The political Right at its worst moments wishes to bracket Christianity, go back before it to some pagan “natural” worldview of hierarchy and strife. That’s bad enough.

But the Left does something far worse, and does it all the time: It hijacks and perverts the Christian instinct to identify with victims and diminish their suffering. Then it turns that into an opportunistic strategy for seizing and holding power. The philosopher Rene Girard coined the word to describe this cynical method of weaponizing Christian impulses: Victimism. …

So whatever group the left selects as its strategic target of compassion makes the cut not because of genuine suffering or injustice, but because it has been identified as a potentially lucrative ally — rich in votes, or cash, or opportunities to manipulate and control people emotionally. That’s why leftists can weep real tears over hulking male athletes who wish to mow down girls on the rugby field or pummel them in boxing rings. Then coldly shrug as a majority of unborn black New Yorkers die in the womb.

Now you understand why Western feminists are busy denouncing the slightest protections for unborn children as a “war on women,” and eerily silent on the real, bloody persecution of women around the world. How many residents of Martha’s Vineyard, or writers for women’s magazines, are speaking up about what’s happening in Afghanistan? “What’s happening there?” you might ask, since it’s barely being reported.