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Monday, May 09, 2011

Poor Little Victim

Ahh, poor thing.  Sweet poor little victim.  Sniff, sniff.  

It will come as no surprise to you that I'm not a huge fan of victims nor the mentality that comes with them.  I believe that our world has ended up where it is today in part due to that precise thing....the Victim Mentality.  I mean, hey, if you're all about feeling sorry for yourself and want to be miserable, feel free.  But if you're into getting ahold of yourself, changing the way you're living, and actually have the desire to lead a different life, then I'd suggest that you check out this little list of helpful ideas.  And don't bore me with little sob stories meant to capture the moment of how you are right and the rest of the world is wrong.  I can assure you that I won't buy it. 

I flew with a guy today who sort of made me nauseated.  Nice guy for the most part.  Big giant biceps.  Nothing special, just a nice guy who was a victim.  He's got some growing up to do.  He went on an on about how "one of the customer service agents in Ontario made him get an eye infection."  He blathered on about how "the company is in such a big hurry that he wiped his hand on the girt bar and reached up to scratch his eye."  That gave him an eye infection.  He told me about how everybody is in a hurry and he didn't have time to think about it before he actually did it.  He was apparently pushed to the limit to hurry and, by god, he won't be doing it again.  Harumph! 

Well, you know me, I just couldn't let it go.  I told him that of course the girt bar is dirty.  Along with every other surface in the entire world and especially the airplane world.  I don't think that it's any more infected than, say, the bathroom doorknobs or faucet handles or tray tables.  I told him that I learned long ago to not bring my hands toward my face at any time, for any reason, period.  Hands do not belong near the eyes, mouth or nose.  My point was that it had nothing to do with the girt bar.  It had everything to do with his hands scratching his eyes.  He wouldn't buy it.  He got pretty quiet after that. 

Our world is in trouble kids.  A lot of it.  And I honestly believe that a good chunk of it is because of this line of thinking.  The mental game that we play of blaming others, finding situations that will give us reason to behave the way we do.  Pointing to parents, or churches, or organizations, or families, or alcohol, or drugs, or cigarettes, or our children, or a hospital, or or or or or or......to make us more satisfied with the victim that lives inside.  I'm sick of it.  And I hope you are too.

8 comments:

Blair said...

It's posts like this that really mess me up. I mean really, do you know that this is the exact reason I can't get through the day without some sort of blow up or emotional break down. Really. You should be ashamed of spewing your....oh wait. Kidding. There are no victims. Only volunteers. Great post and you are spot on as always!

DeepBlue said...

Great post! I'll vote for you. ;)

Ur-spo said...

I certainly agree.

I wrote on this topic once upon a time;

http://sporeflections.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/the-victim-complex/

great minds (or at least fabulous ones) think alike !

Rick said...

May I help you down from your high horse?
This is so true. So few will take personal responsibility.

PS Have you got spring fever? I love the new look!

Jonna said...

I think we must be related. I so agree, it's one reason I don't think I could ever live in the US again. It's a country full of victims and looking for someone else to blame. Personal responsibility has disappeared up north, I miss it.

Here, if you trip and fall on a crack in the sidewalk - well, you should look where you are going. If your kid chokes on a toy, you should have been watching him. If you walk out to close to the edge of some canyon and fall off, horse on you. It does wonders for the gene pool.

Unknown said...

Oh, and I am definitely sick of it! Whether in my role as counselor or parent... I do NOT want to hear excuses and blaming -- or any other of the toxic thinking errors that people fall back on. I won't be a catchin' ya if that's how you roll!
You struck a chord here!

cb said...

I know, right? So many fuckin' "victims" out there.

Grow up and own up, I say!

Anonymous said...

Does this mean that Wednesday Adams is your hero?