Yes, being persecuted is a reality. A reality can't be denied. But it can be rewritten. You can decide how to respond to something. You may not be able to control how others treat you, but you can decide to handle it in a manner that makes it easier for you to deal with it. I've been bullied, teased, mocked, dismissed, rejected, etc. based on personality issues, or perceived inadequacies, and possibly minority status. I've been seen as childish, fragile, weak, for not being able to handle the dismissive treatment people threw at me. I've been a source of amusement to people in a way that should have made me curl up in a ball and wilt away.
And of course, it hurt. Neither did I have people coming to my defense, but instead, I had people talking behind my back, which just made things worse. Extremely lonely experience. However, seeing myself as a victim (despite being the reality) never truly helped either. It just gave people more power over me because they saw how it affected me. I had a "poor me" attitude going on, where I wanted people to always feel sorry for me. I ended up taking advantage of it. And I wallowed. The response to this was, people saw me as weak, and incapable of handling myself. That did not help me feel stronger or better. Now, were people's opinions truly relevant in the end? No. Because those opinions were biased and self serving. People stink. They're mean, rude, spiteful, horrible, and douchey.
However, I also realized I can't control how people think of me. I can only control me. You can't control how people feel or think, just how you respond to it. That doesn't mean, the reality of discrimination or mistreatment doesn't exist, and just goes away because we are "positive" and have the "power". It just means you find a way to handle it that makes you able to survive it and keep going. That may mean, fighting back for yourself and others, which still requires no longer seeing yourself as merely a victim, but being an active advocate against abuse or discrimination. In this case, you are no longer a passive recipient of hurtful action who has no choice but to simply accept that something is happening to you. You actually have agency, and power of your own you can exercise. It's also about having a belief in yourself that you can survive.
A technique I've used is dissociating. Don't view yourself as they see you, but as a person sitting on the outside of a conversation like a therapist. Don't see it as them talking about you, but as them reflecting things about themselves. When you fight people on how they see things, they often end up seeing it as a reinforcement of their views. e.g. "See, I was right." Not that it's easy, but it helps.
