What are the benefits of being a victim? It seems that the question sounds strange. No one wants to appear in the status of a victim, but as the France-residing Bulgarian philosopher Tzvetan Todorov writes, this position gives some advantages. “Groups that gain recognition as victims of past injustices obtain “a bottomless line of moral credit. The greater the crime in the past, the more compelling the rights in the present—which are gained merely through membership in the wronged group,” he wrote.
I think this psychological mechanism also operates at the level of an individual. No man’s life consists of only pleasures and indulgences. However, a part of humanity lives its life with the consciousness of a victim; he builds his actions, feelings and thoughts based on the “presumption” that the life constantly upsets him, consequently, he is not only worthy of compassion, but also is right and fair in all matters just because he is a victim. People of such thinking usually bring new-and-new calamities over their heads.
There are also nations with similar psychology. In particular, in the beginning of the 20th century, we, Armenians, wanted to prove the world that we are victims and we need compassion and pity. We also ask the world to condemn Abdul Hamid and incite him to make “reforms”. The world took pity on us, sometimes pretending that is going to call the Sultan to order. As to how it ended, everyone knows it. In the next 100 years, we are trying to prove to the world that we are victims of the genocide, and they should again take pity on us because we are righteous, but this does not help our actions, to put it mildly, go ahead. Additionally, we have already decided once and for all whose victim we are, and we are confident that the “age-old enemy” may slaughter an Armenian child, while the “age-old friend” – not.
It seems to me that our nation lacks a certain dosage of “brutality”. Certainly, we are not talking about terrorism, nor violence, nor the coup. On the contrary, such manifestations are evidence of weakness. We are talking about quitting the status of victimhood, and accordingly, the state of lethargy. We are talking about setting certain goals and being united around them. We are talking about respecting each other inside the nation and getting along with each other.
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We do not need compassion, pity, condolence, sympathy or love. We need to be respected. And it depends solely on us.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
