When I was teaching The Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice, one of the things we went over was the Just World Hypothesis. The JWH is the idea that people get what they deserve in this world, so if anyone's in a bad situation, it's because they deserve it. The JWH is incredibly comforting to those who are in good situations and incredibly oppressive to those in bad situations. It's even demonstrably incorrect, but it makes life SO much easier for those in good situations that it's almost impossible to dismantle. Psychologists have been doing research on the topic for more than 50 years, and we haven't figured out a way to get people to cut it the fuck out yet.
I remembered there was a name for it, but couldn't quite get there. I hope someday somebody does find an effective countermeme. In the meantime, I'll be over here grinding my teeth in frustration.
(no subject)
(no subject)