Professional victim

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Professional victim is a punk band from Syracuse[1] snarl word for someone who seems to be making his or her living off something negative that happened to said person. It is commonly used to discredit feminism and social justice and the legitimate concerns brought to light by those movements. This is in essence an escape hatch to evade the necessarily uncomfortable questions brought up by those people.

The victim mentality is a real concept in psychology in which one considers oneself a victim of other circumstances without taking self responsibility.[2] However, in the absence of compelling evidence, accusing one of being a "professional victim" is an appeal to motive fallacy.

Contents

[edit] Professional

What is supposed to categorize the people who this term is used on is the constant use of victimhood as advantageous to their own lives. For example: Anita Sarkeesian has been harassed out of everywhere and eventually went on to do several presentations, talks and even got a spot on The Colbert Report[3] about this subject. Calling her a professional victim is essentially saying she is milking her harassment for personal gain.[4]

[edit] The cycle

It typically works in a four stage cycle.

  1. Person is made a victim of some sort and says something about it.
  2. Person is harassed about problem or something he or she said about it.
  3. Person is then given a chance to speak on less of a free-for-all scenario to not be drowned out amongst all the vitriol.
  4. Go To 2.

[edit] The irony

You know, they wouldn't be such professional victims if you didn't make them into one.

[edit] Other forms of this term

"Grievance group" or "grievance-mongerer" is another form of this trope, for instance used frequently by Michelle Malkin.[5]

"Victim feminism" - used by feminist writer Naomi Wolf to describe women "seek[ing] power through an identity of powerlessness...on the basis of feminine specialness instead of human worth."[6]

In 2014, conservative columnist George Will of The Washington Post attracted controversy for suggesting that colleges grant rape victims "a coveted status that confers privileges".[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. Professional Victims
  2. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-freedom/201210/strategies-deal-victim-mentality
  3. For the record, they came to her.
  4. This video is an example of such an accusation. The author claims that Sarkeesian disabled comments on all her videos except the one for her KickStarter campaign, because the torrents of undeserved abuse in those comments might convince more people to donate out of sympathy.
  5. For example in her 2004 article "Capt. Yee's whiny sympathy circle" and 2011 blog "Flash mobs, grievance-stokers, and RAAAAAACISM!" and 2008 blog "May Day, May Day: All-purpose, left-wing grievance day; West Coast port shutdowns expected; in-your-face illegal aliens in Chicago; 29 ports down; Los Angeles fizzle"
  6. Naomi Wolf: Power Feminist or Victim Feminist?
  7. "Victim: Will's rape column 'grotesque'." Politico: July 1, 2014. See also George Will, "Colleges become the victims of progressivism." June 6, 2014.
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