Dehumanization: Degrading the Dignity Upon the Innocent
Dehumanization is a psychological process in which enemies or opponents treat each other inhumanely as if they aren’t human beings, depriving them of their moral considerations (Maiese, 2003). Typically, everyone should enjoy the basic human rights that shouldn’t be violated. People should be treated fairly, equally, justly, with respect, and dignity. In times of war, innocent civilians and lives should be protected in the same manner as those found guilty of committing crimes should receive a fair trial and not be subjected to cruel punishment. Dehumanization often leads to human rights violations and war crimes such as the dehumanization of the Jews during World War II which resulted in the horrific killings of many people.
Dehumanization is manifest through communication when someone goes online on the internet. He might be inclined to communicate something that might be offending to the other person, which might hurt his or her feelings. For example, it is very obvious that using the latest technology is beneficial to everyone. However, the real danger of the technology we use is that it doesn’t fully reveal that a majority of us might have been hurt or experienced to hurt others through dehumanizing aspects of communication online. Written communication in the internet is sometimes taken out of context and misunderstood. We have to be reminded that the person we write about and engage with online needs to also be loved as we love ourselves (Haslam, 2006). Therefore, we have to be very careful in what we write so that no one will feel hurt or offended when we say something because we sometimes don’t know or haven’t seen the person we are communicating with. Even though ...
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References
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Haslam, N. (2006). Dehumanization: An Integrative Review. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from http://general.utpb.edu/FAC/hughes_j/Haslam%20on%20dehumanization.pdf
Maiese, M. (2003, July). Intractability: Dehumanization. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/dehumanization
Sutter, K. M. (2008, May). “Nazi Gods” and “Jewish Devils”: The Dehumanizing Rhetoric of Nazi Propaganda. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/cas_sites/communication/pdf/thesis08.sutter.pdf
“Dehumanized” by Mark Slouka explores the issue of our nation’s education and how science and math are being used to primarily teach students about business and capitalism. Although I believe that students should have a good understanding of economics for the sake of their future. I, like Mark Slouka, believe that the humanities should be taught and accepted in our schools to help students further their education.
"Victims of the Nazi Era: Nazi Racial Ideology." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
The process of dehumanization is a process which has been repeated throughout history. Dehumanization takes place in the book Night, in which the author of the memoir, Elie Wiesel, is exposed to its effects. He is taken from his family and home, sent to a concentration camp in which he first comes in contact with people who have gone through the process of dehumanization. Most mistake the noun “dehumanization” as the verb “to dehumanize.” Dehumanization is a process, a twisted art; while to dehumanize someone is to persecute in one’s mind and actions whilst the subject being dehumanized still acts and thinks humanly. In a basic summary, to dehumanize is just a step in the process of dehumanization. Dehumanization is a process in which the subject/s are prosecuted (dehumanized), thieved of their family needs, and then stripped of their physiological needs.
In March 11, 1900 in a German town called Konitz the severed body parts of a human were discovered. Almost immediately, the blame fell on the Jewish. As Smith points out, anti-Semitism had been on a steady decline, and the anti-Semitics were looking for ways to revitalize the movement. The murder was an opportunity for anti-Semitics revive their movement. After the identity of the body was discovered to be Ernst Winter, the Staatsburgerzeitung, an anti-Semitic newspaper, printed several articles focusing on Konitz. Using unverified accounts from people in the town, it claimed that the murder was a ritual murder that had been carried out by the Jewish. The use of fear mongering was affective because the paper was a Berlin based paper so distribution was wide, and news of the murder traveled far. A crucial facet of the rise of anti-Semitism was due to anti-Semitic newspapers taking stories such as the Ernst Winter murder and using them to promote their cause. One of Smith’s sources, the Preuβische Jahrbṻcher, had a printed article written by Heinrich von Treitschke who was an historian; in which one of his quotes was “The Jews are our misfortune.” His article was what later spurred the German population’s turn from liberalism a...
Dehumanization has been around for many years and seen all throughout our world’s history. Dehumanization means to deprive of human qualities, personality, or spirit. In history, people had been dehumanized for all types of reasons, whether it be because of race, gender, age, sex, or any other characteristics. One of the most brutal and memorable examples of dehumanization was the holocaust which took place in many different locations in Europe. Hitler was ruling German at the time and started this disturbing holocaust. Many Jews were dehumanized in this time. The Germans were horrible to the Jews and treated them like they were animals. The Germans had animalized the Jews as shown in the book Maus I and Maus II. Spiegelman depicts the Germans as cats and the Jews as mice because
Murders inflicted upon the Jewish population during the Holocaust are often considered the largest mass murders of innocent people, that some have yet to accept as true. The mentality of the Jewish prisoners as well as the officers during the early 1940’s transformed from an ordinary way of thinking to an abnormal twisted headache. In the books Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi and Ordinary men by Christopher R. Browning we will examine the alterations that the Jewish prisoners as well as the police officers behaviors and qualities changed.
Dehumanization has been seen throughout human history and has had pretty devastating effects. For example, people of Jewish descent were not considered human at all. They were given the title of “subhuman” and were treated like animals and scum. This led to the Holocaust, where millions of Jewish people were murdered because of who they were. Dehumanization is the act of depriving humans of human qualities, spirit, or personality.
Works Cited "Dehumanization." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 May 2014. Web. 01 Jan. 2014.
Social justice has influence change in policies for the mentally ill. Opening the doors for political reform. Throughout history, the treatment of the mentally ill has taken many shapes. Influence by the time periods core values and ideas of social justice. Before the colonization, society did not see the mentally ill as human beings. This ideology was Influence by religion that considered them to be evil or demons. Especially during the Black Death when people were only looking for escape goats. Day, & Schiele, (2013) This would only make things worse for mentally disabled. Rendering them defenseless and at the will of society. Their disabling conditions would prevent them from self-advocacy. They would have to depend on family members to advocate; and demand social justice for them. The overwhelming societal norms influence by religion and fueled by fear punishment appeared to be the only solution.
Today, the world is connected digitally through the internet. Here, we can see many cases of anger and or racism daily. The Internet helps us see the severity of the issue with anger and “symbolic racism”, for it is widely understood that it does not matter what race or gender you are to experience or express the emotion anger in a racist way towards others. (Redlawsk. et al. pg. 681). Many racist acts are displayed daily on social media, yet no solid understanding is presented as to why it happens in its totality. It is more common to see these types of acts nowadays, even though we are more educated on the matter. It may be that “people use the internet as an artificial platform to express their emotions” including anger and racism. In an article published in the UK, Shakuntala Banaji claims Social Media is a “potentially therapeutic resource, for those needing the validation of their racist or anti-racist views”. (Shakuntala n.p.) Based on Shakuntala’s observation, technology is playing an instigative role in this phenomenon. Some use the internet to release, and more times than less fuel their anger. Even so, social media isn’t necessarily just a negative factor on the issue of anger and racism, for it also exposes other factors that may help understand the subject in a broader spectrum. The internet allows us to view these acts of anger being portrayed by
(5) Kurlander, E. (2012). Hitler’s Monsters: The Occult Roots of Nazism and the Emergence of the
In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel had to go through many obstacles and changes throughout his time in the concentration camps. The prisoners suffered many different trials and tribulations such as dehumanization. Dehumanization is the process of depriving a person or group of positive human qualities. The prisoners of Auschwitz faced dehumanization, which lead to starvation, death, and terrorism. A lot of the events that happened were dehumanizing to Eliezer, his father and their fellow Jews.
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
Kirwan (2015). Understanding Implicit Bias: Institute for the State Science, Implicit Bias; Retrieved June 6, 2017, from https//www.kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/research/understanding-implicit-bias/
“ Hitler used propaganda and manufacturing enemies such as Jews and five million other people to prepare the country for war.” (Jewish Virtual Library), This piece of evidence shows Hitler’s attempt of genocide toward the Jewish race a...