Claiming the greatest-victim status grants moral absolution for present violence

Evidence

In the words of Amos Oz, we are witnessing a world championship tournament for a greatest collective victim. Because the prestigious position of the “greatest victim” brings moral advantage and provides a permanent weapon against the perpetrators who are constantly reminded how they did not pay their real and symbolic debts. Furthermore, current or future violence by the “victims” may be justified in the name of past suffering. The victim has absolution for all present and future deeds. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 1554

Categorization

• XREF: This builds directly on the reader’s central interest in sacralized victimhood as both solidarity engine and moral license for future violence — connects to sacred-values theory of conflict intractability. — connects to: Oppression does not confer virtue but breeds potential violence in victims — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 737; Moral justification drives death penalty attitudes more than dehumanization does — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1980; Victimhood and reparation demands function as leverage in soft diplomacy, not genuine settlement — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 1242 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Oppression does not confer virtue but breeds potential violence in victims #complicates (0.85) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 737
• Moral justification drives death penalty attitudes more than dehumanization does #complicates (0.70) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1980