This lesson hit on the true purpose for including totalitarianism in high school curricula. That purpose is not to honor the likes of Hitler, Stalin, or Mussolini. Nor is that purpose to provide the methods of totalitarianism as an instructional manual to follow. Rather, the purpose of teaching on totalitarianism is to deliver a warning: heed well the conditions that yielded totalitarianism, so you can recognize and avoid them. As I observed this teacher candidate's lesson, I could not help but think about that purpose in the context of our present time.
One passage from the lesson's textbook concerned me the most: "Totalitarian leaders often create 'enemies of the state' to blame for things that go wrong. Frequently these enemies are members of religious or ethnic groups. Often these groups are easily identified and are subjected to campaigns of terror and violence. They may be forced to live in certain areas or are subjected to rules that apply only to them" (pg. 876).
Creating an enemy of the state requires othering: a process of dehumanizing through marginalizing a group of humans as something different, less than, and other. Such othered groups become an easy target to scapegoat, unfairly bearing the blame for a society's ills.
History is replete with examples of othering. The Ancient Greeks othered based on language, labeling those who did not speak Greek barbarians. In the United States, chattel slavery and segregation were sustained through othering based on skin color. In Nazi Germany, Hitler othered based on religion, casting Jewish people as enemies of the state.
Othering frequently plays on people's stereotypes and fears. In the United States, for example, black men have been othered as "thugs," playing on fears about violence and criminality. In another example, public health officials in Nazi-occupied Poland played on the primal human fear of disease. Propaganda posters proclaimed "Jews Are Lice: They Cause Typhus."
Now, some politicians are othering the "unvaccinated." These politicians attempt to scapegoat and marginalize this minority group, despite knowing that vaccinated and unvaccinated persons alike can contract and spread COVID-19. Below, I provide the words of three politicians as examples of othering language. I also encourage you to read their words in context.
In the United States, President Joe Biden's September 9 press conference announced sweeping vaccine mandates. He expressed that "many of us are frustrated" with unvaccinated persons. He laid blame on them for the continued pandemic; Biden claimed that this "pandemic of the unvaccinated" was "caused by...nearly 80 million Americans who have failed to get the shot." He faulted "a distinct minority of Americans" for "keeping us from turning the corner." And he promised "We cannot allow these actions to stand in the way of protecting the large majority of Americans who have done their part and want to get back to life as normal."
In a September 17 interview on the Quebec talk show La semaine des 4 Julie, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau labeled those opposed to vaccination "misogynists" and "racists." Then, he exclaimed that Canada needed to make a choice: "Do we tolerate these people?"
In France, President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview with Le Parisien on January 4. In this interview, he categorized the unvaccinated as non-citizens, referred to their "lies and stupidity" as the "worst enemies" of democracy, and proclaimed "I really want to piss [the unvaccinated] off." Macron argued these unvaccinated persons to be only "a very small minority who are resisting," and asked a chilling question: "How do we reduce that minority?"
In these communications, Biden, Trudeau, and Macron employed several practices of othering.
- They created a majority in-group, signaled by use of the first person plural (we, us), and a minority othered group, signaled by use of the third person plural (they, them).
- They cast blame for government pandemic policies on that othered group ("keeping us from turning the corner").
- They used words to signal to the in-group that they should be angry at the othered group ("many of us are frustrated," "I really want to piss them off").
- Trudeau and Macron specifically used labels that devalued this othered group: misogynists, racists, enemies, non-citizens.
- Most worryingly, Macron and Trudeau questioned whether and how to eliminate this othered group ("Do we tolerate these people?" and "How do we reduce that minority?").
Historians study causality: contexts, conditions, events and their outcomes. We have examined the conditions that yielded chattel slavery, the gulag, the Holocaust, Jim Crow, Rwanda. This is not an attempt to equate current pandemic policies with these past tragedies.
Rather, this is a warning call. We have seen these conditions before, and we have seen where they lead. Turn back now - that way leads to darkness.
Jared McBrady is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at SUNY Cortland.
Reader Comments
LISTEN:
Pope Francis and his Vatican have officially joined an oligarchic project that favors the 1% of people who possess wealth greater than the remaining 99% of the world population.
We are talking about multinationals and organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Rothschilds, the great banking and financial powers that recently have equipped themselves with a new tool to pursue their interests by hiding them behind philanthropic activities.
In fact, the Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican was born [Link] , the Council for Inclusive Capitalism in agreement with the Vatican.
An openly pro-capitalist organization that establishes a historic collaboration of CEOs and global leaders who work under the moral guidance of Pope Francis. They even claim the right to call themselves 'the guardians'
Beyond belief!
Characters who by depriving themselves of 30% of their wealth could have eradicated hunger in the world, come to us to talk about equity in the distribution of wealth.
What is the Pope doing in such an organization is the question that everyone should ask themselves. Why didn't he decide to take the side of the poor?
Obviously his adhesion is hidden behind philanthropic and social development purposes, the fact remains that the Vatican has decided to be the testimonial and promoter of this planetary scam of the super rich against the super poor.
Macron, Trudeau, Draghi, Biden, other main Puppets around the World, the Pope, Rockefeller, Rothschilds, CFR, AIPAC, NATO, FMI, FED, BCE, World Media, Gates, Fauci, WEF, BIG PHARMA, etc.....................:
THE WORST in the WORLD,
we are LIVING the WORST TIME EVER , since the II WW
NOW
" Pope Francis and his Vatican have officially joined an oligarchic project that favors the 1% of people who possess wealth greater than the remaining 99% of the world population."
"Pufffffffffffff!!!!
Macron, Trudeau, Draghi, Biden, other main Puppets around the World, the Pope, Rockefeller, Rothschilds, CFR, AIPAC, NATO, FMI, FED, BCE, World Media, Gates, Fauci, WEF, BIG PHARMA, etc.....................:
THE WORST in the WORLD,"
My humble opinion is...we are ALL one. No othering required ! Ha ha...
I've read Children of Men and seen the movie; they're both good and also relevant.
ReRan That's messed up if 1984 is getting cancelled. It should still be available for reading or download around the internet. I had a .pdf of it on another device not long ago.
First question they asked me when I got to the office in the US, are you okay? Yes. What's it like? Normal. Are you scared you are going to get SARS? Nope, I don't hang out in hospitals and most of the people quarantined are fine, just a precaution.
They were half a continent away and I saw that the news had created fear in them. When you are in that crowd, it's always best to be fearless and calm.
I like thinking for myself, I like being original, I like the fact that I can sleep well at night knowing that I have not been injected with their fear porn serums.
At the same time, I wish no harm or bad feeling upon those who, through ignorance, have cast themselves into the fiery ring of conformity.
Are there some out there that deserve our wrath and the blame for bringing the world to where it is now? Absolutely.
Do we see the faces of those who have ruled against freedom and the overwhelming power of the human mind to overcome any adversity? No, we do not.
Now, more than ever, it is important for those of us with brain one to champion solidarity. Complete solidarity. We are all one being in this Universe and it is our task in this existence to realize that and act accordingly.