Objectively powerful groups claim victim status by merging current and past enemies

Evidence

Even objectively powerful groups can categorize themselves as the victim group, and this may elevate the perceived costs of reconciling with the other group. Furthermore, current enemies can be categorized with past enemies (e.g., in an “Axis of Evil-doers” who are all out to destroy us). Doing so may elevate the ingroup’s claim to victim status. Such inclusive categorization that ties disparate outgroups together might increase the ingroup’s ability to justify harm toward any of those groups, and reduce the likelihood that collective guilt will be experienced. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 2146

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: the ‘victimhood as privilege’ inversion — how the powerful weaponize minority self-presentation (citing the ‘Axis of Evil’ rhetoric).
• XREF: connects to: Advantaged groups avoid guilt by denying inequality or dodging responsibility — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1844; Claiming the greatest-victim status grants moral absolution for present violence — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 1554; At group level, victims may benefit from not letting go of the past — Nurit Shnabel and Johannes Ullrich, Identity Needs in Intergroup Relations:…, 104 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Claiming the greatest-victim status grants moral absolution for present violence #expands (0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 1554