Dehumanization
Yes, I am crying, although I am a man.
But has not a man eyes?
Has not a man hands, limbs, heart, thoughts and passions
Does he not live by the same food,
is he not wounded by the same weapons,
warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter as a woman?
If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh?
If you poison us, do we not die?
Why should a man be forbidden to
Complain, or a soldier to weep?
Because it is unmanly?
Why is it unmanly?
August Strindberg, The Father (1887)
Throughout history groups of people have been dehumanized such as the Jewish peoples, African Americans, Japanese Americans, Arabs to name just a few. Dehumanization and bigotry go hand in hand. There are many euphemisms for bigotry, e.g. purity, profile, conformity, political correctness.
What does it mean to dehumanize? This is the process of stripping a human being of equality, their self-respect, the respect of others, their rights and privileges within a society, with the end result of reducing them to either animal or inanimate status.
How is it done? There are many ways, but it always starts with a lie, a misinformation, a deception. The lie is usually formulated in terms of a false accusation and there is a hapless victim. Of course the victim has the right to defend themselves with any means at their disposal, right? The key however, is fear and hatred. Creating the monster for everyone to fear by playing upon stereotypes is a common form of misinformation.
Jane Elliot, through her blue eyes, brown eyes experiment with school children proved this chilling method. This acknowledged fear becomes the basis of acceptable hate. Hate empowers action and society against the target group. As Jane Elliot so clearly demonstrated, by ascribing certain behaviors when people object and fight back they reinforce the stereotype and elevate it to the level of truth.How can we punish the monster? We isolate them to protect ourselves through vilification and demonization. We deny them rights and privileges. We deny them housing by putting them on a list. We take their property and money through Court Orders.
Why do political leaders jump on the bandwagon? Political Correctness is an insidious belief that deceives all whom it entices. Political leaders intimately know the perceived fears of the public and offer us solutions. After all, isn’t it their job to solve our problems? However, some unscrupulous politicians with agendas, are willing to vilify a group for their own political gain and are willing to exploit the fears of the population without regard to the consequences. This is how Hitler came to power, by exploiting the fear of the German people, he offered them their darkest fears using the Jews, Communists, Trade Unionists and homosexuals as scapegoats, and when he whipped them into hysteria, the German people were willing to do anything he proposed. Have you forgotten the witch hunt of the Jews called
"Kristallnacht" "Night of the Broken Glass"? This is where we are today with the reputation of men, and the exploitation of hysteria over the abuse of women.Why is it done? Justification of the indefensible as George Orwell put it. Would you make someone homeless by taking his home? Cast yourself as a victim, accuse a man of domestic violence and the Law puts him out on the street without evidence on the testimony of one person. Would you take someone’s children? Accuse a man of child abuse and the Law orders him away from his children on the testimony of one person. Would you take a man’s earnings? File for child support and alimony and the Law will take what it deems fit and gives it to another. Would you take a man’s freedom? Accuse him of rape and put him in jail on the testimony of one person. See how easy it is? It happens every day. How many times have we heard of men convicted of rape, 10, 15, 20 years into their sentence being proven innocent with DNA testing?
The Innocence Project started in 1992 has exonerated 109 men on death row convicted for rape and murder. I remind you, these men were convicted under the criminal rules of evidence which is a tougher standard than the civil rules of evidence. Between 25 to 70% of rape allegations are found to be false, depending whether you count only women’s later confessions to the police or also include the final investigations with evidence proving otherwise. Why is it done, political correctness. The major causes of improper criminal convictions, multiple in some cases: Mistaken ID – 61%, Police Misconduct – 38%, Prosecutorial Misconduct – 31% to just name a few of the more inexcusable causes.How far will it go? We denied African Americans equal access to schools, we denied them a right to vote, we made them sit at the back of the bus, we made them drink from another water fountain, we put Japanese Americans in concentration camps, all under the force of Law, all because we and our political leaders justified it. How far will it go, as far as you are willing to let it.
There is one problem with dehumanization for the group who practices this behavior. The problem is they become the very monsters they are fighting! We become as evil as those we accuse because our hatred justifies the evil we inflict upon them. Do you know that all abusers see themselves as victims? Hitler made German people believe they were victims and look what they did. Never Again? Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia,
Muslims, Hindus, Men… Again and Again and Again.Who is next? MAYBE YOU!
What can I do? You can email your State Senator and Delegate of Maryland and suggest legislation to correct the problem. I'm just one person, my voice doesn't count. You are right, one voice doesn't count, however, like voting, many voices do count, get your friends to write emails too. When you do, let us know. Also, get involved make your voice count by joining with others trying to change the system. Check out our organizations page, pick a group that focuses on your particular interest. Genocide in the 20th Century Dehumanization of the Jews
"I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except Negroes." When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume II, "Letter to Joshua F. Speed" (August 24, 1855), p. 323.
NOTE: All page references to The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln refer to the 1953 edition published by the Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
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