Victim blaming is a powerful force where the person(s) subject to violence, bullying, domination, or oppression are blamed for whatever befalls them.
We see this with frequency in our culture, and it’s disturbing and disgusting. We’re inculcated to think in this manner, in an individual-centric culture where each person is unreasonably accountable for everything in their life without regard to social forces or the actions of others.
I was bullied and beaten in school. I never went to high school. I dropped out because, although I loved learning, I feared school. The solution proposed to me by the staff at the school and other adults was to not make myself a target.
The bullies were only singling me out because I was different, so the answer was not to be different, to conform. This caused extreme depression and fostered ideas of self-harm.
Victim blaming is ridiculous and yet we see it everywhere where violence occurs. Even if dispute arises, there are methods of mediation, and violence is never part of a solution. No one is ever asking for it!
Pride meetings are every Tuesday at 4 pm in the Lansdowne Pride lounge (first floor, Richmond House) and the first Monday of each month at 5 pm at the CCSS office at Interurban (first floor, Campus Centre). All bodies welcome.