Dehumanization and Demonization: The War Has Begun AGAIN!

[salib]

From Pravda:

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/13-10-2007/98762-dehumanization-0

Since the Great Patriotic War, the world has seen a parade of individuals and nations who have been subject to the inane and sordid process utilized by the empire’s propaganda war machine of dehumanization and demonization: Sadaam Hussein, Manuel Noriega, Slobodan Milosevic and now Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Of course, these tactics were utilized prior to the war, but this writing is basically addressing more recent events. Dehumanization and demonization employ the use of distorted images (e.g. Hitler) and loaded words…words that have extremely strong negative meanings.

-snip-

The demonization of Islam and Arabs is a current example of this process. Muslims and Arabs are now caricatures, symbols of fanaticism, evil and cruelty. Islamofascism is the newest buzz word for the empire‘s propaganda war machine. The word equates Islamic movements with European fascist movements of the early twentieth century.

This generalized association of the religion of Islam with fascism is hateful and inaccurate.

-snip-

Iran cannot be blamed for the defeat and failure of the empire to subdue Iraq. That act of aggression was doomed to failure from the outset and no amount of scapegoating others will change that fact. Inhuman perverse sanctions and naked brute force against Iran and its people should be rejected by all freedom loving people. It is time for truth, dialogue, diplomacy and genuine understanding to prevail before the dogs of war are unleashed on a great cultured and civilized nation and people.

[tom_paine]

1. Like listening to Stalin criticize Hitler.

In fact, just like Stalin and Hitler, the two faces of the New Totalitarianism is, to phrase it uniquely, is BushPutinism. Each face looks a little different, for they are targeting two different "marketing subgroups", so to speak.

Pravda is back to it's old self under PutinBushism, and the once-vaunted American Free Press is dead at the hands of BushPutinist murderers.

What a sorry state the human race is in.

[salib]

2. Neither side ever moved beyond the Cold War

And we, being citizens of one, are doomed to keep repeating it.

Pravda always seemed hyper-nationalist to me. Basically a state-apologetic National Enquirer. Plenty of stories about UFO's, just so long as it was the Great Soviet U- er Russian scientists who had the goods, or the Empire (the U.S.) who was hiding it all.

As far as our press, or Russia's, I think we have learned about as hard a rock-bottom lesson as we can, in terms of the impossibility of impacting the current "mainstream press." So, it is up to us, as it always is in a democracy.

Kinda exciting, in a sort of poignantly epic way. Mostly just draining.