In honor of Halloween coming up, a reminder that a culture is not a costume. Weve witnessed enough atrocities throughout time - and there are too many happening now - where one group in power is killing another without impunity. People wonder how it happens, how there could be a climate in which placing thousands of people from the out group into concentration camps or slaughtering them through military operations just doesnt phase people. Its because the first 4 stages towards genocide (or similar crimes) have seemingly nothing to do with the end results. But these behaviors create climates where greater injustices are given a pass. Treat people from one group as less than human for long enough and eventually we as a society will not give people from that group their human rights. #Palestine #Ferguson #Rohingya Excerpt: first 4 of the 10 stages-- 1. CLASSIFICATION: All cultures have categories to distinguish people into “us and them” by ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality: German and Jew, Hutu and Tutsi. Bipolar societies that lack mixed categories ... are the most likely to have genocide. 2. SYMBOLIZATION: We give names or other symbols to the classifications. We name people “Jews” or “Gypsies”, or distinguish them by colors or dress; and apply the symbols to members of groups. Classification and symbolization are universally human and do not necessarily result in genocide unless they lead to dehumanization. When combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of pariah groups: the yellow star for Jews under Nazi rule, the blue scarf for people from the Eastern Zone in Khmer Rouge Cambodia. 3. DISCRIMINATION: A dominant group uses law, custom, and political power to deny the rights of other groups. The powerless group may not be accorded full civil rights or even citizenship. Examples include the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 in Nazi Germany, which stripped Jews of their German citizenship, and prohibited their employment by the government and by universities. Denial of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma is another example. 4. DEHUMANIZATION: One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects or diseases. Dehumanization overcomes the normal human revulsion against murder. At this stage, hate propaganda in print and on hate radios is used to vilify the victim group. genocidewatch.org/genocide/tenstagesofgenocide.html
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 11:18:10 +0000
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