U.S.

Soldiers Urinate on Bodies of Dead Taliban: Dehumanization at Work

By Jane Gilgun

Summary The world is outraged over a video that shows four US soldiers urinating on the corpses of three Taliban members. This is an outrage, but what do we expect? This is dehumanization at work. The military trains soldiers to kill. In order to kill another human being, we have to dehumanize them. We turn them into something else, something that is not human. That some soldiers would desecrate corpses of the enemy is inevitable. In the minds of the soldiers, they were not desecrating human beings, but they were desecrating the other. Their actions were a rite or revenge. Revenge is sweet. About the Author Jane F. Gilgun, Ph.D., LICSW, is a writer and professor. See Professor Gilguns other articles, books, and childrens stories on scribd.com, Kindle, and iBooks.

U.S. Soldiers Urinate on Bodies of Dead Taliban: Dehumanization at Work

Four US soldiers stood in a semi-circle and urinated on the corpses of three Taliban members in Afghanistan. Someone posted a video on the internet a few days ago, and the video went viral. Now top US governmental and military officials express shock and dismay, while the rest of the world is outraged. This act is an outrage, but what do we expect? What do we think will happen when we demonize our enemies? Its time to connect the dots. In order for one human being to kill another human being, we have to dehumanize the other. We turn them into something else. We demonize them. That's what the military trains soldiers to do. The people soldiers kill are not human beings, but horrible beings who are not us, but the other. Terrorists are the other. Terrorists are not human beings. We have demonized them. The demonization goes way beyond way beyond military training. We have demonized terrorists on cable television, the internet, in video games, and through every other mass media. Peeing on corpses of people the soldiers have killed is a ritual. In their own minds, the soldiers were not desecrating other human beings. They were desecrating demons. They believed demons deserve this desecration. In their own minds, the ritual represented the sacrament of revenge. Revenge is sweet. The demonization of others is an everyday occurrence. Men dont beat and rape women, but bitches and whores. Young men dont kill other young men, but fags, skags, and punks. Parents dont beat children, but they do beat little shits. States do not execute human beings, but they do execute animals, scum, and vermin. Millions of human beings rape, murder, and desecrate other human beings every day, but in their own minds, the people they harm deserve it. To investigate the peeing incident and to identify and punish the individuals who performed the rite of desecration may appease world-wide outrage, but will solve nothing. This kind of investigation and accountability, too, is a ritual with no depth. To make a difference and to pursue true accountability, the investigation would have to involve a good, long look at cultures that promote the demonization of others in war, in families, and in communities. Its time for personal, national, and international reflection and conversations on demonization of other human beings and the advantages of doing so. Dehumanization will continue until public opinion becomes powerful and stays powerful in every country in the world. That's going to take some time. Demonizing the other has too many pay-offs for human beings to give it up easily.