We sanctify our victims in our testimonials and eulogies, adorning them with commiserating anecdotes. We hamper them with innocence. And we do this not only in the Palestinian context but also with regard to Black American victims of police brutality: “They were artists” or “They were mentally ill” or “They were unarmed.”3 (It is as if condemning the state for sanctioning the death of a Black person is permissible only if the slain person is a sterile model of American citizenry.) One could say the same about sexual assault victims: we must notify the listener that the victim was sober and
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