More Inhuman Than Human

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According to Google, the first definition of inhuman is one lacking human qualities of compassion and mercy. The next definition defines inhuman as not human in nature or character. While this can be taken as those being that are less than human it also includes those that are viewed as more than human, making it have both a negative and positive connotation. Through the use of “social norms” the real definition of what is human, accepted, and what is inhuman, unaccepted. This would mean that those that are different are inhuman, leaving the decision up to the largest group of people that are banded together. This can be seen in those of different religious beliefs. Some of the bigger examples are the Christian wars and the witch hunts. I call them the Christian wars because they’re essentially when the Church declared all other religions blasphemy and those who opposed were put to death. An example of this is with Martin Luther, the father of Lutheranism, when he interpreted the bible differently. His interpretation is that one does not have to pay money for penance to receive God’s forgiveness and to enter into Heaven. Because of this he was declared heretic and was on the run as an exile. The Salem witch hunts are another great example of people being viewed as inhuman. These people simply had to act, talk, think differently and they were ostracized from the group and then punished. The accused would be publicly humiliated and forced to confess to being a witch. If they did they would be made to repent and then would be branded with a symbol so that everyone could see this person was different. Those who refused to repent would be put through a series of “tests”; those that survived were found guilty of being a... ... middle of paper ... ...hanged now, in the past horrors such as the lobotomy were committed. Psychopaths are the combination of criminals and mentally unstable. They are believed to have a mentally incapacity for emotions and empathy making them deadlier. This makes some of them end up in a split between either prison or asylums. It’s my conclusion that my very broad definition of what makes us human is still intact even though it contradicts the above. The only way a human can be inhuman is through another human’s perception. The definition of what is not human is decided by the majority. The idea must then be accepted by the group that is the majority. It is through this system that some of the most atrocious things have been done to those found to be inhuman. In the end the only inhuman, are those who think they have the right and authority to decide who is and isn’t human.

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