Throughout history, the dehumanization of people who are seen as “other” has been a cornerstone of some of the darkest chapters in human experience.

It is a subtle, yet deeply insidious process by which groups of people are stripped of their dignity, worth, and even their very humanity…reduced in the public imagination to something less than human, sometimes even less than animal.

And it is through this process that the unthinkable becomes not only possible, but permissible.

The Psychology of Dehumanization

At its core, dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment. It often begins with language: slurs, labels, caricatures. Words that transform neighbors into “vermin,” “cockroaches,” “criminals,” “parasites,” or “monsters.” These words do not just offend…they erode empathy. They act as cues that allow violence, cruelty, and indifference to flourish without moral restraint.

When people are portrayed as less than human, they are no longer seen as deserving of the same rights, protections, or considerations. They become “problems” to be solved, rather than lives to be honored. And once empathy is cut off, the stage is set for inhumane policies, systemic oppression, and even genocide.

Manufacturing Consent Through Dehumanization

Governments, media, and institutions often weaponize dehumanization to manufacture consent from the broader population. By painting a group as dangerous, diseased, violent, or subhuman, public outcry is silenced and opposition is softened. The population, fearful or indifferent, may then support…or at least tolerate…actions they would otherwise find abhorrent: forced displacement, internment, denial of medical care, sterilization, police brutality, or military aggression.

In Nazi Germany, Jews were called rats and lice. In Rwanda, the Tutsi were called cockroaches. In American slavery, Africans were considered property…3/5ths of a person. In each case, this wasn’t accidental; it was a deliberate campaign to reshape the moral universe of the masses. Once people believe that the “other” is not fully human, they also believe that anything can be done to them.

The Slippery Slope

The greatest danger of dehumanization is not just what it allows us to do to others…it’s what it ultimately does to ourselves.

When we normalize cruelty toward any group, we establish a cultural and psychological precedent. What is permitted against the marginalized today may be turned against the majority tomorrow. The loss of rights for one group sets a precedent for the erosion of rights for all. The police state built to control one population doesn’t go away…it expands. The surveillance infrastructure used to target dissenters will one day target those who were silent.

History shows again and again: the line between “them” and “us” is fragile. And when we allow others to be treated as less than human, we devalue humanity as a whole…including our own.

Turning a Blind Eye: Complicity Through Silence

Many people do not participate directly in acts of cruelty…but they watch. They justify. They rationalize. Or they look away. They say, “Those people brought it on themselves.” Or “It’s not my place to speak.” Or worse: “It’s necessary for our safety.”

But silence is not neutrality. Silence is consent. And history judges harshly those who stood by as neighbors were disappeared, as families were torn apart, as children were caged, as voices were silenced.

Reclaiming Our Shared Humanity

If we are to halt the machinery of dehumanization, we must do the difficult, courageous work of seeing the humanity in every person…especially those who are vilified, especially those whom society tells us to fear or despise. We must challenge the language of dehumanization whenever it arises. We must refuse to be passive consumers of propaganda. We must speak, act, and resist.

To remember our shared humanity is to resist the slide into tyranny. It is to say: never again, not just as a slogan, but as a living, daily commitment to justice, empathy, and truth.

Because in the end, the dehumanization of others is the beginning of the dehumanization of us all.

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References:

1. Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3

2. Kelman, H. C. (1973). Violence without moral restraint: Reflections on the dehumanization of victims and victimizers. Journal of Social Issues, 29(4), 25–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1973.tb00102.x

3. Staub, E. (1989). The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence. Cambridge University Press.

4. Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Harper.

5. Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. Random House.

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