Social media has given people the ability to share their views with the world, and this can take place without the need for someone to reveal their true identity. Someone can then say just about whatever they want and they won’t need to worry about the consequences of their actions.
If they were in the real world and other people could see their face, their behaviour could be completely different. Still, there are plenty of people who respect people in the real world and behave in the same way online.
Along with this, there are going to be people who find it hard to behave in a respectful manner in the real world and this will then be how they behave online. Someone like this can have anger problems.
Going online and venting, can then be a way for them to let off steam. Experiencing self-control and treating people how they like to be treated is going to be something they struggle with.
Behaving in an abusive manner is not the only way in which a lack of self-control appears in today’s world; there is also what happens if someone can’t provide an argument when they disagree with something. Instead of coming up with a reason as to why what someone has said is wrong, they can simply resort to slander.
This is what happens online and offline and, surprisingly, this type of behaviour can often be found in the education system. In the past, a university/college was somewhere where someone could grow and have their views challenged; whereas nowadays, this is not always the case.
Therefore, someone can go to college or university with an open mind and leave with a closed mind. They might not know how to think, but they will probably know what to think.
Someone will then have paid to have their mind filled with propaganda. So, while their time in the education should have given them the ability to think critically, it might have only given them the ability to silence people who see the world differently.
During their time at college or university, someone can come to see the world through the lens of those who are oppressed and those who oppress. Subsequentely, this is going to stop them from being able to see people as individuals.
On one hand, they will have learnt about how bad it is to discriminate and yet, they will have learnt another form of discrimination. There will be white people, and white men in particular, who are the oppressors and pretty much everyone else will be the oppressed.
One Big Delusion
Taking this into account, it can be normal for a white person to feel guilty and ashamed and for people who are not white to feel violated and full of rage. It is then going to be perfectly acceptable for white people to be verbally abused and taken advantage of.
After all, these are going to be the people who live the perfect life; a life that is free from pain and suffering. The fact that this is nothing more than an illusion won’t matter, as all white people will be put into the same box.
Not only will they have been told that all white people do everything they can to keep people from other races down, but they will probably have learnt about a version of history that adds further weight to this viewpoint. It will then be as if white people are the only ones who have done anything wrong on this planet.
This is then no different to how some feminists only focus on the instances where women are doing badly and men are doing well, which stops them from being able to see past their own nose and to face reality. These kinds of people will talk about how bad it is to discriminate and yet their solution to this will be blame one race, and one gender in particular, for every problem under the sun.
An Ulterior Motive
Ironically, these people will spend countless hours talking about how bad it is to be racist and sexist. One then has to wonder if these people truly care about making a difference or stand for anything, or if they are just in this for themselves and are morally bankrupt.
Telling a whole race that they are being oppressed by all white people or that one gender is being held back by the other gender is not only false, it also disempowers these people. In addition to this, it creates more division; which stops people from being able to work together and to make the world a better place for everyone.
Once someone has been programmed to see life in this way, they can also say that another person is ‘privileged’ if they can’t think of an argument. It is then not going to be necessary for them to engage their brain.
They won’t need to take the time to find out anything about the person either. This is likely to be a way to make them look bad, and to feel ashamed for what they have achieved in life.
What is clear is that in most cases, there are going to be people who are worse off than this person; just as there are likely to be people who are going to be better off than they are. This is part of the human experience and it is something that is part of nature: for example, not all trees are the same size.
But even if another person is seen as ‘privileged’, it doesn’t mean that everything fell into their lap. If being white was enough for someone to have an easy life, for instance, then every white person would be doing well.
The Fetishization of Suffering
There is a strong chance that they took responsibility for their own life and worked hard to get to where they are, and this shows how important it to take responsibility and to work hard. The trouble is that when someone believes that another person is ‘privileged’, they can beleive that they are only where they are because they repressed and exploited others.
Thus, it is not that one has provided value throughout their life; it is that they have oppressed others to get to where they are. Through having this outlook, it is going to be far more virtuous for someone to do badly in life and to be a victim, than it will be for them to do well.
Ultimately, there is nothing virtuous about being a victim and suffering, and it will be sensible for someone to stay away from people who believe that this is the case. If someone wants to be truly empowered, it will be vital for them to take responsibility for their own life.
What they believe about themselves and the world is likely to have a far greater effect on what they achieve than anything else. And instead of trying to pull the people down who are doing well, it would be far better to learn from them.
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Oliver JR Cooper
Oliver JR Cooper
Author of 25 books, Transformational Writer, Teacher & Consultant.
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That which is contained within these articles is based on my own empirical understanding and is true for me at the time they were written. However, as I continue to grow, what I perceive as the truth will inevitably change and as a result of this - parts of these articles may not reflect my current outlook.