The Genocide Contagion by Charny Israel W.;

Author:Charny, Israel W.; [Charny, Israel W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2016-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

The hypnotic power of ideology saves many people by filling their void and allaying fears and anxieties. However, so many belief systems draw people toward trivial and magical beliefs, and so many draw people to rigid fascist (totalitarian) movements. So many individuals are so weak, vulnerable, and spiritually empty that they will answer the call of any leaders who proclaim their beliefs with certainty and exude a seductive confidence. Consider the large numbers of people who applaud the grand gatherings of tyrants with orgiastic fervor. See the paucity of resistance to bureaucratic regimes that persecute people, both in large-scale genocides and in more limited acts of murder, such as those perpetrated in Chile (during the period of “disappearances” under Augusto Pinochet), Argentina (where the number of Jewish victims was disproportionately high compared to their presence in the general population), and Guatemala (where Indians were the preferred target). How many nations and peoples have actually risen up against leaders who have embarked on campaigns of mass murder against ethnic, national, religious, or other groups who were declared deserving of mass extermination?

The combination of a charismatic leader calling for widespread persecution and a broad-based ideological movement produces situations of the most lethal kind. It creates a synergy, a mutually reinforcing interaction between the influence of the leader and the influence of the collective process, making the goal of murder more attractive. However, either one of the two factors is sufficient for achieving broad participation in acts of persecution. Note how murderous regimes are characteristically adept at lying and concealing their greatest acts of atrocity and endowing them with positive mottos even about “the sanctity of life.” North Korea makes public declarations praising its “beloved” tyrant as its people go hungry to the point of starving to death. During the French Revolution crowds cheered at public beheadings ostensibly carried out in the name of liberty (!), fraternity (!), and equality (!). And year after year,15 in a mass outburst of violence, multitudes of Muslims visiting the holy city of Mecca cause the deaths of thousands of their own people—not at the instruction of a leader but as a result of the frenzy of the crowd. Under Mao’s rule, citizens in China were deceived by their charismatic leader and carried out every noxious task they were assigned, even when this meant large loss of life. Mao, we must remember, murdered more than 36 million of his own people!

Lethal ideological processes have the potential to be immensely powerful. Their massive orgiastic excitement is extremely appealing, and it generally appears much more beneficial and safer to abide by and identify with societal norms. The combined influence of the leader and the collective is seductive and marshals the fervent support of armies, civilian populations, believers, and the many who are willing to act in accordance with a murderous ideology.

There has never been a shortage of people willing to implement the projects of ruthless tyrants. This was true for Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, the Hutu leaders in

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