The Cycle of Victimhood: When the Victim Becomes the Persecutor

© 2025 Luis A. Marrero. Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose

It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man. I saw that of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both."

Stevenson, R. L. (1886). Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

This article follows the series on peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

If you pay close attention to the daily news, you will notice we live in an age where narratives of victimhood dominate political, social, and personal spheres. We must ask: When does legitimate suffering become a tool for control? While acknowledging that genuine victimization is real, there is a darker side to victimhood—one where individuals or groups use their status as victims to justify harmful actions against others.

This pattern aligns with Karpman’s Drama Triangle (1968), a psychological model illustrating dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics. In this model, a Victim recruits Rescuers to help exert control over a perceived Persecutor/Prosecutor—even when the Persecutor may not be guilty, repentant, or lack the power attributed to them. This manipulation of victimhood is not just an individual phenomenon but has been leveraged by leaders and groups in false flag operations and blame-shifting tactics, escalating conflicts and perpetuating cycles of aggression.

Understanding the pathological use of victimhood can help us navigate our personal and collective moral responsibilities with greater clarity. This article explores the dangers of weaponized victimhood, its ethical implications, and strategies to transition from victim-persecutor cycles to empowered, prosocial action using the Empowerment Triangle (Emerald, 2006) and logoteleology’s Meaningful Path model (Marrero, 2013; Marrero & Persuitte, 2022).

The Drama Triangle: When the Victim Becomes the Persecutor

The Drama Triangle, introduced by Stephen Karpman (1968), consists of three roles:

1. The Victim: The victim feels helpless, oppressed, and powerless. They seek validation and external support instead of self-empowerment.

2. The Rescuer: A well-meaning but enabling figure who “saves” the Victim instead of fostering their growth.

3. The Persecutor: The person or entity blamed for all of the Victim’s suffering, whether the blame is justified or not.

A pathological dynamic emerges when a Victim, instead of seeking healing, manipulates their status to punish others. This shift can be subtle or extreme:

• Personal level: An individual who, after experiencing betrayal, uses their pain to justify slander, revenge, or controlling behavior in relationships.

• Social level: Activist movements that initially sought justice but devolved into persecuting entire groups, demanding retribution rather than reconciliation.

• Political level: Governments or leaders who fabricate or exaggerate grievances to justify wars, economic sanctions, or suppression of dissent—a classic false flag operation.

The Rescuers, believing they are fighting for a just cause, blindly support the Victim’s narrative, further empowering their transition into the Persecutor role. Unaware of being manipulated, supporters and followers of the victim’s agenda become “useful idiots”—a term attributed to Vladimir Lenin for individuals who unwittingly support a cause or ideology that ultimately works against their own interests.

Case Study: Victimhood as a Political Strategy

History is rife with leaders using a nation’s past suffering to justify aggression. For example:

• Post-WWI Germany: The narrative of humiliation and victimhood after the Treaty of Versailles was exploited by the Nazi regime to justify persecution and expansionist policies.

• False Flag Operations: Governments have fabricated attacks to rally public support for war, claiming to be victims of aggression when they are the actual initiators.

• Blame Shifting in Leadership: Some political leaders blame internal failures on external enemies, keeping citizens in constant fear and dependency.

Such tactics hijack the moral high ground while committing acts as harmful as those they claim to oppose.

The Danger of Meaningless Narratives

According to logoteleology, the study of meaning-willed action, people shape their behaviors around the meanings they ascribe to events (Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose, 2023). When meaning is distorted by unresolved pain, revenge, or collective trauma, it can lead to immoral, unethical, and antisocial behavior.

How Pathological Victimhood Lacks Compassion for Self and Others:

1. Self-Destructive Thinking: Individuals rob themselves of personal agency and growth by clinging to a perpetual victim identity. When individuals or groups place their suffering above all else, they alienate potential allies and fracture communities. Instead of fostering solidarity and collective healing, they polarize others, creating an environment where division and distrust flourish.

2. Moral Blindness: Empathy is lost when revenge is disguised as justice, leading to collective punishment of perceived enemies. One of the most dangerous aspects of moral blindness is the belief that victimhood excuses otherwise unethical behaviors. When someone claims the moral high ground based solely on their suffering, they may feel entitled to engage in actions that contradict the principles they purport to uphold. This could include slander, manipulation, or violence, all under the guise of addressing past wrongs. Such behaviors reinforce a toxic cycle of harm, blurring the lines between victim and persecutor.

3. Moral Bankruptcy: At its core, moral bankruptcy arises from a failure to extend compassion to others and oneself. The individual or group clinging to pathological victimhood often views others solely through the lens of "us versus them," dehumanizing perceived adversaries and dismissing their potential for growth or change. This moral disconnection stifles opportunities for mutual understanding and collaboration, replacing altruism with a self-centered pursuit of power or validation.

4. Perpetuation of Conflict: Without a conscious effort to break the cycle, grievances pass from generation to generation, ensuring the conflict never ends. Compassion includes taking responsibility for one’s actions, even in adversity. However, those entrenched in pathological victimhood often abdicate personal accountability, shifting blame entirely to others. This refusal to engage in self-reflection or acknowledge one’s role in conflict dynamics further entrenches moral stagnation and perpetuates destructive behavior.

Victimhood can have meaning, but only when it leads to self-empowerment, healing, and ethical action—not when it is weaponized for control.

Breaking the Cycle: From Drama to Empowerment

To escape the destructive patterns of the Drama Triangle, individuals and societies can shift to The Empowerment Dynamic (Emerald, 2006), which reframes the three roles:

Drama Triangle	Empowerment Triangle (Emerald, 2006)
Victim → Creator	Focus on choices, resilience, and self-efficacy instead of helplessness.
Rescuer → Coach	Guide others toward empowerment rather than fostering dependence.
Persecutor → Challenger	Encourage growth through constructive accountability rather than revenge.

Practical Steps to Prevent Pathological Victimhood:

1. Self-Reflection: Ask yourself: Am I seeking justice or control? Am I acting out of pain or principle?

2. Ethical Vetting – Before supporting a cause, evaluate whether its actions are moral, prosocial, or fueled by retaliation and resentment.

3. Compassion-Based Leadership – Leaders and individuals should practice forgiveness, responsibility, and vision-based action rather than weaponizing pain.

4. Healing and Meaning-Making – Instead of clinging to trauma, victims can use their experience to create meaningful purpose (i.e., logoteleological) transformation without harming others.

Conclusion: Awareness and Ethical Responsibility

Weaponized victimhood is one of the most insidious social and political tactics—it disguises oppression as justice, prevents healing, and fuels cycles of retaliation. While acknowledging that real suffering is unavoidable, we must also recognize when victim narratives are used to justify harm, suppress dissent, discriminate, exclude, or manipulate public sentiment.

In many ways, this transformation from victim to persecutor mirrors Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the infamous literary depiction of duality within human nature. Like a genuine victim, Dr. Jekyll begins with pain, seeking understanding and relief. However, when victimhood is used to justify aggression, the Hyde persona emerges—vengeful, uncontrollable, and convinced of its righteousness while causing harm. The danger is that this transformation is often unconscious, making it crucial for individuals and societies to reflect on whether they are operating as Jekyll (seeking justice) or Hyde (seeking control and retribution).

Individuals and societies can break free from toxic cycles, cultivate compassion, and create ethical, prosocial change by shifting from the Drama Triangle to the Empowerment Triangle, from the Meaningless Path to the Meaningful Path.

The challenge for all of us is to vet our meanings—to ask, are my actions rooted in genuine justice and healing, or am I unconsciously perpetuating the very suffering I claim to oppose?

Only through meaningful awareness, reflection, and responsibility can we ensure that victimhood does not become a path to persecution. Instead, a better choice is to follow the optimistic Meaningful Path. Which path will we choose? Who will we be, Dr. Jekyll or Dr. Hyde?

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References

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