Playing victim is a deceptive political game

Powerful people who have access to resources cannot play victims in a bid to shirk responsibility. They ought to be called out for their political chicanery

Modern democracy offers citizens the right to construct their individuality according to their own perceptions of how they want to be. This opens up infinite possibilities for individuals living in a typical Western liberal democracy.
Articulation of grievances is part of political participation in a democracy. Citizens express what they want from the system and evolve a political agenda that is reflective of their aspirations. 
So far so good. But the political mobilisation sometimes takes on a different, sinister form when politicians invent non-existent victimhood and rally people around it. 
Playing victim is a favourite political game in the present era where strongman populist politicians are gaining increasing acceptance. Some of these politicians don the mantle of a victim and assert that they have been systematically targeted by a cabal of well-entrenched elites. They either invent or exaggerate their victimhood so as to build a political argument against their perceived enemy, who sometimes is named but many times remains a faceless figure.
Victimhood plays out both in individual lives and in the life of a nation. Some individuals, because of psychological issues or strange personal experiences, cultivate an inflated notion of discrimination and victimhood. They wear it as a badge of honour and taunt others with their heightened sense of resentment. 
In the contemporary global political stage, US President Donald Trump plays the victimhood game with perfection. He believes he has been targeted because he was draining the swamp in Washington. The elites firmly entrenched in the system are out to get him because he is upsetting their lobbies and privileges. He wants people to realise his victimhood and stand with him in the fight against the system. 
It is very strange that the US president does this without any qualms. Trump, who presides over a huge business empire and is hailed as a big realtor who achieved success by means fair and foul, tries to project that he is a stranger to the ways of Washington. But is that true? He could not have reached where he has without the support of Washington insiders. But he never lets this fact disturb his victim narrative.
Victimhood is a cynical tactical ploy employed by a president who has earned the dubious distinction of being a narcissist. It is farcical and dangerous when the perpetrator doubles up as a victim.
Several world leaders have tried this trick with varying degrees of success. Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey have flirted with this victimhood ideology with some success. Silvio Berlusconi, the erstwhile leader of Italy, charted this path first and in fact is a precursor to Donald Trump in many ways.   
Apart from the leaders of nations, individuals too employ this technique in their daily lives. Some nurse a grievance against the system prevailing in office or home with some make-belief injustice and insult. They are always found complaining about the lack of fairness and point fingers at people in authority. Persecution complex grips their mind and makes them paranoid and dysfunctional. They shift responsibility for their actions to others who are demonised as perpetrators of an unjust system. The victimhood gives a sense of completeness to their lack of action and success, and gives them a legitimate ground to complain and lament about their predicament. 
Victimhood ideology becomes lethal and dangerous when powerful people spout it. They are perpetrators of injustices but project themselves as victims to cement their grip on power. They invoke lost glory and fabricated injustice to rally people behind them. India's Hindu nationalists fall in this category. They drum up support on perceived sense of injustice and stoke feelings of disenchantment and hate.   
The critique of victimhood culture does not mean that there are no legitimate grievances and problems which need articulation and resolution. Discrimination based on colour, gender, and caste is real and needs political action to remedy it. Genuine injustices do need corrective action. They cannot be bracketed with victimhood syndrome.
The complaint here is that powerful people who have access to resources cannot play victims in a bid to shirk responsibility. They ought to be called out for their political chicanery. 
-sreenivasa@khaleejtimes.com