"Sympathy for victims is always counter-balanced by an equal and opposite feeling of resentment towards them"

Ben Elton's quote, "Sympathy for victims is always counter-balanced by an equal and opposite feeling of resentment towards them", checks out a complex and often uncomfortable facet of human psychology. It recommends that while people naturally feel sympathy towards victims, there is likewise a subconscious or underlying tendency to harbor resentment against them. This paradoxical belief may occur from various psychological and social elements.

One possible interpretation is that individuals may feel bitter victims due to the fact that they act as stark tips of vulnerability and human frailty. When confronted with victims, it requires people to deal with the uneasy fact that they, too, could fall victim to comparable miseries. This awareness can reproduce a sense of worry or pain, which might manifest as bitterness towards those who signify what people dread.

Another angle is that society frequently values strength, independence, and durability, sometimes at the expense of empathy and compassion. In this context, victims may be perceived as lacking these traits, leading to an unreasonable judgment and bitterness. This can be particularly pronounced in cultures that stress self-sufficiency, where one's bad luck may be seen, albeit erroneously, as a result of individual failure or weakness.

In addition, there is a mental element called the "just-world hypothesis", where people tend to think that the world is fair which people get what they should have. When this belief is challenged by experiencing undeserved suffering, it can cause cognitive dissonance. In an effort to resolve this, some might subconsciously blame or feel bitter victims as a method to restore their belief in a simply world.

Elton's quote functions as a tip of the double nature of human reactions to suffering, encouraging a deeper reflection on compassion, justice, and personal predispositions. Understanding this duality can cultivate greater empathy and a more helpful method towards those who have suffered misfortune, challenging individuals to face and conquer their fundamental predispositions.