MANIPULATION BY VICTIMIZATION

Constantly playing the victim card is nothing but a pure attempt to manipulate the human mind. Manipulation by victimization is the subtlest yet one of the deadliest ways to distort human judgement. It is manipulative because it creates a false sense of vulnerability in the mind of the observer to evoke sympathy. The manipulator does this by controlling the emotions of their victims via crocodile tears, a rue demeanour, praise, etc. The sad thing about manipulation by victimization is that it not only deceives, but it comes at a cost to the manipulator’s target victim. An instance is in a case where a manipulator claims to be the victim of, say, an unfortunate event like theft. It’s merely a ploy to manipulate his target by evoking pity, making the target feel bound to part with some money that would have been used to sort some other things out in their own personal lives. The forgone need that the money of the target would have solved is thus an incremental cost to the sum given to the manipulator.

It is important to understand the traits of manipulative people so they can be easily spotted before being close enough to be victimized by their narcissistic behavioral patterns. One of them is the suspicious innocence they play even at first interaction. The world is full of the good, the bad, and the ugly, and no one is entirely oblivious of the knowledge of the bad and ugly. When someone walks up to you with the depiction that they are innocent, or dumb, or weak and feable, the chances are high that they are manipulative. Oftentimes such persons are found in an environment where there is a strong sense of empathy.

Another much more visible trait is that manipulative people tend to bully others. A bully by nature is always seeking prey. So be on the lookout for people who tend to regularly discuss others with malice, or are extremely critical of others’. This is nothing but a ploy to project their own insecurities onto another. The mere fact that they usually spend most of their time being judgmental and critiquing others’ says a lot about their character don’t you think? Manipulative people are also often liars or not wholly sincere about their truths. One who tells half-truths or responds to simple, direct questions with open-ended answers is most likely to be manipulative. 

Other times, they are recognized by their excessive attention-seeking behavior. But to be manipulated via victimization, it takes much more than feigning innocence, or not being sincere to get the target. It involves the deliberate numbness of the heart to the insecurities or vulnerabilities of the target. Because their only concern is to benefit, or gain from your empathy, the manipulator does not just play on the emotions of the target, but also on the dignity of the target, or sufferer. Imagine suffering a jail term because of the fabrication of a victimhood. It is all shades of wrong. But that’s the price you’d pay when you fall prey to manipulation by victimization.