My guess, turtle, would be that when we tried to express ourselves as cubs we were given the impression that whatever the problem was, it was of our own making, not our tormentors. That is, there was something wrong with us or with our approach.

I can think of an example. When I was a young child walking home I was approached and made fun of by a gang of kids. I was very upset and rushed home to tell my mother. She responded with annoyance, "Oh, just let it roll off your back."

From this I understood that I was taking the whole thing too seriously and should not have been upset at all. IE, I was too sensitive.