A Rebuttal

This failed to come to me in my mojito induced daze:

The concept of a “self fulfilled prophecy” is bunk. With it we place the entire weight of blame on an individual for fulfilling this “prophecy” yet we don’t acknowledge that this “prophecy” was created for them and therefore could not entirely be their fault.

Let’s examine this concept of a "self fulfilled prophecy" a bit more:

Premise #1 = There is a "prophecy"

If there is a “prophecy”, that would mean there is either an agreed understanding, cultural belief, “truth” or established "fate" to which this person is supposed to align. Given this, it would mean a person with a “prophecy” immediately has one strike against them at birth: the fact that they have a “prophecy” everyone believes they should fulfill. If a “prophecy” is a “prediction of future events, usually divinely inspired” it would mean that people are motivated to make sure the “prophecy” is realized. It is GOD we’re talking about. With that said, how could one say it’s entirely the individuals fault when they “self fulfill a prophecy” the community established and believed they would fulfill?

Peer pressure. It’s a bitch.

Okay I'll continue although I'm not sure I see point.

Premise #2 = The "prophecy" is self fulfilled and is therefore your own fault.

If Premise #1 is true, then Premise #2 cannot be. Having an entire culture attempt tell you there is a “prophecy” and thus invisibly hold you to a standard or position you never wanted in the first place, means you had something pushing against you the entire time you tried to move any direction other than that which the “prophecy” defined. Let’s think of it as a riptide. If we do this, we’re basically saying that if you don’t know how to swim diagonally or have never been taught to do so, your drowning is entirely your fault. I hardly think that’s fair. Weren’t there some people on the beach? What was that lifeguard doing?

Many of us are lucky enough (myself included) to not know what it's like to have our lives planned (or prophesied) for us by some over-arching cultural belief or previously set standard... a life that is a struggle to break free from, or simply one with a really strong current. Does that mean the world is against them completely? Probably not. But it does mean there is a whispering in the crash of the waves that tells you “this is your prophecy”, and if there is no one to help you swim to shore or teach you to swim diagonally, it’s easy to get swept away with the tide, and I hardly think a person is ENTIRELY to blame for that.