Dehumanising Palestinians (and anyone) really matters
JVL Introduction
Dehumanising Palestinians helps to desensitise the rest of us to the terrible things that are happening to the people in Gaza. It is not unique to Palestine, for example, the same happens as we see images of hungry children in parts of Africa, almost a “well they are used to it”. Dehumanising others has an impact on how our brains work and, of course, can help enable the perpetrators of genocide, wars, displacement, exploitation to continue, usually without being held to account and reduce our willingness to help.
“Education that fosters critical thinking and empathy, media literacy that challenges harmful narratives, and initiatives that amplify Palestinian voices, are all avenues we can work towards for rehumanization…This task remains urgent even if a ceasefire has now come into effect in Gaza. For everyone’s humanity – as “the poet Mahmoud Darwish states, “We have on this earth what makes life worth living.”
LL
This article was originally published by Electronic Intifada on Tue 21 Jan 2025. Read the original here.
By dehumanizing Palestinians, media enabled genocide in Gaza
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I can see how dehumanisation of the Palestinian victim is a huge risk to a people;s psyche. It is a weapon. There might be no exit. I also feel that the perpetrators are not showing humanity, and therefore the narrative in my head tells me Israelis who have participated in the worst atrocities are mind dehumanised. I find it hard to forgive crass lies and coverups about their atrocities. They in other words, have shown no humanity towards innocent children. What does that make them? The dehumanisation narrative of course has long been around, emanating from Israel, but also entrenched in broader , imperialist older generalisations -character attacks on ‘Arabs’. The cartoon in Liberation is truly degoutant! I had to look three times to believe what they were saying – not before sundown , chasing rats to eat at Ramadan, salivating father and child! Monstrous.
I will never forget an interview by a BBC correspondent visiting a wounded woman in a hospital in Somalia. After answering all his questions about the impact of the violence on her family she turned to him and asked how his family was doing.