The idea and culture of social violence, nurtured in Americas con-sciousness since its establishment as a nation, have caused individual emotions of suffering and collective damage both economically and politically. The victims of Americas domestic and foreign policy anticipate impressions of, and sympathy for, victims, regardless of the realities of their crises. The value and index of victimhood are in turn manifested by the rhetoric of victimhood, which generates a debate on how to assume victim status as such. This book examines the narrative of victimhood common to some of the...