DEHUMANIZATION

Katheryn D. Katz, prof. of law - Albany Law School, 1997, Albany Law Journal
It is undeniable that throughout human history dominant and oppressive groups have committed
unspeakable wrongs against those viewed as inferior. Once a person (or a people) has been
characterized as sub-human, there appears to have been no limit to the cruelty that was or will be visited
upon him. For example, in almost all wars, hatred towards the enemy was inspired to justify the killing and
wounding by separating the enemy from the human race, by casting them as unworthy of human status.
This same rationalization has supported: genocide, chattel slavery, racial segregation, economic
exploitation, caste and class systems, coerced sterilization of social misfits and undesirables, unprincipled
medical experimentation, the subjugation of women, and the social Darwinists' theory justifying
indifference to the poverty and misery of others.

Union of International Associations Database selected: World Problems - Issues 9-29-

00 http://db.uia.org
There is an increasing tendency towards dehumanization as a response to many facets of modern life.
Certain features of the preparations for nuclear war are particularly conducive to this reaction. In turn,
dehumanization may increase the risk of nuclear warfare by inhibiting some of the psychological
deterrents to it. Even under conditions of present conventional warfare, only a fraction of military
personnel comes into face-to-face contact with the enemy. With increasing automation of weapon
systems, there will be even less room for sympathy or empathy that might attenuate the suffering inflicted
on others.

Maiese, Scholar at CU-Boulder, 2003

(Maiese, Michelle. "Dehumanization." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict
Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003
<http://www.beyondint...humanization/>.)
While deindividuation and the formation of enemy images are very common, they form a dangerous
process that becomes especially damaging when it reaches the level of dehumanization.

Once certain groups are stigmatized as evil, morally inferior, and not fully human, the persecution of
those groups becomes more psychologically acceptable. Restraints against aggression and violence
begin to disappear. Not surprisingly, dehumanization increases the likelihood of violence and may cause
a conflict to escalate out of control. Once a violence break over has occurred, it may seem even more
acceptable for people to do things that they would have regarded as morally unthinkable before.

Parties may come to believe that destruction of the other side is necessary, and pursue an overwhelming
victory that will cause one's opponent to simply disappear. This sort of into-the-sea framing can cause
lasting damage to relationships between the conflicting parties, making it more difficult to solve their
underlying problems and leading to the loss of more innocent lives.

Indeed, dehumanization often paves the way for human rights violations, war crimes, and genocide. For
example, in WWII, the dehumanization of the Jews ultimately led to the destruction of millions of
people.[9] Similar atrocities have occurred in Rwanda, Cambodia, and the former Yugoslavia.

It is thought that the psychological process of dehumanization might be mitigated or reversed through
humanization efforts, the development of empathy, the establishment of personal relationships between
conflicting parties, and the pursuit of common goals.