Weapons of War: Dehumanization & Stereotyping

The first step in defeating the Japanese was to dehumanize them as a people and to depict them in archetypical racist terms as inferior, subhuman, apes, "savages", and "barbarians". Standard archetypes or exemplars or avatars of propaganda were utilized to dehumanize and stereotype the enemy. These archetypes of propaganda reappear in all propaganda campaigns and all wars. This was precisely how Native American Indians were defeated and how blacks were enslaved and excluded. The Japanese were denoted as animals, reptiles, insects, as "yellow monkeys", baboons, gorillas, dogs, mice, rats, vipers, rattlesnakes, cockroaches, and vermin. Depicting the enemy as an animal lessens the amount of guilt when the enemy is killed. In Nazi Germany, for instance, Jews were depicted as lice or rats to expedite mass extermination. Franz Stangl, the commander of the Treblinka concentration camp explained that dehumanization was necessary to expedite the extermination process. ~ Carl K. Savich, The Archetypes of Propaganda: Us and Them from War, Journalism, and Propaganda

Yesterday I wrote about the use of terminology to degrade and dehumanize other people. Today I want to take it a step further and propose that the deliberate use of such terminology is a very effective weapon of war.

In the above quote, Carl Savich suggests that this weapon—dehumanization and stereotyping—has been used for many centuries and in many wars. As I reflect upon the history I have read through the past fifty or so year, I agree with Savich. The Jews considered non-Jews as heathens (at best); the Romans called the Britains, Franks, and Mongols barbarians; we Americans called the Germans Krauts, the Japanese Nips, and almost all other Asians Gooks. Now, in the midst of this current so-called War on Terror, call Muslims Sand Niggers; and our military cadres use term and reinforce it as they train our solders. just as the term Gook used for Vietnamese when I was an army officer.

For anyone with an interest in justice and peace in this hurting world of ours, terminology that dehumanizes and stereotypes isn’t just politically incorrect. It is a weapon of war as destructive as any bomb or bullet. There are many such terms for races, nations, and ethnic groups. Take a moment and peruse the Racial Slur Database.

Did you find yourself—your national or ethnic group—in the Racial Slur Database? If not, you didn’t look long enough. For example, as a White person, I found that I am a:

Ditchpig; Devil; Crizm; Cremlin; Fish-Belly; Flat-Back; Fan Kuei; Farang/Falang; Ditchpig; Devil; Crizm; Cremlin; Gabacho; Gai-jin; Gai-ko; Ghost; Golden Toe; Gomer; Gorilla Head; Goy/Goyim; Greyboy/girl; Gringo/a; Guerro; Gwailo/Gweilo; Haole; Hawaga/Khawaga; Hay Seed; Helo; Honky/Honkie; and many more all the way through Zeeb.

Character George Jefferson in the TV sitcom The Jeffersons regularly “put down” his Honky neighbor, Tom Willis.

Of course, the purpose of such dehumanizing terminology is to separate us from them. It is much easier to kill an enemy who isn’t on of us. It’s a technique of propaganda that is very old and not limited to war. It has been used in economic and class conflicts, as well as within communities to establish a social class system. But that’s another post.

If we are ever to have a peaceful and just world we must confront such dehumanization and stereotyping. We must see each and every person as a human being, equal to ourselves, not matter what their race, religion, or national origin. It isn’t something that can happen overnight; however, it will never happen unless someone begins.