Dehumanization as Relief – Societal Discourses on Criminals

Abstract

This article presents some thoughts about the treatment of society with criminals. Especially it deals with the discourses coming from society about the delinquents and their deeds. Therefore it have been chosen certain kinds of crime (Holocaust, suicide terrorism, canibalism) for which a dehumanization of the perpetrators regularly becomes typical. The article differentiates between four types of such a dehumanization and investigates its meanings and significance for the majority of society. Furtheron it concludes that there are six important functions to explain why an important part of society is acting in such a way to come to terms with criminal undoing. In the end the article pleads for a bit more rationality in the debate of facts that are not easy to understand because there is obviously a general lack of sense in them.