How Authorities Come to Have so Much Power That, They Can Convince to Kill People - Report Example

Curse: How ities come to have so much power that, they can convince to kill people Introduction Killing as a emanates from a vast continuum of contemplation, with various explanations over the subject in discussion. The society seeks to establish justification for the attritions of killing, whether in the illegal or legal factions, with the debates ranging from the streets, to religion to the judicial systems. The killing in essence remains a subject of contention due to the sanctity of the human life, irrespective of the crime that the person commits (MacDonald 13). From time immemorial, factors such as self-defense, as well as, implementing justice for a crime committed play leading role in justifying the reasons for carrying out a killing. The human rights activists present weighty sentiments over the subject and the role of the perpetrators in creating the motifs for the killings. The worst is when the killing involves masses of populations. Killing masses of population, whether peacefully through cognitive means or through violence is surely an unjustifiable act. Understanding the subject of the events of genocide in Rwanda and the Holocaust, as well as other experimentations such as the trial of Adolf Eichmann presents evidential basis for the case. In thesis, those perpetrating the killings ought to possess a relatively high degree of control over the psychology of those who conduct the actual killing. Genocide in focus The term describing the violent crimes committed against a given group with intent to eliminate their existence did not exist until 1944. The human rights advocates then, after the Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin described the Nazi policies incorporating the factors of systemic murder and the destruction of the Jews coined the word. After this establishment, the human rights took the campaign and established the word accordingly. In essence, the factor of the genocide as a massive killing of people, with the intent of eliminating their existence, constitutes various causes (MacDonald 43). The causes of genocide originate deep within the confines of the groups involved. There are always politics involved in the case, with remarkably influential leadership in place to encourage, plan and perpetrate the killing. In its convergence, genocide entails the entire acts of intent seeking the destruction of a part or an entire national, ethnical or racial group among other such groups. It is incorporates aspects of inflicting actions and conditions that kill the people, bring physical harm and mental and bodily harm to those members of the group. In history, several such happenings that incorporate violence targeted at groups took place. Some occurred before while other occurred after the concept of the term took place. To understand the effect and consequent factors underlying the causes of genocide, the Rwanda and Nazi Holocaust present perfect examples. The factor of consideration is the influence the leaders of such groups have on the people to create such merciless killers out of the mass populations. The killing groups constitute of vast population members, some with training while others have no skill of killing. It creates the reason to wonder, what turns such massive populations of peacefully existing co-existences among the people into such violent murders (MacDonald 56). The psychology of these people plays significant role in determining the course of the executions as conducted in the context of the massive killings. The influence of the leaders, the impact on the groups o people involved, as well as, the responsibility of the global community in these happenings remains subject to further discussion (MacDonald 118). Additionally, the question of the underlying motifs among the groups, the historical context of the conflicts; as well as, the engagements as they affect the groups involved in the killing constitute significant elements in understanding the driving factors that cause people to conduct such mass killings. Rwanda and the Holocaust The African country of Rwanda marked the worst of brutal killings ever experienced within 100 days in the content. About 800,000 Tutsis alongside Hutu sympathizers died in the wake of the violence as it escalated through the period (Langford 5). However, the question for the discussion is what, where and when did the conflict begin and escalate to emerge at such a massive killing of innocent people. The subject of discussion is the causes, the origin of the influencing factors that drove the people to forget their humane characteristics and engage in such inhuman slaughtering processes. The Hutu and Tutsi comprised the majority share of the Rwanda population, with the Huts being the larger composition of the country. Initially, before the colonies became as they were, the people lived there reared cattle, and the Tutsi comprised the larger share of cattle raisers while the rest were Hutu (Langford 8). The interactions between the two groups comprised of intermarriages as well as cattle acquisitions. However, with the advent of the Europeans, bringing the factor of colonization, the conflict took root. The entire process of the conflict entailed the political aspect of identity, in which after the Germans colonized Rwanda from 1894, they supported one side of the rift. The Europeans recognized the Tutsi as their closest relations due to the factors such as their light skin and tall build. Thus, they put their trust in Tutsis and gave them greater responsibilities. This factor developed the course for further rift between the two groups. Later on, the Germans lost their control due to the factors of the World War I (Langford 13). From the time; the Belgian took over, solidifying the identity factors among the groups (Langford 15). They introduced the legislation that every group carries an identity card indicating their ethnic group. Additionally, they favored the Tutsi over the Hutu, creating further refit among the communities. Thus, when the country gained independence, the Tutsi took control of government. However, the Hutu felt cheated, as they comprised the larger population. Thus, the conflicts heightened, with the political powers campaigning along the lines of ethnicity, the aspects of superiority among the groups worsened, driving the intent to eliminate each other from the face of the country. The factors worsened after the president then, who hailed from the Hutu community died in a plane strike (Langford 18). They blamed the Tutsi for the death, which raised fears among the communities. The conflict fueled from these lines of identity and superiority contests turned into the case of genocide as happened in 1994. The worst ever killing in which the communities used crude weapons and some guns to maim and murder others in cold blood. These killings were with intent, emanating from deeply rooted unsolved conflicts within the political arena, which boiled to the social issues of resource sharing and social amenities among the people (Langford 24). Thus, the perpetration by the political influence of the communities formed basis for the genocide in case of Rwanda. Similarly, the Holocaust by the Nazi encompassed similar grounds of the killings that occurred. Hitler, at the wake of the First World War was in control, a factor that constituted the emergence of totalitarian form of governance in Germany (Gross & Hoffman 26). The Nazi believed that their race constituted the vast majority of the country and the most productive in the case. Thus, when the economy of Germany seemed to decline, they blamed the European Jews in the country who constituted the vast population of the poor people in the country. Additionally, it is observable that, the Nazi wanted to rule along the grounds of eliminating the undesired species in the country, hence fueling the rift towards the elimination of the European Jews from the country. Further, their persecution followed the desire to enslave the Jews, as they constituted the inferior community in the country. Thus, from these grounds, combined with the war crisis and economic as well as social aspects such as poverty and ill health, the Nazi felt the need to eliminate the undesirable European Jews in the country (Gross & Hoffman 31). The Black Death plague, the myth of the blood libel, the conceptions that Jews are devilish, among other anti-Semitism constituted the much propaganda ran by the campaigns of the Nazi race in driving the holocaust to its execution. Thus, from these beliefs and propaganda propagations, as well as, the conflict of identity and superiority within the context of the country, facilitated the push towards the holocaust. Thus, observing from this point, it is notable the impact that the various beliefs, political affiliations, economic and social perceptions of the crisis that the country suffered forced the Nazi into executing the over 5 million European Jews (Gross & Hoffman 41). They constitute the driving factors that turned the people into such killers. Social, political, and economic pressures were significant in driving the killing intent of the Nazi people. Eichmann Adolf Eichmann was the person charged with mandate to oversee the logistics of the mass deportation of the Jews in Germany to the ghettos and extermination camps. Initially, the procedures entailed using the social and economic pressure to force the Jews to leave the country (Brandfon 17). However, as the world war took effect, the procedure changed to forced mass deportation to the ghettos as well as practice of extermination of the people to eliminate their presence in the country. It is nearly impossible to understand the motivating factor they drove Adolf Eichmann to the extent of carrying out such order, in which over 5 million Jews lost their lives. The holocaust, as described, Eichmann constituted the leading role in the killings (Brandfon 17). After the massacre, and seize fire, he fled to Argentina where finally the authority caught him. During his trial, the judge, Arednt could hardly arrive at a conclusive judgment to sentence Eichmann. She essentially had to formulate a completely new legal judgment procedure to justify her decision against Eichmann. In giving her judgment, she concluded that no member of the human race would want to live with Eichmann due to the crimes he committed (Brandfon 19). However, she intentionally developed her judgment to justify the need for execution of Eichmann, convincing the public accordingly that, he was essentially not fit to live due to his psychological makeup. Thus, observing from this case of the execution of Eichmann, the judge sought to justify the execution sentence from the factor that he was responsible for the holocaust in such extent. Thus, the case indicates the inability to define the factors that cause the person to go to such extents of killing. In his confessions, Eichmann accounts for some remarkably shocking experiences, noting that he was only following orders (Brandfon 20). Nonetheless, the question remains, do they constitute the factors to drive a person to commit such heinous crimes against humanity. The Milgram experiment In the milgram experiment, Stanley Milgram conducted a study on the factor of obedience to authority. In his experiment, he forged to the mindset of the way in which the social scientists explain the participation of the hundreds of thousands of the Germans in the massacre against the Jews (Brannigan 623). In particular, he bases his study on Adolf Eichmann case, in which, his sole defense during the trial was that he was obeying orders. From these perspectives, the experiment provides remarkably critical information and approach in understanding the factors that drive the mass killings as happened in the case of the Rwanda genocide and the holocaust. Killings in such masses constitute several sociological questions into the psychology and social conformation of the people. It is unbelievable to explain that the masses participate in such killings merely from just being loyalty and obedience to their group or authority. The question then changes to the consideration of, how much influence does this authority hold over the people. In the case of the Nazi and the Jews, the leadership entailed Hitler, among several other dictatorial leaders that ruled with him (Brannigan 624). Thus, in studying the defense case of Eichmann, Milgram sought to explore the factor of obedience to authority and aspects of loyalty. How would such obedience and loyalty overcome the humane nature of beings to the extent of excusing fellow beings in such massive extends? The only possible explanation for such happening is that, the authority has to weld such power over their subjects to the point of brainwashing them completely with propaganda and threats (Brannigan 627). Thus, observing the two scenarios, the only possibility is that, it is not obedience but rather the aspects of fear that drove the people into committing the massive crimes of mass killings. The massive scenarios as happened in both cases of the Rwanda and Holocaust all lead towards the adoption of the experiment by Milgram. In his experiment, he denotes aspects such as the factors of influence of the authority through factors such as propaganda, brainwashing, instilling fear through threats, as well as, revenge in driving the change of innocent populations into brutal killers. For instance, relating to the case in Rwanda genocide, the Hutus retaliated after the president, who hailed from their side, died in the plane strike believed to emanate from the Tutsis side. Further, they evoked the underlying factors of social pressures, political affiliations, and treatment of the people when the Tutsis had power. Thus, revenge played role in turning the Hutus into brutal killers. Additionally, political propaganda and misplaced believes over superiority matter, as well as, the facet of having right over the other groups were key in turning the people into killers. Similarly, in the Holocaust case, the Nazi only acted in obedience and loyalty to the authority as it comprised significant power in influencing their emotions and perceptions over the Jews. Thus, these sociological aspects are key in the process of turning the masses into brutal killers. Conclusion The case of the Holocaust and Rwanda Genocide remain vivid in the minds of generations after the events. The suffering and loss they caused are visible to date. The consequences of such inhumane activities live for eternity. Thus, in view of the factors that drive the people into committing such massive crimes against humanity, it is essential to influence the people positively to avert future happenings. The influence of the authority over the subjects in demanding loyalty and obedience is a factor for consideration in crimes against humanity. Thus, leadership ought to influence the society positively for peaceful existence of all factions. Works cited Brandfon F. Judging Eichmann: History, Judgment and Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem. The American Poetry Review september/october 2013 Brannigan, A. Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiments: A Report Card 50 Years Later. Published online: 9 October 2013, Springer Science Business Media New York 2013 Soc (2013) 50:623–628 DOI 10.1007/s12115-013-9724-3 Gross , Andrew S. And Hoffman Michael J. memory, authority, and identity: holocaust studies in light of the wilkomirski debate. Biography 27.1 (Winter 2004) © Biographical Research Center Langford, P. The Rwandan Path to Genocide: the Genesis of the Capacity of the Rwandan Post- colonial State to Organize and Unleash a project of Extermination Civil Wars, Vol.7, No.1 (Spring 2005), pp.1–27 ISSN 1369-8249 print/ISSN 1743-968X online DOI: 10.1080/13698280500074412 q 2005 Taylor & Francis Ltd. MacDonald, David B. Identity Politics in the Age of Genocide: The Holocaust and Historical Representation. London: Routledge, 2008. Print. Read More