Are South Africans suffering from a collective victim syndrome

The well-known South African journalist, Max du Preez, once tweeted that South Africans have become a nation of victims. He also wrote that we are consumed by self-pity and a feeling of injustice.

It appears that most South Africans, have one thing in common: everyone seems to be suffering from a collective victim syndrome. Du Preez hit the nail on the head when he said: South Africa has become a victim nation.

It can be seen everywhere in the news. Black people feel like victims of imperialism, xenophobia, white privilege, and suppression. White people, on the other hand, feel like victims of affirmative action, farm murders, reversed discrimination, and much more.

The majority of South Africans share the vision that these inequalities should be corrected. There are many initiatives taken by government to correct these historic inequalities. There are, however, also various organisations fighting for the rights of groups, such as the so-called Afrikaners for equality and fairness. Unfortunately, these seeming noble campaigns of both sides are only reinforcing this collective victim syndrome.

As an example, it can’t be good or beneficial for athletes or sportspeople to know they are simply in the team for the purpose of quotas. They want to feel they’re chosen based on merit, not because of their skin colour.

The well-known American psychologist, Thomas Ritzman, believes that affirmative action in America had the exact opposite outcome as it was initially intended. Black Americans were placed in positions solely based on their skin colour to rectify past inequalities. However, this approach did not yield the desired outcome, as many individuals still experienced a sense of incompetence in carrying out their responsibilities. This left them with a persistent sense of victimhood. They still felt like victims. There are many examples where land reforms failed which reinvigorated this victim syndrome. This in itself reinvigorates the feeling of powerlessness and inferiority which in turn increases feelings of anger.

The opposite is also true. So many South Africans, especially white South Africans, experience a sense of disempowerment and inferiority, leading to feelings of anger and frustration.

A very interesting phenomenon can here be observed here. On the one hand, the economic balance has not really shifted. White people are largely still controlling the economy, although white squatter camps and poverty increase immensely amongst white South Africans. On the other hand, according to Du Preez, black middle class reached a figure of six million in only two decades. Black poverty, however, has not improved. On the contrary, it actually became worse despite all our efforts to improve it. According to Du Preez, more than 16 million South Africans receive poverty assistance from Government as opposed to only 2.5 million in 1998.

However, this situation is getting worse despite all the Government’s efforts to implement Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), quotas, more aggressive farm expropriation, etc. Crime is becoming worse with the rationalisation that people are taking back what they believe belongs to them. The cruelty associated with it, especially with regard to farm murders, reflects a great probability of anger, powerlessness, and a sense of injustice.

Apartheid is being blamed by one group, and Affirmative Action by another. Blaming is actually an utterance of helplessness, a cry for help.

However, Apartheid, caused damage to white people too. White people didn’t have a drive or motivation during Apartheid. They just dragged on with a meek but secure salary at the end of every month without any creativity or entrepreneurship. After 1994, white people realised that their privileges were taken away. They had to give up their safe, secure jobs in the public sector and had to leave Afrikaner-established companies to find something else. Many white people became entrepreneurs, earning much more money than they ever earned in their safe positions.

Others, however, chose to feel like victims and took up residence in squatter camps. Precisely the same advantages offered by Apartheid to black South Africans in the past.

I am of the opinion that affirmative had exactly the same effect on black people as Apartheid on white people, as discussed above. Both these points of view reinforce the very same feeling of powerlessness and self-preservation.

There appears to be the very same trend amongst both groups. Some individuals perceive themselves as victims, feeling wronged and acting out with anger, while others may adopt a victim mentality and surrender.

Can we take charge here?

During a recent tour through the townships of Cape Town, I have seen terrible poverty, but I have also seen improving, uplifting possibilities.

There are people who willingly embrace a victim mentality and continue to perceive themselves as victims.

Secondly, there are those who prefer crime as a type of Affirmative Action. Whether it’s from illegal power connections, or so-called chop shops, or more overt crimes such as hijackings, robberies, burglaries, etc.

However, I also became aware of a third group. I would like to refer to them as the creative group. A group that harnesses creativity and utilizes it to their advantage. I have witnessed people with a driving force in their desire to survive – people who yearn for a better future not only for themselves but also their close relatives and progeny. I have seen people who are washing windscreens at traffic lights, selling vegetables and fruits, or even selling pre-fabricated shacks.

These trends can be seen amongst all population groups. In the end, we all eventually survive. There is a creative spirit in South Africa, among black and white! It is this creative spirit that our rainbow nation has in common.

Indeed, the answer lies elsewhere than where we seek and expect it.

Can we take charge?

I don’t believe this victim syndrome is only a South African problem, or challenge, as I like to refer to it, but perhaps a problem in the entire Western world. This victim syndrome is also the prevailing discourse in current psychiatry. Our attitude, and only our attitude will determine our outcome.

We can never be victims.

People are being judged based on what is wrong with them. They are getting diagnosed, as sick people and placed into certain boxes. People are suffering from depression, anxiety, phobias, or whatever the disease may be.

Whether the cause of your challenge has been your birth process, your relationship with your parents, or trauma (as South Africans know trauma so well). We are a traumatised nation where most of us feel like victims.

We believe that by getting rid of the physical cause, for instance, removing statues or symbols of the past will make the past disappear. The problem here is that we are addressing the symptoms instead of the root of the problem or challenge.

The greatest criticism against psychological diagnoses and treatment is that the absence of depression will not necessarily bring happiness, positive emotion and meaning to your life. The absence of oppression or crime also does not necessarily mean freedom.

More and more voices in psychology start to say that man is never a victim, but always a survivor. There are many modern psychological systems focusing on humans’ inner resources to conquer their challenges to be successful.

We can change and improve, but how do we do it?

Currently, both sides of the political organisations place their focus on the so-called injustice done to man and their collective victim syndrome, resulting in a feeling of helplessness, and consequently, anger.

It might be an idea to focus our attention on the positive, instead of negative labels like racism, sexism, just to mention a few.

I would like to believe that if we use the power of unity and cooperation to our advantage by shifting our focus to developing and improving not only ourselves but also the capabilities of others around us, we can all be successful and bring successful change to ourselves and to our nation.

We, as South Africans often fail to recognise the tremendous power of our inherent creativity. Creativity is often born out of hopelessness, need and loss. Our creative thinking and actions can help us to break free from this collective victim mentality.

Feel free to explore my website and delve into the topic of Positive Psychology for a more comprehensive discussion.