a ‘villain’ in searing 60 Minutes interview
- Kate and Meghan ‘didn’t get on from the get-go’: Prince Harry tells British network the Waleses ‘stereotyped’ his wife – and the ‘barrier’ was there before the two women fell out over bridesmaids dresses and hormones
- Prince Harry says he and Meghan will NEVER move back to the UK and plan to live in the US permanently – hours after hinting couple won’t ever give up their royal titles
Those are headlines from just one British news outlet. Plenty of others have tons more in a similar vein. The only one that seems to be sympathetic to Harry is the UK Guardian, and just barely. Why am I watching this stuff? It’s like the biggest of race crashes of all time. And the crashes just keep happening almost daily. Which is pretty amazing for two people who claim they just want their privacy, right?
Here you have a guy born into privilege, as part of the British monarchy. He never wanted for anything. Other than Princess Diana, of course. His life was one of luxury. He was well respected in the military. He married a low level but somewhat know actress in a fairytale wedding. Then blew it all up. And is living in a $15 million, 14,500 square foot house in the People’s Republik Of California with 9 beds, 16 baths, a pool, tea house, tennis courts, and a children’s cottage, on 7.4 acres. They’re being given millions and millions by Netflix and for books, all sorts of media appearances. Living in the lap of luxury, and still f’ing playing the Victim. Seriously, is there anyone more Peak Victimhood Culture right now than Meghan and Harry?
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