Theos-Talk Archives (September 1997 Message tl00225)

At 04:48 PM 9/10/97 -0400, Jerry wrote:
>There may be more to it than that, Doss. In psychology, it is well
>known that some people have a "victim mentality." If we all truly
>communicate telepathically, then it just could be that a victim
>sends out thoughts about wanting to die, and these are picked
>up by a would-be mugger or murderer who is then subconsciously
>drawn to the victim and commits the crime. Same could be true
>with rape. It is a possibility worth considering, but whatever the
>case, the karma is all the same, and the telepathy is more in the 
>nature of methodology. In each case, we have to ask "why" such
>and such a person? Why that night? Why me? etc.

Jerry,
Ooookay! ;-D I used to work with Women Organized Against Rape. (No need to
brace yourself for a feminist harangue... that's not coming, I promise.
;-D) Rather than the telepathy thing, though that could play a role,
victimization tends to have to do with how a person is carrying themself.
I'm not talking about the usual stereotype of a rape victim who is "walking
suggestively" which is a bunch of crap anyway. Criminals subconsciously
sense fear, physical weakness, or vulnerability. This is why the very act
of taking self defense classes is a rape deterrent. This holds true for men
as well. People who radiate an aura of strength, awareness of their
surroundings, etc. are less likely to be violently victimized. The fact
that you *know* that you can defend yourself itself sends criminals looking
for another target. Criminals are just like any other predator. They avoid
prey who are likely to put up too much of a fight and potentially harm
them. I admit that this isn't a total explanation for who is victimized and
who isn't, but the traditional psychological interpretation is IMHO a
subtle form of blaming the victim who's already been severely traumatized
by the crime. Sure, karma probably does play a role in some cases, however,
in many case, I'm sure that it's an initiation of a karmic bond on the part
of the attacker.

Lynn