Extermination stage killing requires that killers see victims as less than fully human

Evidence

EXTERMINATION: Extermination begins, and quickly becomes the mass killing legally called “genocide.” It is “extermination” to the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully human (see dehumanization). When it is sponsored by the government, the armed forces often work with private armies to do the killing. Sometimes the genocide results in revenge killings by groups against each other, creating the downward whirlpool-like cycle of mutual genocide where the victims actually organize and commit a second genocide on the perpetrators. At this stage, only rapid and overwhelming armed intervention can stop genocide. — Gregory H. Stanton, Ten Stages of Genocide, 8

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines stage 9 EXTERMINATION precisely: mass killing legally called genocide, hinged on dehumanization, which can spawn reciprocal ‘mutual genocide’ cycles.
• XREF: connects to: Comparing victims to vermin and disease makes killing them psychologically easier — Gregory H. Stanton, Ten Stages of Genocide, 2; The term extermination reflects killers’ belief victims are not fully human — Gregory H. Stanton, Ten Stages of Genocide, 16; Dehumanizing victims as animals makes killing psychologically easier for perpetrators — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2449 (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• The term extermination reflects killers’ belief victims are not fully human #expands (0.95) — Gregory H. Stanton, Ten Stages of Genocide, 16
• Dehumanizing victims as animals makes killing psychologically easier for perpetrators #expands (0.92) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2449
• Comparing victims to animals makes their murder easier #expands (0.90) — Gregory H. Stanton, Ten Stages of Genocide, 14
• Killing humanized foes leaves guilt that coercion excuses only partially #qualifies (0.88) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 664
• Members of a perpetrating nation may perceive their victims as less than human #exemplifies (0.88)
• Fragmented roles in killing machines let participants avoid registering the deaths #qualifies (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3963
• Devaluing victims as weak targets suppresses guilt in wrongdoers. #expands (0.85) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1411
• Dehumanized enemies must stay human enough that killing them seems valorous #complicates (0.82)
• Perceiving victims and perpetrators as one human group lowers guilt assignment. #corroborates (0.80) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 1937
• Brutal genocide perpetrators need not hold longstanding eliminationist attitudes toward victims #qualifies (0.80) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 332
• Seeing victims as fellow humans can override group-sanctioned killing orders #complicates (0.78) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 652
• Mechanized killing distances perpetrators from responsibility while also corrupting them #expands (0.78) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2842
• Dignifying a victim during killing creates a moral paradox #complicates (0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2033