Collapsing distinct historical wounds into one mythic present fueled genocide

Evidence

Lazar’s bones were paraded around Bosnia, tying the bones of the victims of the Ustashe to the bones of the Christ-Prince. The pain and anger of living memory (most Serbs had family members who perished in World War II) combined with the pain and anger of mythic time; Jasenovac and 13 89 were brought into a single moment in the present. — Michael A. Sells, The Bridge Betrayed, 189

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Captures the crucial fusion of lived memory and mythic time that makes contemporary revenge appear as cosmic destiny.

Related

• The 1989 Kosovo commemoration fused Christ-killer myth with anti-Muslim and anti-Albanian hatred (similarity 0.83)
• Resisting genocide requires first confronting one’s own traditions’ crimes (similarity 0.79)
• A retrieved Serbian tradition could recast Kosovo’s traitor as the genocidaires themselves (similarity 0.78)