Monday, December 07, 2015

Culture of Victimhood?

Conor Friedersdorf
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Conor Friedersdorf writes on "The Rise of Victimhood Culture" (The Atlantic, September 11, 2015), citing a recent study by sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning, who look at today's university students and attempt to understand why these students are so easily insulted and why they appeal to authorities for a 'safe' place, often by calling for restrictions on free expression (as we have previously seen on this blog):
The culture on display on many college and university campuses, . . . [say Campbell and Manning], is "characterized by concern with status and sensitivity to slight combined with a heavy reliance on third parties. People are intolerant of insults, even if unintentional, and react by bringing them to the attention of authorities or to the public at large. Domination is the main form of deviance, and victimization a way of attracting sympathy, so rather than emphasize either their strength or inner worth, the aggrieved emphasize their oppression and social marginalization. [In other words,] a victimhood culture."
A big thanks to N.E. Brigand for directing me to this article and several more by Friedersdorf, Jonathan Chait, and Fredrik DeBoer.

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5 Comments:

At 9:48 AM, Blogger Kevin Kim said...

Can you imagine yourself uprooted from your Korean environment, transplanted back in American soil, and teaching at a US university, given the current trends and how they affect the US-campus ambiance?

And another question: aside from the 800-pound gorilla of Korea's history with Japan, do you sense anything like the US-style grievance culture at work on either an explicit or a subtextual level at your university? Do your students need fainting couches, safe spaces, diversity regulations, and the like?

 
At 11:39 AM, Blogger Kevin Kim said...

(Perhaps I should have said "elephant in the room" instead of "800-pound gorilla.")

 
At 1:32 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

If things US campuses are so bad as claimed, then I'll stay here, despite the resentment toward Japan and the Leftist anti-Americanism, because I'm happy here

Jeffery Hodges

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At 10:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

See the response to this from one college president Here

 
At 4:04 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Excellent!

Jeffery Hodges

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