• 5 Posts
  • 78 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: June 22nd, 2023

help-circle









  • I’m honestly curious. Have you ever heard of a single Palestinian accusing Hamas of using someone they know as a human shield? Has anyone ever, really?

    The only “sources” backing these “well-known facts” are western media and Israeli-say-so. I’ve dealt with many Palestinians personally (I live in Egypt and we have a lot of them living here), and none of them ever complained about their families being used as human shields. Ever. You’d think some Palestinians would speak up about this by now if it were real.

    You know who they unanimously consider unnecessarily brutal and cruel though? The IDF which treats them like less than dirt on a good day.











  • I don’t think dehumanization works on everybody. Dehumanization works on already kinda shitty people that view themselves as above others. I am not like that personally and I’m sure I’m not nearly the only one. I simply don’t see myself as entitled to cause suffering in any other conscious being, human or not

    You are not like that, currently. But in the right environment and in the right situation, you’ll find out that to the contrary, you are exactly like that.

    Humans are wired to (justifiably or not) vilify anyone who’d pose a threat to their safety, or the safety of their loved ones. Vilify a person or group too many times (e.g with daily mass media brainwashing) and they will be completely dehumanised, eventually.

    Now, that threat doesn’t have to be physical, or even real. Just perceived threat is enough. It doesn’t have to be substantiated either.

    Look at every racist and extremist in existence and try to understand where they’re coming from. They weren’t born that way. Their environments made of them what they are.


  • It’s all about empathy. If you dehumanise a group enough they become “other” to your human subconscious, and you exhibit sociopathic behaviour toward them.

    The problem is that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you dehumanise someone to the smallest degree and feel guilt (because you’re still a good person), your subconscious will dehumanise them further in order to cope. (e.g they’re criminals so they’ve probably done worse). Then the next time you abuse them, it becomes easier.

    This self perpetuating cycle keeps happening until you feel absolutely no sympathy for them, and consequently no guilt.

    Now, the real question is whether or not you’re capable of dehumanising someone to begin with. I personally think that yes, we’re all capable, and all it takes is some bad influence (e.g bad preconceptions/media brainwashing), and in the case of police officers, a healthy dose of peer pressure.