WORTHY AND UNWORTHY VICTIMS

Questions to Noam Chomsky
By Ana Peraica, 9 January 2008

Do you think victimsIn different sciences the term victim has different meanings. The term is most often use in criminology, religion, psychotherapy and New Age context ... of the past have more special status in media society than those happening today?

Economist and media analyst Edward Herman has made a distinction between “worthy victimsIn different sciences the term victim has different meanings. The term is most often use in criminology, religion, psychotherapy and New Age context ...” and “unworthy victimsIn different sciences the term victim has different meanings. The term is most often use in criminology, religion, psychotherapy and New Age context ...”. Worthy victimsIn different sciences the term victim has different meanings. The term is most often use in criminology, religion, psychotherapy and New Age context ..., who merit lavish attention and concern, are those whose fate can be attributed to someone else, preferably an official enemy. Unworthy victimsIn different sciences the term victim has different meanings. The term is most often use in criminology, religion, psychotherapy and New Age context ..., whose fate is ignored or denied, are those for whose suffering or slaughter we are responsible. The criterion holds remarkably closely, past and present. He and others (myself included) have documented the matter quite extensively.

What is, in your opinion, the reason why victimsIn different sciences the term victim has different meanings. The term is most often use in criminology, religion, psychotherapy and New Age context ... are measured in numbers and are those numbers making any difference?

Some reasons are understandable. Slaughtering 1 million people is a worse crime than slaughtering 1,000. But this consideration is overwhelmed by the worthy-unworthy distinction, as again has been documented extensively.

Where does the need of media society come from to confront distant traumaPsychological trauma can happen soon after witnessing or being the victim of a traumatic event ... (both in time and space)?

Sometimes it is real and genuine concern. All too often, however, traumas that are “distant” – in the sense that crimes can be attributed to others – are quite popular for ugly reasons of power and prestige, while those that are “close” – in that we share responsibility and can do a lot about them – are unwelcome. Again, very strong tendencies that are well documented.