In this paper I attempt to create space to think about the following: What arises when we center the harrowing pain of those who are victims of atrocities, who are also implicated in perpetrating atrocities, when the magnitude of destruction has not been acknowledged, and when there are no processes of accountability? Are there limits to what we can and should engage in the public square versus within our own communities first? If the witnessing lens is collapsing under the weight of violence, new defensive styles, and the complexities of the current moment, is it possible that we need to rethink our psychoanalytic canon, and what might that mean? And can we hold the humanity of all as we think together about these questions, without splitting? This paper joins scholars arguing for an “implicated witnessing” lens and those initiating the work of reckoning with our responsibility even while violence continues.