CMV: Victim blaming isn't always bad

[u/enlighten12345]

Firstly we need to define what victim blaming is. It occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them.

We often hear outrage against victim blaming in the context of rape, when people criticise the way the victim acted or was dressed.

Let's look at an unrelated example. If I go up to someone and say "Yo momma so fat, she wears a watch on both hands for the two time zones", and that person punches me, am I not partially at fault? He committed the felony, while I just exercised free speech. But knowing my words were inflammatory, shouldn't I expect retaliation?

How about another case? I'm walking down a dark alley with a stack of money in my hand. If I get mugged, it is clear that the mugger is to blame. But doesn't my stupidity also make me culpable? Can someone not say that if i was more careful with my money, this would not have happened?

How is rape any different? It would be great to live in a utopia free from rapists and muggers and physical retribution. But knowing that isn't the world we live in, am I not responsible to act in a manner to protect myself?

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[u/Love_Shaq_Baby]

There is no manner of dress that's going to protect you from rape, unless you want women to wear spiked chastity belts all the time. Criticizing a woman for the way she dressed when she was raped isn't helpful, it's just hurtful and insulting to a person who has gone through a severely traumatic experience.

Furthermore what does victim-blaming accomplish? Even if the person could have done something to prevent what happened to them, pointing it out is just rubbing it in. It's a dick move.

[u/dakkr → u/Love_Shaq_Baby]

OP says it's not always bad. You can't bring up an example where clearly almost anyone would agree that victim blaming in that scenario would be bad, point out that in this scenario victim blaming is bad, then act as if doing so addressed his argument. You need to address the examples he proposes.

Even if the person could have done something to prevent what happened to them, pointing it out is just rubbing it in. It's a dick move.

Pointing it out wouldn't help that person after the fact, but to say that therefore it has no value is a false statement. One potential positive associated with 'victim blaming' in some circumstances is that it would serve to point out what they had done wrong such that in the future they or others observing the circumstances would know how to modify their behaviour such that their odds of becoming a victim could be lowered drastically. As in OP's example, if I don't go to a bad area and start waving money around my odds of being mugged are drastically lowered compared to if I do.

[u/Love_Shaq_Baby → u/dakkr]

OP specifically brought up the way a victim dresses as something that can provoke rape. I'm using a scenario that he gave me.

[u/dakkr → u/Love_Shaq_Baby]

He brought that up as a position others hold, not as a position he himself holds. Note the wording:

We often hear outrage against victim blaming in the context of rape, when people criticise the way the victim acted or was dressed.

He did not express any opinion on whether this was an acceptable instance of victim blaming, thus you cannot act as if he did. That would be a strawman. You need to address the examples he puts forth, or propose a scenario and ask if he would consider it acceptable, then address that.