Scribbler's Cafe

The Cultivation of Victimization

Journalist Chris Hedges wrote that in war the designated victim must be perceived as pure and good -the offender seeming cruel and unjust. The enemy is dehumanized and the universe starkly divided between the forces of light and of darkness. Hedges writes that the cultivation of victimhood is essential fodder for any conflict.

It follows from this that whatever the victimized country does after receiving its initial assault can be forgiven. The nation can do no wrong. All acts are justified in the name of retribution and balance. The rules of war suggest that we must act in proportion, but there is no way to balance the scales with life and death, misery and suffering. This rule for a just war is invalid as it is impossible to measure or gain agreement on the accounting of anguish.

Even breaking the few clear and simply stated rules for a just war may be rationalized if the nation relies on its victimization to legitimize its acts. For instance, the torture of prisoners, combatant or non-combatant, is forbidden. Yet we Americans hung our heads for only a moment when the photos of Abu-Gray surfaced in our murky media. Our transgressions were forgiven as the casualties of our might were Arab and dark-skinned and therefore on the side of evil. No evil can be done against evil, according to our great leaders.

It all seems so simple. I watch my president on Fox news wagging his finger at the “axis of evil” and spurring us to war against those that “hate freedom.” His attempts to simplify our world conflicts and paint the US as a morally righteous nation are highly successful within our patriotic population. Bush rouses his populace with a cheap carnival trick. Who could possible take his words to heart? Surely, I cannot be the only one to see through his rhetoric.

Then I pause and ponder. I am familiar with this tactic. I have cried foul in many of my personal conflicts and then set out to paint my side as pure and just. A trite example: “How can I be blamed for not putting the garbage out on the curb in time for pick-up. Sure, it was my turn to remember, but I was sick and overwhelmed with schoolwork while you have been sitting around all day doing nothing at all. How can you be so insensitive? Don’t you know how difficult college is? You obviously don’t support me.”

How quickly I can turn my moment of forgetfulness into my husband’s lack of caring for my education. This battle tactic is so easy and successful. I must think hard on my words to stop myself from doing this time and time again. If I villianize in my personal relationships, how can I shame a nation or a collective for committing a similar act on a grander scale?

posted by Scribbler @ Monday, August 16, 2004