this is another reason the whole "kids are being made to feel guilty when we teach them about slavery" is bunk. we identify with the abolitionists, the heros! that's a good thing (even if it's out of inflated sense of our own morality).
In an open sense, we ARE all Dumbo. Made to feel out of place, unwanted, ridiculed, and no one wants to take the time to help us. All we have is gone and replaced with the back of the hand.
I thought this of my mother as I got older. She LOVES an underdog story. Will cry at movies and shows and books about discriminated peoples and cheer for their uprise ... But in reality she's deeply racist, misogynistic, and hateful towards non white none upper middle class folk.
She's the bully
Everyone is the main character in their own life. Consequently, everything that happens to them is more important than anything else.
In every event, every interaction, every relationship, they are the hero/victim, and deserving of reward/compensation, but never the villain, deserving punishment.
The penchant to see ourselves as the hero no matter what evidence to the contrary exists is SO strong, It takes true courage to recognize the fallacies of our own actions and see a cleanly polished reflection in the mirror - all the blemishes intact. Only then do we grow.
Problem is: people can easily identify with the hero, but irl they're conditioned to support the villain and believe the heroes are agitators, terrorists even.
Comments
Poor silent pathos only gets you so far, it’s better to be the wise guy instigator.
She's the bully
In every event, every interaction, every relationship, they are the hero/victim, and deserving of reward/compensation, but never the villain, deserving punishment.