Victims

    Peter's comments re victims are too narrow.  Victims are afforded
celebrity status by the rulers through their propaganda arms so that their
"subjects" can be made to feel that they are human and caring.  Thus, there
rulers too.  It diverts the subjects from critically assessing the conduct
of the rulers and allows the subjects not to examine the support.
    Victims are defined by propaganda.  White settlers were victimized by
Indians, planters by Mau Maus, women by men, blacks by whites, etc.  When
victimization is defined in those terms, the subjects don't think in terms
of populace being victimized by the powerful.  Blacks by slave owners, serfs
by masters, poor by rich, etc.
    Secondly, once a group has achieved victim status defined by the rulers,
the victims are afforded a license to engage in questionable question
without question because to question is equated with bigotry.  Misconduct is
excused as justifiable vengence or survival.
    Victimization then acts as a unifier of subjected and ruler, sharing a
concern for the victim and both being allowed to punish the transgressor.
Example-- Criminals.  Victims and rulers both get to punish wrongdoers.  The
public can feel vengence and engage in judgmental cruelty, feeling that they
are sensitive to the plight of the crime victim.  They can then ignore
causality, impact on societies and the convicted's family, neighborhood,
etc.  The criminal deserves all he gets, even when the punishment becomes
irrational and contrary to the best interest of society.  Rulers deflect
thought and action on real issues.
    The same is true in global politics.