You can read the answer here.
Great answer evolution-wise, April! I knew it was a “blame the innocent weirdo” case before the movie even revealed it. I think I looked up “movies with effed up endings” a while back, and came across a Korean one called Oldboy, The Mist, and maybe Mystic River, too. Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman, and Jake Gyllenhaal, also gave me a similar vibe. A series called The Killing did, too.
Anyway, the worst part about being a weak person is that you expect everyone around you to pamper you with encouraging words all the time or force you to be strong when strength is something that’s NOT ingrained in your DNA. I could see similar cases back in school where students would rarely stand up for themselves, while it was a natural thing for me to do. I also talk about my trauma like it’s a joke, and that’s how I make sure it will never have any negative effect on me. I noticed a long time ago that the more I talked about something traumatic, the weaker the hold it had over me. Sadly, that can easily be misunderstood by people when, for instance, you remind an old friend of some bad thing they did to you in a neutral context, and they assume you still hold a grudge.
I just can’t picture myself ever drowning in self-pity (it’s annoyingly bad enough that sometimes people project their drama onto you, and think you’re depressed when you’re not. Living a simple BS-free life has a way of making people assume the worst.), so seeing people not standing up for themselves when they have every right to do so pisses me off big time. Tim Robbins did such a great job, though, and I was happy to know he got an Oscar for his role. Very well-deserved!