The Virtuous Victim Effect

People can be victims and be mean and evil.

We all tend to have sympathy for those we see as enduring one form of suffering or the other. And many times we wish to show them the sympathy we feel with different actions. The actions may include leniency for their wrong actions. We excuse their shortcomings, citing their predicament as a factor why they may behave in a way that we generally do not approve of. Sometimes, we justify their wrong deeds, telling ourselves and others that they are that way because of whatever they suffered. While we may be lenient to them, we may render full judgment on someone else who did the same thing but who we do not see or know as enduring a form of suffering. Specifically, we don’t forgive people we perceive as having privilege so easily. This is the virtuous victim effect.

The Virtuous Victim effect is the unconscious act of perceiving victims as more moral than non-victims even when they behave exactly the same way. It is how we assign either innocence or purity to a person and his action because of his victimhood.

The sympathy we feel for victims is almost indistinguishable from the innocence we assign to them. And to this effect, we root for them and absolve them of their heinous acts. On the other hand, we assign lesser moral value to an 'oppressor.'

Remember Thanos?

If you have seen Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos should be a familiar name.

While we may agree that the purple guy (not you Barney) is a raving mad conqueror, he backed up his quest with a very valid reason: that the universe needed balance. But he didn’t stop there. He attempted to elicit sympathy–to draw us into his inner world, his feelings, thoughts, and philosophy. Not for once did Thanos stop to consider if his actions were righteous or not; he assumed they were.

Meet Thanos the Mad Titan.

On Titan, he told the story of his home to Stephen Strange (and others hiding). He told us the viewers how he warned about the doom that befell them. He rejected praise by dismissing Stephen’s adulation of him as a prophet and instead called himself a survivor. All this was an attempt to tell us "see, I am not a bad guy. Whatever I am doing, I am doing it out of pain to create a better world. I know it is painful for you, but it is even more hurtful for me."

“More than admiration—more even than fear—pity from good people is carte blanche. When we pity, we are, at least for the moment, defenseless…All in all, I am sure if the devil existed, he would want us to feel very sorry for him.” 

Martha Stout in The Sociopath Next Door

Thanos went ahead to draw more sympathy by shedding tears as he sacrificed Gamora for the soul stone (oh! pain!). Thanos desperately needed us to see that he was a victim who, inspired by righteous pain, wanted to help the world.

Without a doubt, there are people who think Thanos was right and the Avengers were too weak to accept what could be a new world. (Considering how poor MCU’s phase 5 has been so far, I am beginning to think Thanos was right). 

Victimhood Is Not Sainthood

Whichever side you are on, be it Thanos' or the Avengers', know this: victimhood doesn't confer sainthood. The feeling of a suffered wrong doesn't equate to righteousness. People can be victims and be mean and evil. Without care and discernment, we will fall into the pit of perceiving victims as people who should have their vileness justified.

What does this mean for you as an observer and possible adjudicator? It means you have to be careful not to fall for the virtuous victim effect. Don't see innocence where there is none. Don't conflate sympathy with innocence. You can sympathize with one's predicament while still holding them to a pretty high standard. You should stop a mad titan in his tracks while acknowledging his pain that his people are extinct. No matter what, mother justice must remain blind. Let behaviors speak for themselves.

Conclusion

Don’t let stories of oppression make you compromise on a fitting standard. Show mercy when you can. Help those in pain. However, retain an ethical standard. Empathise with those who suffer but never justify their cruelty.

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Anyways, here is a picture of Queen Elizabeth II serving during World War 2. She will be missed. R.I.P to Elizabeth Alexander Mary Windsor.

Have a great week.