Screenshot. Cast of Hamilton's message for Mike Pence.A disclaimer: by the end of this article, I am going to have transgressed Godwin’s Law. I hope that I will have done so in a faintly relevant way, though, rather than simply screaming “NAZI” at something I find disagreeable, so please do stick with me in the interim.
Until then, I want to discuss the appropriation of victimhood. By this, I don’t mean what some have termed “Victimhood Culture”. Broadly speaking, this is the idea that certain aspects of modern culture are characterised by people embracing victimhood (if not necessarily self-defining as victims) and (over-) interpreting perceived slights as evidence of broader systemic injustice or prejudice.
The “appropriation” of victimhood seems more specific than this (or possibly a subset of victimhood culture, if you grant the validity of that category). To be exact, it is the appropriation of victimhood by groups who have traditionally enjoyed privileged status, who oppose progressive values and societal change, and even those who are arguably purveyors of oppression.
