How is dehumanization perpetuated?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, we see it in every generation-- the groups we are supposed to distrust or hate may change, but the process is still the same. It starts with a culture or society in crisis-- perhaps the economy is bad, or there has been a war. A politician, or a political leader who is seeking power, begins telling the public that their problems are being caused by [insert name of group]. Fear and suspicion are then spread by the media, who report on what the political leader said, or by Talk Shows and commentators who agree with the belief that [name of group] is to blame. People who in many cases have never really met an actual member of that group start hearing so many negative things and it becomes a dominant discourse, as people spread rumors, stereotypes, myths, and negative perceptions about [name of group].

Hitler did this during the 1930s when he began demonizing and blaming the Jews for everything, even though they made up less than 3% of the population. He talked about them as if they were not even human-- he called them "vermin" and said they needed to be "exterminated." In America, especially during the era of segregation, we saw the same tactics applied to black people-- they were demonized as criminals and rapists, or stereotyped as possessing inferior intelligence. Since they were considered sub-human or like animals, lynching them was rarely punished. Now, we see similar claims made about Muslims, who are all allegedly violent terrorists who must be driven out, even if they've lived peacefully in the US for generations. The great philosopher George Santayana warned us that if we don't learn from the past, we will repeat our mistakes in the future. Blaming, stereotyping and verbally (or physically) abusing those who are different has happened throughout the ages, often with terrible consequences. I recommend a wonderful book on the subject by David Livingstone Smith, called "Less Than Human."