Is it proper to excoriate an entire group

based on the words and actions of the minority of that group. Before you answer, please read the follow definition:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehumanization">Dehumanization

Sort of an after thought, but if you see people engaging in dehumanization and answer other, what would you do?

(for now I will restrain myself from pointing out historical references to dehumanization)

Now I am worried that some of you might be my neighbors :thumbsdown:

It is wrong to 'dehumanize' anyone for any reason.

It is perfectly fine to exciorate all members of some groups for the acts of a few - although only a few KKK members murder their enemy du jour, ALL KKKers are a self-selecting group which gather because of their shared beliefs.

There are groups - racial, religious, ethnic, gender - which people are born into.

There are groups that people join.

Can't ask that question without defining which is which.

"There are groups - racial, religious, ethnic, gender - which people are born into."

Religion is not the same as race ethnicity and gender. While one is born into a religious tradition or lack thereof, the individual can opt out of that tradition. The same cannot be said for race ethnicity gender (or of course sexual orientation, despite bigoted claims to the contrary.) In my opinion religion is more like political orientation - it is a distinct option, a choice one makes, even though that choice may be highly determined by cultural factors out of the individual's control.

but the fact is the vast majority never do, even as they take great exception to parts that that religion.

(BTW, I kind of lump sexual orintation in with gender, on the 'five genders' theory).

have been subjected to dehumanization...good luck with that one :)

All I said was that religion and political affiliation are different than, for example, gender. Everything else related to your response is entirely inside your head.

But religious persecution tends to take a larger quorum of population then a political one. If i were to write a screed on gender discrimination, I highly doubt that the edit box on DU could hold it's content.

like your self? it is a bit obvious you never read the definition.

blanket condemnation through ignorance and more then a bit of sheer stupidity?

actions of the minority of that group. I imagine you don't know the words or actions of even 10% of KKK.

or to disassociate themselves?

Also, is the minority really a minority or do we just pretend they are to give some cover to our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family?

for the actions of one? Our prisons are already full. I use family as the smallest possible unit in this arguement.

If that group is something you cannot opt out of, race, gender, ethnic, disability, etc. No

If you're a member of the NAZI party, or the KKK, sure. I'll demonize and dehumanize those people 24/7/365.

If you leave the group, you get to rejoin the Human race.

interesting. So you are an advocate against the notion of "peer pressure"?

Good in that it can make stupid people change their ways.

Bad in that it can make good people stupid.

Oh, and maybe pedophiles, serial killers, mass murderers and are criminals. While some of them may be very nice, I am inclined to judge all them in the same way.

But no, it is not proper to dehumanize. It is only proper to judge the actions of individuals---and that includes actions of people like Germans who did nothing to stop Nazi atrocities and Americans who did nothing to stop slavery, the killings of Native Americans and POW camps for Japanese-Americans.

giggle a little :P

Is it proper to excoriate all teachers because some are burned out? No.

Is it proper to excoriate all National Socialists because some Nazis killed 6 million Jews to ethnically cleanse Europe? Absolutely.

Do the real circumstances you're asking about fall somewhere on the continuum between these two extremes? Probably.

Do you see the point? Hopefully.

Not nearly enough information. And to be blunt, you are being passive aggressive, you know exactly what you mean, but will not say. That is not fully respectful of others, and could be called dehumanizing, asking a question without adequate information and judging others according to the response is a control freak's holiday if you ask me.
I saw your first post in the thread, and it was rude, so you got the truth of my reaction to your wee routine here. Sorry if that bothers you, but I am only human.

it. I can acknowledge that, not respect it in anyway but it does tell me about what motivates you.

It's good for society to have an officially designated scapegoat class that all good people can agree needs to be blamed for every ill.

Otherwise they might have to look at themselves a bit too closely.

Wouldn't be prudent.

one with stripes, preferably purple and gold.

And in the end the reason for the poll is for introspection.

actually I love Buddy Holly, goddamn small ass plane.

:) and that is the essence of life, it is ephemeral, but the truly good ones will be remembered.

prejudice and bigotry. However, given that all liberals would agree without saying that prejudice and bigotry are fundamentally wrong, I'm wondering if there is a trick side to this question. I would say that there is a difference and no moral equivalence between making generalized comments - even unfair generalized comments - about a dominant majority group of ones own society and making making sneering comments about a marginalized minority group of ones society. For example, even if rude and improper there is no moral equivalence in an American making generalized even unfair generalized comments about whites and Christians and making sneering comments about blacks or Jews. A majority group does not have to fear the consequences of such attitudes further marginalizing them and making their lives painful and alienated. A minority group has every rational reason to have such fears. Although I would agreed as a matter of general principle that it is best not to make such generalizations even about a dominant majority as it does not facilitate understanding - even if it is not the moral equivalence of subjecting a marginalized minority to further alieanation.

enough to encompass such concerns, I have no idea how i could have made it broader.

If anyone has ever read my tag line, they know where I stand on this issue.

I do have a theory that there is a mind set that allows certain hate groups to exist and that there is a mentality not only to those who belong to them, but those who ignore them, but i fear now is not the time to get into that.

Most Americans are ignorant of 20th century history.

*on edit: most Americans younger then 40, if i were to even mention Kirov or Kulaks I am willing to bet not one would know who they were*

Before the 1980's western civilization as history was taught without mercy (mostly since it was the most prolific, it was the most likely to fuck up in masterfully deadly ways).

We could quibble about stalinism being a product of 19th or 20th century without end if you like on PM.

to explain themselves! this is a no brainer...you are not your brothers keeper and all that guff!


So if you are mugged by an African American, all African Americans are muggers?

I cannot even process that stupidity, if you think you are not moronic, explain your 'NO' Votes.

You are right, my bad...good eye!

At this moment, 61% of the people responding to the poll believe it is proper to ....

Good god, this was a no brainer, it is never proper to condemn the many due to the actions of the few.

I am for the most part, speechless.

These are the bastards who support my party?

Simply calling someone a Republican would qualify as dehumanization.

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If you mean, in every case, is it proper to excoriate... then the answer is no.
If you mean, is it ever proper to excoriate... then the answer is yes.

Because the question is incomplete, the answers are ambiguous.

on an open ended question. If you try to read more into it then what was asked in the poll, heck if any of us does, the answer will always be a grey areas.

If we are talking about the KKK, then hell yes.

should be held equally responsible as the mother who brought the little tyke to the asinine event?

My poll really is more open ended to find the opinion of those who would condemn all who *throw the baby out with the bath water as gram gram-would say*

The response is eye opening from what I would suspect from a board that represents itself to hold the same views as I do.

The entire idea that the majority of this board would condemn any unit rather it be a family, community or political party based upon the announced view of a minority scares the holy hell out of me.

Rather it is because they are falling into a pitfall that has happened before over and over again or that the people here are so damn bigoted is scary as hell.

I will wish them well in their ignorance, but truly it scares me shitless that they are determined to revive the evils of the past such as the KKK, Stalinism, Nazism, or the CPC. The fact that they do not even recognize it is not even decent to judge a group by it's outliers does not bode well.

*on edit: I only listed the big bugaboos, since most of you have never attended a history class or picked up a book on it*

I scrolled to that first and appreciate the fact that there is no reason to read anything else you wrote.

How about you learn to manage your condescending appreciation of your superiority.

A three year old is not a KKK member. Beyond your facile subject line, I don't care to read what a person such as you writes.

the gall of posting a topic on dehumanization, and then turning around and dehumanizing everyone who asks for clarifications.

This whole thread is repulsive, and should be deleted.

what color is purple in your universe?

one way of learning without having to falter your goose stepping.

I do hope you do not take that as an attack at whatever *I hate Jews/Blacks/Italians...oh WTF to be honest I have no idea what drives your bigotry* I think I will just have to settle for you to explain what makes you irrational.

"The entire idea that the majority of this board would condemn any unit rather it be a family, community or political party based upon the announced view of a minority scares the holy hell out of me."

The majority of those responding to the poll (57% currently) have voted no, meaning they believe it is not proper to condemn an entire group based upon the announced view of a minority.

since the poll is dependent upon time, what i stated that was correct at that point.

And god i hope(I am not religious). The fact that at that point...we are doomed to repeat.

Considering that the few who support the democratic platform at the moment are in a small minority.

I am tongue tied, the fact that our party has devolved to a bunch of little fascists...what the hell could i say?

This was a no brainer yet the majority...what the fuck?

*on edit: not to the poster i am responding to, but think the rest of you, what the hell you are advocating*

I have no problem making a blanket statement like "the KKK are a bunch of ignorant fucking assholes". When I say that, I mean EVERYONE in the KKK.

In your example, that 3-yr old could not be considered a member of the KKK simply because his mother brought him there. His mother would be an ignorant fucking asshole, because she made the conscious decision to align herself with a hateful group. But the toddler, not so much.

I only listed the big bugaboos, since most of you have never attended a history class or picked up a book on it

I bet you don't see the hypocrisy in your broad brush personal attack.

Due to Rick Perry, the Bushes, Louie Gohmert, Pete Sessions, and all the low-life Republicans in our State,
there have been more anti-Texan posts here than I can remember seeing anywhere else other than maybe on a
site for native Oklahomans with inferiority complexes (j/k: no, there is no such site that I know of).

Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan, Jim Hightower, Molly Ivins, it's like they exist(ed) in a parallel universe.
We're Texans, and therefore good for nothing other than being consigned to citizenship in the reconstituted
Lone Star Republic.

the fact that you think all Texans are worthy of extermination, kind of does make my point.

Sucks to be the little guy, ehh?

I was decrying the fact that so many on DU have done so. I have never expressed suicidal desires, here or elsewhere.

But i can never take back a giggle given in good faith.

"Weird scenes inside the gold mine"

Calling someone a Republican is an insult here.

but I assume all of them are racist.

Sort of an after thought, but if you see people engaging in dehumanization and answer other, what would you do?

You mean like the labels "Tea Bagger" or "repuke?" Usually nothing.

The only correct answer to your poll would be "Sometimes" - you should have included it...

kill the jews, or whatever group is unpopular...that means 29% would kill kirov on a dare...good lord, almost 1 out of 3 is that stupid?