Injustice and victimhood are unfortunate aspects of the history of many communities. Be it the Holocaust, slavery or religious persecution, many groups identify themselves, in part, by the shared experience of their suffering, or that of their ancestors.
But how does this “culture of victimhood,” as some have called it, affect these groups and their relationship to the community as a whole. When a group embraces past wrongs as a part of its identity, what affect does that have on the value of other shared culture, such as language or religious traditions?
Does the choice to emphasize a shared sense of injustice define a group in opposition to the community as a whole? Have the psychological and legal communites along with different “rights movements” generated a victim industry?
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For more informaiton, please contact Kristin Millikan at 312.422.5580.