My observation is that being a victim is a highly desirable status in American academia. It's a form of street cred since the humanities (and to a lesser degree some of the social sciences) abandoned scholarship and became centered around victims and victimhood in recent decades.

Unfortunately, most people have a tough time accessing victim status due to being privileged their entire life (they are in American colleges after all, which cost $10k+ per year). This newfound sensitivity and claims of being offended by everything are their small attempts to access the coveted victim status.