The claim that everyone had a choice deserves a look at what each alternative cost.

Saying everyone had a choice is true in a thin sense and often misleading in a thick one. Options exist on paper while differing enormously in what they cost, and when one alternative means losing your home or your safety, calling it a choice describes the situation without conveying it. The word makes very unequal positions sound equivalent.

When you hear it, or use it, ask what each option actually cost the person taking it. Sometimes the answer restores your sympathy and sometimes it does not, and either way you will be reasoning about the real situation. This is worth applying to your own past decisions too, particularly the ones you judge yourself for.