Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Joys of Being a Victim

I watched a segment from the Rachel Maddow Show last night that really congealed some thoughts that have been floating around my head. Those thoughts are summarized as this, if you want to unite a group of people make them believe they are the victims of another group of people. Why? Because victimization unites a group of people against a supposed oppressor. As the Maddow clop shows, if you want to unite white people then make then afraid of black people. Make white people believe that THEY are the victim and that black people want to take something, or everything, from them. This strategy has come back into play, as it seems to do every election year, in recent months, especially after the election of a black President. If you want to unite the white vote make them afraid of the big, black President. If Obama gets angry then he is the stereotypical "angry black man." If Obama wants to pass Healthcare reform, then he wants to kill your grandma in a government run death panel. The specifics change, but the narrative remains the same. If you want to unite a group of people make them afraid of another group of people.

This is the same strategy used against gays and lesbians. We saw it in the Prop 8 vote in California. If you want to unite heterosexual people, especially Christians, make them believe they are the victims of homosexual people. Gays want the right to marry or at least be joined in civil unions? Well, that means that heterosexual marriage will be destroyed. People will started getting divorced. Oops, that already happens. Well, then married people will started having extra-martial affairs. Oops. Well, if we let gays and lesbians get married that means people will want to start marrying their cats, dogs, or farm animals. Because we all know that gay marriage is a gateway to bestiality. You want unite straight men then make them think that all gay men want is sex and if they cannot get it willingly, they will TAKE it by force. If you want to unite a group of people make them believe they are the victims of another group of people.

The same strategy is used in the immigration debate. If you want to unite Americans then make them believe they are the victims of undocumented immigrants. They want your jobs. They want your money. They want to destroy your family and your livelihood. They increase the crime rate. They lower property values. They cause dandruff. The list goes on and on.

The strategy is not limited to conservatives and their agenda. Those on the left continue to play the victim against those on the Right, although they have had a majority in House and Senate for 4 years. If you want to unite liberals, then make them believe that they are the victims of Fox News, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh. If you want to unite a group of people make them believe they are the victims of another group of people.

Victimization motivates people to go to the polls and vote. Victimization makes people open up their wallets and donate. Look at how much money the Prop 8 campaign brought in.

Even the Church, one the most powerful entities in human history, uses this same strategy. If you want to unite fundamentalist Christians, they make them believe they are the victims of liberal so-called Christians. Liberals want to take your KJV 1611 Bible. Liberals want to close your church. Liberals are infiltrating our Church. If you think some elements of evolution are valid then you might as well burn your Bible. The liberals have stolen our country away from us. They took prayer out of school. They took our 1 ton granite Ten Commandments statue. They want to destroy Christianity.
This is truly sad because there are real victims in the world. There are those without a voice. There are those who are oppressed. One half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day and we complain if gas goes up a nickel a gallon.
If you want to unite a group of people make them believe they are the victims of another group of people. It works every time.

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