In this episode, I analyze how victimhood works, psychologically and politically. When someone experiences him or herself as a victim, it gives that persona a kind of get-out-of-jail free card to retaliate, strike back, and hurt the person or group that they have come to believe is responsible for their victimization. The political Right capitalizes on this dynamic by repeatedly telling its followers that they have been abused, cheated, and victimized by the liberal elites. As a result, these constituencies would have no moral compunction about harming, imprisoning, or deporting immigrants, just as they had no compunction morally about attacking the Capitol to reverse what they thought was a stolen election. Holding oneself up as a victim gives one a sense of moral righteousness which then can then morally permit violent retaliatory and cruel action. This is what we see on the Right today.
