Dehumanization starts with the language we use. For example, Trump saying

“We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we’re stopping a lot of them — but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals. And we’re taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that’s never happened before. And because of the weak laws, they come in fast, we get them, we release them, we get them again, we bring them out. It’s crazy.”

Calling a human being an animal is Dehumanization 101, and it is a great way to rally up a base of people being served lies of fear and propaganda.

The second step is using images of humans in either compromising or submissive situations…like when border patrol agents were caught sharing memes joking about dying immigrant children or raping a member of our legislative branch in a FaceBook group. If I was a member of a group that shared such disgusting material, I would leave that group immediately. But there are 10,000 members of border patrol agents in this group, half of the total number of border patrol agents in this country…half. And they are in a position of power over these people whom they mock in this group. This is unconscionable and a massive problem.

The biggest evidence and next level of dehumanization is in the direct treatment of a people. Detained immigrants at the border are living in disgusting conditions, overcrowded, sleeping on a concrete floor, temperature extremely cold, forced to drink toilet water when thirsty, reports of children being sexually abused, and separating children from their parents. We are slowly but surely moving towards a dehumanized system that allows someone to create even worse atrocities. If these immigrants aren’t seen as human, but rather as animals, or criminals, or the enemy (of which they are none of these), history has shown that man can perform massive crimes against humanity including mass murder.

I suggest you read the Ethics of Expediency by Steven Katz or Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning to understand how events like the Holocaust were carried out and why Trump’s rhetoric as the leader of the free world is so problematic. I don’t want to hear that you “disagree with some of what Trump says but…” The economy is good? It was pretty darn good and getting increasingly better before Trump took office. The wealthy and the corporations have their tax cuts? How has that worked out for you, farmer or auto-worker? Trump is deregulating the banks and the environmental protections? We have seen how this spun us into a recession before…and we are seeing the dire consequences of not protecting the environment as well. Our kids will experience the worst of it. Even if Trump had a great record in office (which he doesn’t), none of it justifies the dehumanization of a people or the dangerous division he creates between his base and those who may think differently or have other ideas about how to make America great. America is supposed to be a democracy of ideas and discourse. Many on the left have been forced to take hard stances because they are tired of the hypocrisy, lies, obstruction, and scapegoating from members on the right (like Trump, McConnell, and others).

Much of the problem of division amongst citizens in this country who don’t hold a position of power is in this level of misinformation, heightened propaganda, and little desire to seek out a true understanding of any given issue…a lack of willingness to read, to study, to research. We need to come back to a level of civility for sure, but it starts with the leader. It starts with Trump. Will that happen? Of course not. He is here to grow his base, spread his lies, and continue to divide and conquer this country. Trump is doing what Trump does best, what Trump has always done…look out for number one, himself. The GOP is complicit because he is attempting to pass their agenda. But none of this is good for democracy or America. Please look at the larger picture and don’t allow the dehumanization of asylum seekers to corrupt your own mind towards human beings. Step back and listen to their stories. What if you were in their shoes? Don’t blindly believe the news media. Seek out different kinds of information from different sources. Don’t read sources with inflammatory headlines meant to gain your attention but are clearly not unbiased or neutral. Don’t contribute to the spreading of misinformation. And don’t tell me, Trump supporters, that you care about this country when your dear leader is stomping on the Constitution with statements like potentially staying in office past two terms or threatening to not honor results of elections depending on which way the election results go. These may seem like harmless, joking kind of comments, but make no mistake. Trump is setting the stage for the future. This has happened before with fascist dictators. This is why reading and being educated is so important, so that you can recognize the signs. Trump is a narcissist who gives away his intentions through projection, which is classic narcissism. Whatever he accuses others of doing wrong he is likely doing, and it continues to be proved out. If you are still a Trump supporter, you are either being manipulated or you don’t care how corrupt he is. It is one or the other. But when all is revealed, you will be exposed as an accomplice in his regime.