{"id":2641,"date":"2024-08-14T19:11:08","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T19:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=2641"},"modified":"2025-03-11T13:33:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T13:33:18","slug":"vance-endorses-book-dehumanizing-unhumans-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/08\/14\/vance-endorses-book-dehumanizing-unhumans-language\/","title":{"rendered":"J.D. Vance Endorses Book with Dehumanizing \u201cUnhumans\u201d Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

A book was recently published titled <\/span>Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them)<\/span><\/i><\/a>. It refers to progressive activists as \u201cunhumans.\u201d The authors write: \u201cAs they are opposed to humanity itself, they place themselves outside of the category completely, in an entirely new misery-driven subdivision, the unhuman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The authors also take an anti-democracy stance. They argue that \u201cdemocracy has never worked to protect innocents from the unhumans\u201d and they praise authoritarian dictators of the past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The book paints a catastrophizing view of the dark forces of the \u201cunhumans\u201d around us. They write, \u201cYou may already be a subject of unhumans. You are employed by unhumans. You are married to . . . you get it. You know. There\u2019s nowhere for you to run or to hide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The book received much attention due to several prominent Republicans writing promotional blurbs for it \u2014 including J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for Vice President:\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, communists marched in the streets waving red flags. Today, they march through HR, college campuses, and courtrooms to wage lawfare against good, honest people. In <\/span>Unhumans<\/span><\/i>, [the authors] reveal their plans and show us what to do to fight back.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

People expressed concern at the dehumanizing \u201cunhumans\u201d language and the overall attempt to provoke extreme fear and contempt. Some comments:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe portrayal of any group as not human is rhetoric all Americans should not merely shrug off or laugh at as \u2018weird,\u2019 but also heed as deliberate and dangerous.\u201d (NYT article comment)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIntended to turn Americans against their fellow countrymen.\u201d (Amazon review)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight-wingers, they write, must stop these unhumans with a policy of \u2018exact reciprocity.\u2019 This means doing exactly to these so-called unhumans what the authors claim the unhumans are planning to do to them. The 283-page screed reads like an effort to incite a civil war.\u201d (from writer Gil Duran)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how genocide occurs, by saying your political rivals are less than human. Very dangerous indeed.\u201d (NYT article comment)<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s leave aside discussion about the goodness or badness of various forms of progressive-associated activism. One thing that we should all agree on is that using dehumanizing language about our political opponents is a serious problem. As you likely know, dehumanizing language has been a factor in all sorts of <\/span>atrocities throughout history<\/span><\/a> (for example, during the Holocaust, Germans described Jews as \u201cUntermenschen,\u201d or subhumans).<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s entirely possible to think your political opponents are doing bad things \u2014 even very harmful things \u2014 without reaching for dark, sky-is-falling narratives about their malicious nature. It\u2019s possible to think your fellow citizens are doing harm while seeing the more human, rational \u2014 and sometimes banal \u2014 explanations for their stances and behaviors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many conservatives say they dislike the extremely pessimistic ways in which liberals talk about them (for example, see <\/span>assorted<\/span><\/a> work<\/span><\/a> on overly pessimistic framings about Trump voters). Conservatives who genuinely want to reduce toxicity should see it as important to avoid dehumanizing language and take a stand against it when they see it on their \u201cside.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Unhumans<\/span><\/i> authors also seem to have little interest in differentiating between more extreme, militant far-left beliefs and more moderate, reasoned iterations of such beliefs. Conservatives should see how this would be like someone on the left lumping in more moderate conservative beliefs with more extreme, militant iterations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We should recognize how easy it is to construct extremely pessimistic narratives about our opponents and tie \u201cthem\u201d to all sorts of insidious things from the past. Humans are good at weaving stories. We\u2019ll create and embrace stories that align with our biases and our dislike and fear of \u201cthem.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some parting thoughts for Trump supporters:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n