My question to them was: How does “dehumanizing” work to begin with? If we’re wired to be social empathetic creatures, what is so powerful about these statements to unwire us?
The entire story is missing right between these two paragraphs.
Why are dehumanization and violence so closely connected? As social creatures, we’re wired to empathize with our fellow human beings, and we get uncomfortable when we see someone suffering.
Once someone is dehumanized, we usually deny them the consideration, compassion and empathy that we typically give other people. It can relax our instinctive aversion to aggression and violence.