Claims of victimization stretch credulity

Re: Heather lives on in the Public Square — Aug. 21

Reading your coverage of the anti-fascist vigil, I was reminded again at how far we’ve gone as a society down the surreal postmodern road of identity politics and self-victimization. The idea that “most” of these participants have to deal with white supremacy “every day” in a modern country like Canada stretches credulity. Likewise, the fact that they are seeing “micro-aggressions” everywhere suggests more than anything a good imagination and a desire to create issues where none exist.

It doesn’t seem mentally healthy to me to constantly identify as being a member of a victimized group, and to make this victimization central to your personality. It’s easy to see why people might do this: it certainly allows them to chalk up their failures not as personal failures, but due to their own victimization by society, or the “patriarchy,” or all white people. It also allows lonely people to find an instant community, and a chance for people to feel smart by buying into a mindset that requires no real critical thinking.

It’s also interesting that there are few facts to back up any of these claims, with many preferring feelings and emotion over anything real. It’s not surprising that some of the participants admitted that (while seemingly promoting peace and anti-violence) they refused to actually renounce violence when working against “fascism.” The answer to violence is never more violence. Michael Fox Kitchener