The uncanny power of victimhood

on the dehumanizing conflation of role & identity

Caravaggio, Judith and Holofernes (1599)

In the face of violence, it is tempting for observers to demonize its perpetrators and sanctify its victims. This impulse is very often well-meaning, born in counterweight to loathsome, oppressive behavior. It is also a grave mistake. Perpetrator and victim, oppressor and oppressed—these are contextual roles, not …