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Virus of 'play the victim' is afflicting Hong Kong

Danny Chan says the breast-as-weapon incident has fed a trend of self-proclaimed victims, who need to take responsibility for their own lives

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A protester holds up a bra with a sign during a demonstration in support of protester Ng Lai-ying. Photo: Reuters

A sense of inverted logic in what being victimised means, appears to have taken hold of Hong Kong society. If being a self-described victim is no different from being a hero, then something has gone very wrong in this community.

When a female protester was found guilty of assaulting a police officer by using her breast as a "weapon" to justify her alleged molestation by the officer, many protested against her conviction, arguing that a breast couldn't possibly be a weapon.

That argument misses the point. The real issue is that the protester, by adopting the claim that she was a victim as her strategy, obscured the moral and legal compass by victimising others. This is the bizarre sense of reverse justice that is blossoming on the streets of Hong Kong.

I am certain that the mindset of victimhood will only lead to a dead end

The claim of victimisation is a social virus that we should all work to eradicate. Apart from its challenge to the rule of law of Hong Kong, the most vicious blow in this case is, by claiming she was the victim, the protester attempted to corrupt the established morals of our society. All the "victims" need to do is to drag others into the mud.

The intention was apparently to malign the police officer on duty and, through the claim of victimisation, create a target for the crowd's anger - in this case, the law enforcement system and its agent. Alleged victimhood is a way to invent an enemy.

By claiming to be a victim, demands for protection, rescue or shelter become part of the rhetoric that has become more and more popular these days in all walks of life in Hong Kong.

But the real question is: who victimised the plaintiff, and where are they?

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