Dehumanize and demonize the opponent....?

Question

Were you aware of this tactic? I wasn't

I heard this on Charlie Rose tonight when he was interviewing Kissinger. They said that when you want the public to support military action against a country that you first dehumanize them then demonize them.

I was like OMG that finally put it into words for me. You see this everytime we are about to go to war. IE, as soon as N.Korea started testing weapons, all of a sudden propaganda came out about their leader being whacko = demonize

Or Iran.. propaganda that was an incorrect translation of his speech stating '.. holocaust never happened...' = demonize.

Or propaganda about how all of Islam wants to kill Americans = dehumanize.

WOW I AM ON TO SOMETHING HERE!!!!

Anyone else ever heard this?

Answer 1

I fully endorse.... U r really the smart one!!!

Answer 2

This tactic has been used for a very long time, not new or even sophisticated. We did the same thing to Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse Tung, dumped Marcos, Sukarno, Saddam, bin Laden, De Gaulle, and we would like to vilify the DaLai Lama as he is proving to be a liability. Some of these people were given billions of dollars but when we wanted to put them out, the press suddenly began spouting new thoughts. Batista and Noreiga were dumped. Suddenly illegals have become popular sport and reportedly there are 11 million...how did we obtain that number? Why hasn't Immigration done anything before....could it be that this is the same tactic being used to create an excuse for a new national ID card, family registration, and limitations on still other freedoms? The press is also guilty as they want confrontation to generate more headlines, and they bend the truth to give false impressions to keep up the polemics....i.e. the confrontational situation between China and the US....is it real? I live in China and I firmly believe it is not true.

Answer 3

Personally, i don't think you're very bright. North Korea's leader was a whacko long before they started testing weapons.
the Iranian leader DID say the holocaust never happened.
Islam DOES want to kill Americans. or were those Buddhists or Christians aboard the planes on Sept 11?

Answer 4

well good!! finally people started to realize!! just like the fact that the government officials made the christian clergies make up stuff about Muslims ( like they dont worship the same god they worship the moon god which is an idol ) people hear this from government officials on TV and go to church on Sunday and hear this from the preacher so it's automatically stuck in their head.
they do this so they can some how justify the genocides that they are committing to Muslims under the global war on terror bullshit.
800 Iraqi civilian died in fallujah ALL by the use of chemical weapons!!
of course they deserved it since they worship the moon god they are satanics and dont even deserve any sympathy. or you too will be called a terrorist.

Answer 5

That was the 3rd Reich's method of getting the masses in line with their agendas..They also used a lot of photography to create a facade of a great Nation above every other nation on the planet...The Neocons do that daily on these pages..You have to know by now that there really isn't that many of them, since they have been on this site for over a year or so, they have created multiple profiles to debate pages with...The numbers aren't real, and it's by the same people saying the same things...Too obvious huh!

Answer 6

Go back in time and check out the censored Disney cartoon about the Japanese. First they'll focus on how free your country is and their is far not. Ask yourself why Johnson's suit matched the color of the background in the press conference hall before he was forced to resign. While Clinton's sexual escapade was played down and aided by friendly media.
Playing images before the camera can speak more than words the reporter says, so that you be the judge about half reality.

Answer 7

This tactic is as old as warfare.

If we see the enemy as human, as fathers, brothers, sons, then we have to accept that killing them is murder, whether state-sanctioned or not.

If we see them as raving hordes of violent lunatics then... well we have to kill them to save ourselves, don't we?

The other side does the same, that is why America is known as The Great Satan amongst many Arabs.

There is a great song about World War One called Christmas In The Trenches. It describes an actual historical event in which the English and German soldiers took advantage of a Christmas truce to get out of their foxholes and play soccer, share brandy and chocolates and show each other pictures of their families back home. In the conclusion of the song, when the soldiers had all "settled back to war", there are two very compelling lines:

"The question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night, whose family have I fixed within my sights.
For the walls they'd built between us to exact the work of war had been crumbled and were gone forevermore."

My grandfather fought in that war, and my father fought in the next great war against the Germans. I never got to speak to my grandfather who died before I was born (as a result of his war related injuries), but my father who took German prisoners on occasion always said that he thought they were guys he'd rather have sat down over a couple of beers with.

Answer 8

War tactics, they (leaders) do it all the time, like the Islamic militant groups in late 80s & early 90s were mujahideen (Great Worriors) when they were fighting for USA against USSR (Communism) now the same groups are terrorists.
I don't support these militant groups, but surely endorse your point.

Answer 9

YEAH THAT'S WHAT THE MEDIA DOES. THE MEDIA FEEDS OFF OF WHAT WILL GET THE MOST RATINGS FOR THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT. IT IS A WELL KNOWN FACT THAT S. HUSSEIN IS NOT A HUMAN---IN THE BEGINING OF HIS TRIAL ON COURT TV---MANY OF HIS VICTIMS WERE BEHIND CURTIANS WHILE TESTIFYING TO WHAT HE HAD DONE TO THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. COURT TV JUST SHOWS WHAT GOES ON IN THE COURT ROOM AND DOESN'T ADD ANYTHING TO IT, THOSE WITNESSES WERE SO AFRAID OF HUSSEIN THEY HID, EVEN THOUGH HE'S IN CUSTODY--THIS SPEAKS VOLUMES TO ME ON HOW MUCH OF AN SICK TWISTED ANIMAL HE TRULY IS, THAT IF HE WAS RELEASED THESE PEOPLE ARE STILL THAT AFRAID OF HIM. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT IF MY PARENTS WERE MURDERED BY SOMEONE I WOULD BE ALL IN THEIR FACE WITH ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS, I WOULDN'T HIDE (ATLEAST NOT IN COURT HERE IN THE USA).

Answer 10

Yes that happens with all govts and ours is guilty as well...