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The Rise of Victimhood Culture: Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and the New Culture Wars 1st ed. 2018 Edition

by Bradley Campbell (Author), Jason Manning (Author)

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The Rise of Victimhood Culture offers a framework for understanding recent moral conflicts at U.S. universities, which have bled into society at large. These are not the familiar clashes between liberals and conservatives or the religious and the secular: instead, they are clashes between a new moral culture―victimhood culture―and a more traditional culture of dignity. Even as students increasingly demand trigger warnings and “safe spaces,” many young people are quick to police the words and deeds of others, who in turn claim that political correctness has run amok. Interestingly, members of both camps often consider themselves victims of the other. In tracking the rise of victimhood culture, Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning help to decode an often dizzying cultural milieu, from campus riots over conservative speakers and debates around free speech to the election of Donald Trump.

ISBN-10

3319703285
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978-3319703282
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1st ed. 2018
Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date

February 27, 2018
Language

English
Dimensions

5.83 x 0.7 x 8.27 inches
Print length

305 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2018

“Comprehensive, measured, and well researched, this may be the most important book of the year. Period. The authors do a masterful job of explaining the nation’s shift from a culture of honor, to a culture of dignity, to one of victimhood. Required reading for those seeking to move beyond the seeming downward spiral of becoming a nation of victims.” (J. R. Mitrano, Choice, Vol. 56 (1), September, 2018)

“Sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning have produced the first systematic theoretical analysis of the moral culture of “victimhood” emerging on university campuses. This book is an important addition to the sociology of morality in its documentation of the contours of a newly emerging moral culture.” (Kevin Mccaffree, skeptic.com, February, 2018).

Review

“Campbell and Manning are prophets of the academic world. They correctly diagnosed the first outbreaks of a new moral culture of victimhood in 2014, before most of us had even heard of ‘microaggressions.’ The rapid changes in campus culture since then have validated their analysis. In this important book, Campbell and Manning give everyone the sociological tools they need, in easy and accessible language, to understand and perhaps reverse the pull of victimhood culture, which is now spreading beyond universities into corporate America and the broader American public square.” (Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, NYU-Stern School of Business, USA, and author of The Righteous Mind)

“A book of revelations! Sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning provide both a comprehensive overview and surgically precise analysis of what many will find a new and possibly shocking style of modern morality―a ‘culture of victimhood’―that ever more aggressively dominates discourse and silences the free exchange of ideas in American academic life. The book will reward any reader with a rare experience: a consistently creative and stunningly insightful theory supported by a rich array of captivating empirical illustrations. Anyone with even a casual interest in the conflict and tension that increasingly pervade and politicize the atmosphere of today’s colleges and universities will surely feast on every chapter of this book.” (Donald Black, University Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences, University of Virginia, USA, and author of Moral Time and The Behavior of Law)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Palgrave Macmillan; 1st ed. 2018 edition (February 27, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 305 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 3319703285
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3319703282
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.83 x 0.7 x 8.27 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #251,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #279 in Philosophy & Social Aspects of Education
- #325 in Civil Rights & Liberties (Books)
- #616 in Communication & Media Studies

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4.6 207 ratings

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Bradley Campbell
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Bradley Campbell was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and grew up in nearby Aiken. After graduating from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, he attended graduate school at Clemson University and then the University of Virginia, where in 2008 he received a Ph.D. in sociology. He is currently a Professor of Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles.
Professor Campbell is broadly interested in moral conflict — clashes of right and wrong and how they are handled. Most of his work examines violence, and he is the author of the book THE GEOMETRY OF GENOCIDE: A STUDY IN PURE SOCIOLOGY. Recently he has also begun to examine confllicts on modern college campuses. Along with Jason Manning, he is the author of THE RISE OF VICTIMHOOD CULTURE: MICROAGGRESSIONS, SAFE SPACES, AND THE NEW CULTURE WARS, which looks at microaggression complaints, calls for trigger warnings and safe spaces, and the ongoing debate about these phenomena, which can be seen as manifestations of ongoing moral change and the clash of different moral ideals.
For more information, see http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/bradley-campbell
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Jason Manning
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Jason Manning is from Chincoteague Island, on Virginia's Eastern Shore. He went to college in Newport News, VA, where got into sociology because he was fascinated by patterns of social organization and human behavior. After that came a PhD from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He's now an associate professor of sociology at West Virginia University. He mostly writes and teaches about conflict, violence, and morality.
Now that he's a father, he also writes the odd children's book of animal photos.
He sometimes posts about sociology on his blog (www.socialgeometer.com) as well as on the blog he keeps with frequent coauthor Bradley Campbell (http://victimhoodculture.com/).
You can follow him on Twitter at @sociologyWV
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Donald Arteaga

An Important and Timely Read!

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020

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Similar to "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Jonathan Haidt & Greg Lukianoff, sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning take a closer look at the phenomenon happening on certain college campuses: the introduction of concepts like microaggressions, safe spaces, trigger warnings, etc.

It's important to add (just like "Coddling") that these college incidents seem to be mostly isolated to elite universities and do not seem to be a reflection of the majority of colleges. Nevertheless, the number of incidents are increasing and have become a source of ridicule in the mainstream, including an episode on South Park where Cartman sings a song about his "safe space".

But what are these ideas exactly, and why do they keep coming up? The authors seek to help us better understand what they've termed "Victimhood Culture" by using past cultures of Honor and Dignity.

𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 💪:
📌 Reputation and Bravery are key factors of one’s moral status.
🛡️ Small conflicts are responded to aggressively.
🚨 Little to no appeals to authority, third-parties, and public opinion for justice.
🙌 Examples of Honor Culture: the Old West, the mafia.
🗣️ Phrases you’d hear:
"𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘥𝘶𝘦𝘭!"
"𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵."
“𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱.”
.
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 👤:
📌 Self-restraint and Civility are key factors of one’s moral status.
🛡️ Small conflicts are responded to with non-violence and compromise.
🚨 May sometimes appeal to authority, third-parties, or public opinion for justice.
🙌 Examples of Dignity Culture: Formal debate, Court of Law, Due Process
🗣️ Phrases you’d hear:
"𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦."
“𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭.”
“𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴.”
.
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 😨:
📌 Suffering and Victimization are key factors of one’s moral status.
🛡️ Small conflicts are responded to aggressively (like Honor culture).
🚨 Mostly appeals to authority, third-parties, and public opinion for justice.
🙌 Examples of Victimhood Culture: Callout/Cancel Culture, Microaggressions, Trigger Warnings, Safe Spaces
🗣️ Phrases you’d hear:
"𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.”
"𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳; 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰."
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺!"

Throughout the book, the authors continue to remain impartial and reasonable in explaining the situation and its consequences. If you're looking for a book that seeks to ridicule Victimhood Culture, this is NOT the book. It's an academic read: their arguments are balanced, rational, and heavily sourced.

Perhaps it's because I personally embrace Dignity Culture, I admit there were times the authors cited instances of grievances from individuals and I nearly laughed in disbelief: "These people have to be joking, right?!"

It's important we all understand this idea of Victimhood Culture not just for the explanation it entails but also in seeing that this isn't limited to college campuses. These ideas have seeped out into our modern society. We have many modern cultural movements with foundations based upon collective victimhood (e.g. Callout/Cancel Culture, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, Trumpism).

To emphasize, I'm NOT saying Victimhood Culture is inherently a "bad thing", and neither are the authors of this book. Each culture brings with it a new set of solutions and problems. In Victimhood Culture, we provided platforms and spotlights to victims of injustices that would never have been addressed prior (e.g. crimes of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby). That's fantastic, and I am all for that!

But on the flip side, Victimhood Culture has overextended its reach, inadvertently supporting instances of victimhood where there is none to be found. False allegations have been made toward individuals whose reputations are now ruined because of them. The irony of Victimhood Culture is you receive more popularity and sympathy by virtue of being a victim, real or imagined. And without any consequences for false accusations, the accuser's social status raised regardless of the truth, why wouldn't someone feel more inclined to lie so long as it benefited them?

Because of Victimhood Culture's need to always believe the victim over the accused, we've let it get in the way of seeing situations in more balanced, critical ways. This unintentional elevation of false victims has done a massive disservice to people who are actual victims of injustice.

This is an important book illuminating not just what's happening on some college campuses but also in how Victimhood Culture has also spread into the mainstream. If we're going to solve society's problems, we need to also be willing to acknowledge this is a problem..

But on a lighter note, it seems as of late Victimhood Culture is having the tide turned. More people are starting to become skeptical of allegations rather than simply jumping to conclusions. Celebrities like Jussie Smollett whose racial accusations turned out to be false is now facing criminal charges for his lies. And let's not forget the recent verdict in the Depp/Heard trial.

Perhaps this book will become pretty outdated within the next few years. But for now, I give this book my recommendation!

59 people found this helpful

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KM

A sobering yet substantial sociological analysis of our times

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2023

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Caveat: I do not know much of the sociology space, as I have training in the quantitative realm. That said, this book showed me what real sociological analysis entails. Extremely thorough and cadenced unfolding of victimhood culture and how it differs from either honor culture or dignity culture. If you have a hard time wrapping your head around this kind of phenomenon today, this book will give you some clues. The authors dig deep on the "what", the "how", and the "why" of victimhood culture. The book does not give much guidance on the navigation amidst this culture, as I would have liked, but given that this book also taught me that real scientific sociology doesn't necessarily "take sides", I can understand why the book hesitates. overall, a good, chewable read.

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Sotol Observer

Conservative Take on College Campuses

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2023

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This book's point of view is similar to that of linguist and author John McWhorter. McWhorter, who is black, makes the observation that American blacks suffer from a culture of victimhood, racial separatism, and anti-intellectialism.

Campbell and Manning focus mainly on the victimhood part, but also touch on racial separatism as well. They report on a number of campus racial conflict incidents that have been well documented. These incidents have received deserved widespread condemnations of student protestor violence and intimidation.

The authors make the case of cultures in conflict. An honor culture, a dignity culture, and a victimhood culture. The honor culture is common in the South and in the inner city. "Insult me and I will harm or kill you." The dignity culture is more commonplace in the overall country. "Insult me and I will either shrug it off or verbally rebuke you. If things get out if hand, I will call the authorities." Victimhood culture is found in black communities and also amongst feminists and other minorities. "You (If you are white or male) owe me. You are the oppressor. I will inform the authorities of your behavior for punishment." The authors take the view that victimhood and honor cultures are less than desirable and that the dignity culture should replace the others--or such is my interpretation.

The authors definitely appear to have a conservative slant. I am a left of center liberal, but agree with a fair amount of their arguments. They do blunder on occasion, though. They cite a very small study which claimed 41% of rape claims were false. I have several family members that have been the victims of rape. The 41% greatly exceeds any credible # that I have heard of. Not saying, however, that false rape claims are not a problem.

The authors take on the issue of "social justice" rather poorly--I thought. They more or less dismiss it out of hand. I suppose they might subscribe to the meme that we are in, "The best of all possible worlds." This is the common narrative amongst conservative economists. Beggars on many street corners and bloody violence in our inner cities as opposed to luxurious waste amongst our well-to-do do not argue for, "Just another day in paradise." "Justice" is not a merely abstract concept, but a concept that is reflected in the way people live their lives. Poor children in this country of great wealth live in "unjust" circumstances--due to no fault of their own.

Finally, the authors claim that their arguments are "value-free" and only based on scientific data. When it comes to the social sciences, I think this is nonsense. Our sense of morality and ethics usually reflect our family upbringing and life experience. Those values provide the framing with which we approach social, economic, legal, philosophical, etc. problems. To claim "complete scientific objectivity" is a precious conceit. Also, while it is easy to make fun of "victimhood" as an ideology, the history of black oppression and the subordination of women in the US should not be forgotten and its negative outcomes should be addressed in this day and age.

Overall, though, a worthwhile book. Despite some of its shortcomings.

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David A Annis

Great Explanation

Reviewed in Canada on May 13, 2022

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I found it helpful to see the history of victimhood culture and how it has grown from the idea of helping others. Of particular interest is the sometimes lack of logic, or hypocrisy, that is applied by its proponents. Thank you for showing this.

One person found this helpful

Lluís

Análisis de las causas, la naturaleza y las consecuencias de la "cultura de la victimización"

Reviewed in Spain on July 27, 2021

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Las denuncias de las "microagresiones", la lucha por obtener "espacios seguros" y, en general, la denuncia ante cualquier acto o palabra que, de forma consciente o inconsciente, pueda suponer un agravio por motivo de género, etnia u orientación sexual constituye uno de los fenómenos más relevantes de la actualidad. No es de extrañar, pues, que se haya publicado bastante sobre este tema, ya sea a favor o en contra. En este contexto, la principal aportación de este libro es que no se contenta con realizar una crítica a lo que los autores denominan "la cultura de la victimización", sino que lleva a cabo un exhaustivo análisis de cuáles son sus rasgos principales y qué factores sociales y culturales están propiciando su crecimiento y difusión.
Es un libro metódico, riguroso y rico en conceptos e ideas. Tal vez la principal limitación es que exagera el papel del activismo de raíz marxista o revolucionario y, en cambio, omita el importantísimo papel que las teorías de Foucault y Deleuze tienen en esta modalidad de cultura.

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Spinoziste

Excellent ouvrage : utile, lucide et pénétrant

Reviewed in France on March 3, 2019

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Un ouvrage de référence sur un ensemble de phénomènes récents , étudiés sur les campus universitaires et qui témoigne, avec un certain souci d'impartialité, d'une évolution morale et sociale sans aucun doute majeure de nos sociétés démocratiques. Selon Campbell et Manning, une nouvelle morale, autrement dit norme et échelle de valeurs dans les rapports sociaux, serait apparue, une morale de la "victimisation" : hypersensibilité à l'"outrage" même minime ou inintentionnel, recours public, tapageur et systématique à un tiers représentant de l'autorité, (quasi-)sacralisation du statut victimaire, devenu l'alpha et l'oméga de cette axiologie où être reconnu victime est la base de toute reconnaissance sociale .
Des exemples aussi nombreux qu'édifiants, des mises à jour régulières de la bibliographie, une langue claire et précise : bref, je recommande, à toute personne qui, comme moi, s'étonne de ce qu'il voit et entend, et veut comprendre le fossé générationnel à venir.

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Iain S

The book to read in 2018!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2018

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This is certainly one of the most timely and relevant books to appear this year. The book can be seen as building on a well-received scholarly article from the authors that gained wider public interest in a review that appeared in The Atlantic. The central topic of the book involves how, for the last few years, various disturbing events in universities in the US and in Britain have been a symptom of the emergence of a new set of ideas and values that is at odds with our values and our society. These ideas have spread to many other areas and organisations, such as the newspapers, social media, unions, political parties, and so on. Many, and possibly most people in wider society, can immediately perceive how these changes are divisive, damaging, and ultimately a danger to the values and freedoms that have been the foundation of our democratic societies for the past three centuries. Many have attempted to explain this movement as simply a right vs left issue, however many previous descriptions fail to explain a number of key aspects of these changes that distinguish them from previous debates or conflicts in society.

Therefore, the authors, two US sociologists, aim in this book is to accurately characterise and describe the core reason we are seeing phenomena such as beliefs in micro-aggression, calls for "safe spaces", increases in hoaxes and false accusations of crimes, and also calls for censorship on free speech. They present a solid explanation of behaviour that seems absolutely astounding and incomprehensible to most of us today, such as students in the US demanding from their universities the creation of racially segregated spaces where white people would be banned from entering, such as at Northwestern University where black students demanded that white student not be allowed to join them in the cafeteria, so they could "enjoy their lunches in peace" (p.80). The reader will surely be aware that Martin Luther King certainly did not dream of separate cafeterias for black students, so how has it come to this?

They start by explaining how different sets of values determine cultures and determine each individual's social and moral status. There are many forms of status, such as wealth and fame; moral status is often used in determining who is right and who is wrong, who has just cause and who does not. There are different cultures, or sets of values, that determine a person's moral status. For instance, in a culture of honour, an individual's status is determined by their reputation amongst their peers, and is enhanced by showing acts of bravery, strength, or prowess. Individuals defend their honour at all costs, and will retaliate against challenges to their reputation, e.g. by duelling after an insult or argument. Failing to retaliate is a sign of weakness and invites further attacks, therefore people must fight back against even the smallest offences. Criminal drug gangs are an example of groups living according to honour culture in the west today.

However, honour culture was replaced in mainstream western societies during the last few centuries by a set of values centred on dignity. In a dignity culture, a person possesses an inherent dignity that cannot be dented by slights and insults. A person can however damage their social status by engaging in undignified behaviour, such as childishness, boorishness, violence and so on. Therefore, in a dignity culture, individuals learn to dismiss insults and minor offences as unworthy of response, as they stand to lose more than they can gain by escalating the conflict. To respond back with a petty insult is childish, to be aggressive is boorish, and to be violent is criminal.
In a culture of dignity, more serious conflicts or arguments are resolved by reason, rather than strength or reputation, sometimes with the help of third parties as arbitrators. This describes how, in our society, conflicts are taken off the street and into courts of law, which seek to resolve disputes based on evidence and facts, using legal principles that apply equally to each individual. It is clear to the reader that cultures of dignity are part of the bedrock for free, democratic states centred on individual citizens who hold equal rights, regardless of who they are.

Now, as the title of the book suggest, there is a third culture which has emerged and which does not consider the dignity of the individual, nor a person's individual reputation, as the key value of social status. Instead, it is a person's ability to claim a need for sympathy and pity that determines their position and hence validate their goals. Therefore, unlike honour culture where weakness is associated to inferiors status, individuals seek to publicize their victimization as much as possible, in order to attract favourable intervention from third parties. Thus victimhood culture is different from honour culture, as in an honour culture, reliance on third parties is another form of weakness.

Although dignity and victimhood cultures both sometimes rely on third parties for arbitration, they do so differently. Instead of dignity culture's emphasis on arbitration based on evidence of actual offence, victimhood culture primarily seeks to appeal to emotions of sympathy and pity. This explains why such emphasis is placed on the feelings of the victim, rather than the actual objective presence or absence of an offence. Similar to honour cultures but unlike dignity cultures, victimhood culture makes it advantageous to react to every small offences and insult a person receives, since it enhances the sympathy and pity from their peers who also share victimhood values, especially if it is argued that these offences are not isolated incidents, but part of a wider "systemic" trend. Furthermore, since most minor offences are simply too minor for serious consideration from dignity culture, it is also highly advantageous in a victimhood culture to claim shared victimhood with members of a group, e.g. to take personal offence and make others party to a conflict that would otherwise not involve them. This is a good strategy if you want to bring people onto your side, and explains why victimhood culture is obsessed with historic injustices, despite no party having been involved in those events.

The authors argue very convincingly that these main traits of victimhood cultures explain many of the things we see today. They go through many key examples, such as how micro-aggression theory downplay objective truth and proportionality and instead claim trivial incidents as part of "systemic bias" or even "rape culture". They explain how victimhood culture promotes false accusations and even hoaxes of crimes, since they generate the sympathy the supposed victim craves, without the need to provide a genuine example backed up by evidence.

They further explain how victimhood culture is inherently tribal, as it emphasizes the role of group conflict. It promotes the view that society is simply composed of groups of oppressors and oppressed, despite the evidence of more equality and fairness than ever before in human history. Recall that a person's status and influence is determined by their ability to claim membership to a supposedly victimized group. This explains why, in a victimhood culture, people from non-victimized groups are considered inferior in moral status, as shown by how often we see claims that out-group members cannot hold valid opinions and should not be allowed to speak publicly, regardless of their own individual reasoning and arguments. Unlike dignity culture, victimhood culture is inherently a partisan culture, where adhering "moral commitment to always support alleged victims" is paramount, and the act of seeking the truth is seen itself as an offence. This is illustrated in the attacks on the journalist who first pointed out the inconsistencies in a rape accusation at the University of Virginia in 2014 (p.125), which upon further investigation revealed that the accusation was fabricated, which ranged from the ad-hominem to claims that the due process and safe-guards of free society are institutional abuses of power ("institutions will bring their power to bear to obfuscate violence.", p 125). The reader can't help but think of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird given the disturbing parallels with the moral panics and mob justice that are present in these examples.

The concept of victimhood culture even explains how would-be victim groups compete for victimhood. For instance, in 2017, three Jewish participants were asked to leave an annual LGBT event called "Dyke March" in Chicago, because they were carrying a rainbow flag with the star of David, on the basis that it "made people feel unsafe" and that the march was "pro-Palestinian" and "anti-Zionist". It's initially hard to understand how they cannot see the contradiction in having a march for minority rights being so blatantly anti-semitic, but inside victimhood culture, it is inevitable that multiple groups will emerge to compete for maximum victimhood status, and will seek to portray other groups as oppressors to raise their status.

In the later parts of the book, the authors examine how victimhood culture has come to be and how it spreads. They argue that it arises primarily in environments with high but somewhat imperfect levels of equality, high levels of access to potential sympathy to third parties (e.g. twitter) high levels of overarching authority for acting as enforcers, overly protective parenting, and lack of developmental opportunities for dealing individually with even minor challenges, such as attending a interview, as an independent dignified individual. This explains why victimhood culture has not arisen in challenging poor neighbourhoods, but instead in the affluent elite universities. The authors then go on to consider what are the possible future outcomes of victimhood behaviour, such as increased tribal conflicts in society, maybe even the return of racial segregation. More broadly, victimhood culture challenges the core beliefs of dignity culture, namely that we are each reasonable and responsible citizens of our society, that we are not guilty of our ancestors crimes, that our individual behaviour determines our dignity and that reasoned thinking determines right and wrong.

Ultimately, I think the book is simply excellent. The authors write clearly, lucidly and present a very solid line of reasoning for their description of this new phenomenon. From the lens of mainstream dignity culture, much of what happens in victimhood culture is alien to our moral compass, and thus the authors do a great service to provide a consistent description and explanation of victimhood culture behaviour. The fact that many immature young people are misbehaving is one thing, but the miscarriages of justice by adults in positions of responsibility is deeply concerning for wider society. Many surely know that it is our responsibility as adults in society to take note of these alarming developments, to be conscious of the manipulations of victimhood cultures, and, especially for those in positions of authority, to safeguard the practices of due process based on evidence and investigation when arbitrating conflict. An important principle of justice that has seemingly been forgotten is that the action of the authorities in redressing a harm should not be disproportionate to the actual objective harm of an initial offence. It is time for us to have a grown up conversation about why so many of us live in fear of being the next victim of the twitter lynch mob, of losing our jobs, our livelihoods and our families to possible misinterpretations, exaggerations or even fabrications about our persons.

TLDR: The authors hit the nail on the head. You need to read this book.

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Imran

Low-cost print but great content

Reviewed in Singapore on April 12, 2023

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The book is a rare but useful analysis of victimhood culture prevalent among the woke generation. It provides a sociological take that sets the context of a phenomenon many are wondering about.

But be aware that the book is not professionally printed. It is a low-cost print-on-demand and contains icons and links on the page margins - indicating that this is printed from a web version and sold as a book. Disappointing!

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