The Victim Mentality
By E. L. Benz
5/8/05
In today's world, a lot of people seem to have a victim mentality. By this I mean that they seem to think that because bad things have happened to them, everyone should walk on egg shells around them. I've seen it in men and women both. With all the politically correct (stifled opinions) people out there, it seems that everyone has an excuse for everything. Just last night, I saw someone trying to blame republicans for the fact that they don't have a good job, "Republicans won't hire me." When confronted about how this person knew that it was republicans that weren't hiring them, they said, "Well, the employers are all capitalists. And, all capitalists are republicans." Of course, this person doesn't stop to think that he or she may need some training in order to get a job by these so-called "republicans."
The thing is that if you're always a victim, you will never be anything else. You need to take control of the things that are controllable in your life. You need to stand up and make yourself count. You won't always be able to count on the government to prop you up. Eventually, either the government's going to go broke propping everyone up or the people who choose to take responsibility for themselves are going to get tired of seeing the government prop everyone up by re-distributing the wealth in the country and they will rebel against the government. It may end in bloodshed. And, if the workers/taxpayers are all gone because they rebelled and were either killed or jailed for the rebellion, who will take care of you victims?
Don't get me wrong. I know that bad things happen to people everyday. I was an abused child who was raped when I was nineteen years old. I lived in an abusive marriage for a while. I lived two years as a single mom on welfare. My second husband passed away when I was twenty-nine years old, leaving me a single mother again. I lived the victim mentality years myself. But, I came to realize that I could make a big difference in my own life. I could take responsibility for the choices I was making. I could learn to live again. I did learn to live again.
Now, this abused child, this rape victim, this battered wife, this single mom lives her life as a responsible adult. I cannot blame everything on my past. I have to show an example to my daughter, to my little sister, and to my nieces and nephews. So, every morning I get up and thank God that I can walk, that I can see, that I can hear. I thank God that I have the ability to think with a clear mind. I thank God that I can take care of my daughter the way I should. I thank God that I have to depend on no one but Him for my livelihood.
Victims, now is the time for you to stop living in the past. You have to learn to stand up tall again. You have to learn to take your destiny into your own hands. God loves you even if you don't love yourself, even if you don't know if you believe in God or not. Yes. Bad things happen due to the choices men and women make every day of their lives. But, don't make a bad choice yourself. Decide to quit being a victim. Give it up! You don't need to live the way you have been living. Live a full life. Happiness will come again. Love will come again. Trust will come again.
Live again!
