Dehumanization is the removal of sympathetic human traits when referring to opposing groups, allowing leaders to justify mistreating or destroying them. It begins with removing personal identification and is used in media coverage, abortion debates, and capital punishment.
During times of conflict or warfare, conventional moral and ethical codes regarding the treatment of others are often challenged. Political leaders often look for ways to ignore their citizens’ objections in order to gain support for their cause. One such method of public manipulation is called dehumanization, which is the deliberate removal of sympathetic human traits when referring to members of an opposing ideology, race, political party, or other source of conflict. Adolf Hitler’s references to Jews as “vermin” or “rat” are an example of this in action.
Convincing an average citizen to commit a violent act or to kill another human being is extremely difficult. Most people’s moral code tells them that such acts are immoral and indefensible. However, through the skillful use of dehumanization, leaders throughout history have managed to do just that. Once the enemy has been stripped of humanity and becomes an object worthy of punishment, the idea of mistreating or even destroying this menace becomes morally justifiable.
Dehumanization often begins with the removal of personal identification. A convicted felon is assigned a prison identification number, for example, which allows guards and other authorities to maintain an impersonal relationship with inmates. This practice is also used by military prisons to maintain a feeling of superiority over captured enemy combatants. Treating the enemy as human can impair a soldier’s ability to question him later.
These methods can also be seen in other controversial areas. Those who advocate women’s rights to seek abortion, for example, rarely use the words baby or child in their literature. The use of more clinical terms, such as fetus, could be seen as an effort to dehumanize an important element of the issue. Conversely, pro-lifers can use such methods to reduce health clinic staff members to indifferent child killers.
Another example occurs during media coverage of war or conflict. Enemy forces are often portrayed as extremists, rebels, or terrorists, while friendly forces are portrayed as troops or freedom fighters. This allows the audience to overcome their natural aversion to conflict by perceiving their enemies as inhumane. Such tactics also tap into a person’s innate biases, for example by creating the character of the “Muslim extremist” or the “Jewish menace”. It is much easier to justify annihilating a caricature than an actual race or religion.
Dehumanization is an effective propaganda tool when used skillfully. In the case of capital punishment, for example, the details of the convict’s crime often receive more media attention than the details of his personal life before the act. As long as the public continues to view the prisoner as an inhuman monster, it is relatively easy to allow the execution to take place. This tool is successful when ordinary people with average morals and ethical principles no longer see the person behind the label.
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