The concept of victim-blaming is usually relegated to the realm of violence against women. We’ve all heard, and likely been infuriated by, comments suggesting that a woman would not have been raped had she not worn such a short skirt, or would not have been knocked out by her boyfriend had she not stayed out partying so late. Those ideas are overtly ludicrous and offensive; however, victim-blaming can also be gleaned in other more subtle, yet just as worrisome, situations.
For instance, this week news broke about a local gay man who was assaulted in the Gayborhood. A group of five passersby made a comment to the man, then two men in the group doubled back and proceeded to pummel him, removing their jackets in the process, as if readying for a fight. The attack landed the man in the hospital for a week, with bleeding on his brain, seizures and potential ongoing complications from brain trauma. Concern for his health and outrage at the attackers was immediate.
However, once PGN reported that the initial comment from the group regarded the man’s urinating against a building, the discourse from some changed — with calls from some readers that the victim be cited, and others commenting that the altercation directly stemmed from his public urination, and thus could have been avoided.
Where did the concern for the victim’s well-being go when it was discovered he wasn’t acting 100-percent by the book? None of us is rarely behaving to the letter of the law every minute of the day; ignoring that fact in favor of the thrill of judgment is alarming.
Should someone who tosses litter into the street instead of the trashcan be subjected to verbal and physical assault? Or someone who rides a bike through a red light? Or smokes a cigarette in front of a no-smoking sign? Simply because someone exhibits a behavior that has in the past caused personal irritation doesn’t warrant condemnation, and certainly doesn’t justify a responding action that is enormously unbalanced in scope and severity. How about the two gay men who were attacked in Center City in the fall? When the one man pushed the hand of an attacking female, did that justify the ensuing beating?
In a society just beginning to have an open discussion about the conditions that led to such scenarios as the Michael Brown shooting, should we really be so quick to pass judgment?