The Rise of Victimhood Culture

Critics say that Americans pulling the "victim card" seems to be at an all-time high. What are the forms of victimhood and types of people who have a victim mentality? What dangers does a trend toward over-sensitivity, negative thinking, playing the blame game, and entitlement pose for our society? Sam is a skateboarder and recent college graduate who is currently living in his van with his kitten in Los Angeles. He says he is not working and wonders how he is expected to remain positive when bad things just seem to happen to him all the time. Pastor James Ward, founder of INSIGHT Church and author of "Zero Victim: Overcoming Injustice with a New Attitude," says victimhood culture causes the alleged victims to bully others into accepting their ideologies, and we must start creating better, stronger people who do not see themselves as victims. Trauma therapist and author of "Through The Glass," Shannon Moroney, says even though she personally experienced an unbelievable tragedy, she does not believe in people believing they have no responsibility to take care of the wounds inflicted upon them. Shaunelle Curry, professor at CSU Long Beach, says Americans see many people's unresolved and unacknowledged historical pain playing out and wrongly call it "victimhood." She believes instead of criticizing people for airing their grievances, we should listen. Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist, founder and director of the Center for Human Potential, and co-author of "Choose Growth: A Workshop For Transcending Trauma, Fear, And Self-Doubt," with Jordyn Feingold. His 2020 article for Scientific American titled "Unraveling The Mindset of Victimhood" was very popular, as he analyzed in an easy-to-understand way the groundbreaking Israeli study "The Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood" by Rahav Gabay et al. What does Dr. Kaufman say he believes victimhood is linked to?