General Discussion

Orrex

(66,911 posts)

26. Deriding someone's bad choices is a convenient way to blame the victim

Thu Jan 10, 2013, 01:30 PM

Jan 2013

In my experience, most people who suffer misfortune are the victims of circumstances wholly beyond their control. In every case, a diagnosis of "they made bad choices" is entirely unhelpful and is intended to make the victim feel like an irresponsible fuck-up in addition to feeling helpless and overwhelmed.

Bravo to you.

Rather than kicking the victim in the face, perhaps you might offer actual, concrete steps to overcome the problems that they're confronting? A person with a leaky roof and a broken furnace and a dead transmission doesn't really benefit from being told that they should have made different college choices 20 years ago, yet a distressingly large contingent of DUers seems gleefully eager to step right up and tell them how foolish they are.

Bravo to you.

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More And More Of America's PhDs Are On Welfare [View all] FarCenter Jan 2013 OP

So, for the general population, it's 15%, but for advanced degrees it's less than 2% alcibiades_mystery Jan 2013 #1

And those numbers are for people with Master's degrees as well as PhDs. yardwork Jan 2013 #14

they should have studied something useful like business or football datasuspect Jan 2013 #2

People sometimes make bad choices, whether buying a house they can't afford or getting a degree for jody Jan 2013 #3

I used to work for an agency counseling disabled people on employment ebbie15644 Jan 2013 #5

That really isn't the goal of going to school. HughBeaumont Jan 2013 #10

The Bachelor's of Arts and Sciences was orginally a finshing school for the bourgeoisie FarCenter Jan 2013 #12

The facts don't support this right-wing talking point. yardwork Jan 2013 #16

English and History have been useful mainly as prereqs for the MBA or JD FarCenter Jan 2013 #21

That's exactly my point. yardwork Jan 2013 #23

What field is your job in? Orrex Jan 2013 #33

Both. I combined them. Love my job! yardwork Jan 2013 #51

You're lucky that you had that opportunity Orrex Jan 2013 #55

I know that and I do feel blessed. One of the biggest problems is lack of job security. yardwork Jan 2013 #61

All true. Orrex Jan 2013 #65

So true! My mom started in on "you boomers" the other day. yardwork Jan 2013 #69

The inflation adjusted value of $1 in 1972 is $5.51 in 2012; So making "nine times" is actually 1.63 FarCenter Jan 2013 #74

Absolutely. But what about the loss in value of my place purchased in 2007? yardwork Jan 2013 #75

Investing in real estate is no sure thing. It has done less well than other asset classes FarCenter Jan 2013 #76

Technical degrees are also given by accreditied colleges and universities FarCenter Jan 2013 #48

I agree, but the right-wingers who are trying to dismantle higher education don't. yardwork Jan 2013 #50

The No. 1 undergrad major at Yale is history KamaAina Jan 2013 #42

Yale is more of a pre-law, foreign service, and CIA breeding ground FarCenter Jan 2013 #47

That's right. In fact, Agent Mike himself was in my Psychology of Personality class. KamaAina Jan 2013 #49

Brava! yardwork Jan 2013 #52

Perhaps the new version of "working in the family company" is going to the right school, hedgehog Jan 2013 #53

I thought Yale was a liberal arts school where you get a broad education and build a network. Ed Suspicious Jan 2013 #77

I know! I would tell some of them to FIRST train for a job ebbie15644 Jan 2013 #79

Actually. If the goal of the violin player was to understand all aspects of the violin and bluestate10 Jan 2013 #62

The goal is to be able to get a job and support yourself! ebbie15644 Jan 2013 #78

Read the article. 98% of them AREN'T needing assistance leftstreet Jan 2013 #7

Siiiiiiigh. So I guess "working harder" is no longer enough; you now have to be a fortune teller. HughBeaumont Jan 2013 #9

How do you know there will be no demand 4-6 years down the road? blueclown Jan 2013 #11

You would probably be very surprised. Most CEOs have degrees in History or English. yardwork Jan 2013 #15

my degrees in math an economics have sure been useless hfojvt Jan 2013 #17

Both math and economics are part of a liberal arts education. yardwork Jan 2013 #20

What definition of liberal arts education are you using? Orrex Jan 2013 #27

BOTH math and art history are part of a liberal arts curriculum. yardwork Jan 2013 #58

Interesting. Penn State certainly didn't define it that way Orrex Jan 2013 #60

Very few people major in "liberal arts." They choose a major from within liberal arts. yardwork Jan 2013 #63

You're messing with my brain Orrex Jan 2013 #68

well if either of my alma maters would send me my degree in cloth hfojvt Jan 2013 #28

Deriding someone's bad choices is a convenient way to blame the victim Orrex Jan 2013 #26

A PhD in a field should be at such a high level that he or she can create new lines of thought bluestate10 Jan 2013 #59

Sounds great but that's not how the market for PhDs works. Agree they followed a dream but there was jody Jan 2013 #67

So that's 1.6% of all of those holding advanced degrees is receiving assistance? JoePhilly Jan 2013 #4

Initiative, creativity, and flexibility matter; degrees do not aristocles Jan 2013 #6

Would your life have been better had you chosen different degrees? FarCenter Jan 2013 #8

No. It's a wonderful life n/t aristocles Jan 2013 #13

This message was self-deleted by its author devilgrrl Jan 2013 #18

Wow. I didn't get that from that post at all. yardwork Jan 2013 #19

This message was self-deleted by its author devilgrrl Jan 2013 #22

I didn't read it that way at all. yardwork Jan 2013 #25

This message was self-deleted by its author devilgrrl Jan 2013 #30

It's ok. I know you to be a very reasonable poster so I guessed that you were interpreting yardwork Jan 2013 #81

The value of humanities degrees aristocles Jan 2013 #24

This message was self-deleted by its author devilgrrl Jan 2013 #29

"Good employment depends on initiative, creativity, and flexibility." Orrex Jan 2013 #32

"initiative, creativity, and flexibility" - You forgot about luck... blueclown Jan 2013 #37

Based on the data in the OP, less then 2% of those with advanced degrees are on assistance. JoePhilly Jan 2013 #43

Some of you younger people may not know that companies used to hire liberal arts majors Lydia Leftcoast Jan 2013 #31

Exactly right. Thinking people need not apply. Obedient drones with the capacity Egalitarian Thug Jan 2013 #34

Makes sense, I work in IT which is mostly L1\H1s they say they don't get a rounded eduction... uponit7771 Jan 2013 #36

Based on the data in the OP, less then 2% of those with advanced degrees are on assistance. JoePhilly Jan 2013 #44

More proof the MIC is a welfare program, if we REALLY needed to spend that much money on the MIC uponit7771 Jan 2013 #35

Misleading title - food stamps and unemployment are not "welfare" yellowcanine Jan 2013 #38

What is your definition of welfare? blueclown Jan 2013 #39

What is today known as Temporary Cash Assistance. yellowcanine Jan 2013 #40

Many people working as adjunct professors are eligible for food stamps JPZenger Jan 2013 #41

Itinerant scholars aristocles Jan 2013 #45

That's because the universities are saving money by shifting teaching to adjuncts, yardwork Jan 2013 #54

Okay so I admit I was taking a chance obliviously Jan 2013 #46

I can believe this even in things like hard science redstatebluegirl Jan 2013 #56

Thankfully, I will not be one of them... a la izquierda Jan 2013 #57

I have two of those allegedly good-to-get-jobs degrees. Manifestor_of_Light Jan 2013 #64

Think of the people who majored in Computer Science in the 1980s yardwork Jan 2013 #66

And replaced with card holders from Asia. nt jody Jan 2013 #70

Exactly. yardwork Jan 2013 #73

Piled High Debt The Second Stone Jan 2013 #71

360,ooo out of 22,000,000 doesn't seem all that many DonRedwood Jan 2013 #72

NONE of our best and brightest should be struggling to find work. THAT'S what's wrong with these ##s riderinthestorm Jan 2013 #80