An 1899 chromolithograph of U.S. cavalry pursuing American Indians, artist unknown. Source: Werner Company, Akron, Ohio. Published before 1923. In the public domain.
by Anthony J. Marsella
PATHWAYS TO GENOCIDE
I do not know what actions the Trump presidential administration will take regarding the energy-genocide-ecocide tradeoff in which “Oil” always seems to win. I do know, however, what actions the existing Obama administration has taken! Oil trumps people! Oil trumps pollution! Oil trumps reason! It is ecocide! All aspects of nature are at risk: water, air, land, animals, and people. It is genocide! Do we forget the man-made disasters associated with oil production? Imagine the consequences of a pipeline rupture for the upper Missouri River! Remember! It is lawys after fact apologies and inadequate compensations. Too late!
Standing Rock now is symbolic with “cide.” It is ecocide, genocide, suicide, and nationcide. (See www.fun-with-words.com, for a list of hundreds of words ending in “cide.”) In all instances, “cide” refers to the act of killing.
Yes, it is Genocide! This traumatic frightening term has been commandeered by so many others across the world, justified in all instances, but now reluctantly assigned to the destruction, violence, and war characterizing centuries of abuse against the Native American Indians. It is a final battle, apocryphal in proportion.
Genocide is a term coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin to describe the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. It is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) of 1948 as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the groups conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. (Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Note: “ethnical”, although unusual, is found in several dictionaries) (Wikipedia Website).
The pathways to Genocide are many; each pathway carries with it the potential for destruction of a people and a way-of-life. The push is always the same! “You are either with us or against us,” demonic leaders cry as they seek total control. Homogenization is sought; a world of total agreement and conformity to a catastrophic vision in which protests must be subdued, even if it requires the destruction of lives and ways-of-living.
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the TRANSCEND Network, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces. He can be reached at marsella@hawaii.edu.
The iconic sacred Standing Rock of the Sioux. According to Dakota legend, it is a body of a young Indian woman, with her child on her back, who refused to accompany the tribe as they moved south. When others were sent back to find her, she was found to have turned to stone. The stone overlooks an area that was once the empire of the mighty Sioux Nation. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1963.
By Anthony J. Marsella
I have two major purposes in writing this commentary:
To call attention to the national media’s intentional lack of coverage to the Standing Rock protests. This lack of coverage is an egregious affront and insult to Native American Indians and their supporters, and also to indigenous peoples everywhere caught in struggles against oppression and exploitation by the national and global political elite and cabal: corporate-governments-military. We are witnessing Genocide, Ecocide, and Nationcide! And still the silence!
2. To address the tragic state of our nation’s alleged commitments to our sacred documents enshrining human rights, participatory governance, equality, and transparency in decisions and policies.
STANDING ROCK: AN ICONIC EVENT DENIED VISIBILITY
Amid the preoccupation with Donald Trump’s election regrets and elation, and his ascendancy to the power and privilege of the USA presidency, there is a conspicuous absence of attention to the what may be the most critical struggle for human rights and human dignity in the United States since the civil rights protests of African American and Women’s Rights born in the 1950s and continuing today.
Even within the context of the continuing struggles for equality and human rights of our times, the unfolding events at Standing Rock promise to dwarf past struggles in their ultimate consequences for revealing the egregious realities of corporate dominance, federal and state government betrayal, and militaristic control and aggression of USA society today.
Protests at Standing Rock by Native American Indians and supporters of law, justice, and conscience, are conspicuously absent from front-page coverage and editorials, and also from TV news shows. Newspaper headlines and opening news coverage stories should be blaring the events at Standing Rock, the origins, historic course, genocidal process, promoted and sustained by corporate-government-military cabal complicity in the wanton destruction of the Native American Indian land, traditions, and people. It happened and is happening on your watch!
The media coverage should be relentless, and not be left to independent media sources struggling to survive financially as national media stocks soar! This is a national tragedy, and is far more important to our national identity and survival then the vast majority of topics covered. Shame on you New York Times! Shame on you Washington Post! You reveal your ownership and control!
The national political elite have spoken; once again human life and dignity will be sacrificed on the altar of greed and dominance; once again, the concentration of wealth, power, and position in the hands of a few, rule. Must I list the names of the billionaires, political figures, and military luminaries, we have elevated to positions of respect and admiration? Must I cite the award celebrations attempting to establish “icons” to be followed as admirable examples of the status quo? Must I list the celebrities who prance before the media in expensive couture, baring bodies, guarding conscience, and protecting image? It happened, and is happening, on your watch. Native American Indians are dying once again in a struggle for their inalienable rights. Where are you?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the TRANSCEND Network, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces. He can be reached at marsella@hawaii.edu.
The word “disasters” has become much more than a word as humanity becomes aware of the numerous natural, human-made, and human-facilitated disasters in our times. In distant times and in recent past centuries, relative isolation of people and events kept tolls of disasters exacted to more confined people and spaces. These tolls, obviously, were no less destructive in their tragic consequence for people and milieu. Indeed, some distant disasters continue to impact the evolution and survival of life today.
Examples of distant-past natural events include: (1) meteor strikes on extinction of dinosaurs and life forms; (2) Mediterranean earthquakes and Gibraltar-collapse flood; (3) Krakatoa volcanic eruption in Indonesia; (4) Ice Age on human migration and survival; (5) possible shifts in magnetic polarity of Earth’s poles and magnetic field shields.
Examples of human-made events shaping in near century-times include: (1) ancient Egyptian military conquests, (2) Alexander’s conquests, (3) Roman Empire conquests with subjugation of people and exploitation of land; (4) Mongolian conquests of Asia and Europe, and British imperialistic conquests of Asia, Pacific, and Africa.
Human-made disasters have been rooted in wars of imperialistic and empire intent among groups and nations seeking “global” hegemony. The impact of British Empire invasions and conquests remain with us today in the struggles of developing nations seeking to establish an identity and purpose under the burden of colonial occupation.
One of the most egregious legacies of the past continuing today is human slavery and labor exploitation. We may never escape the consequences of WWI and WWII upon our lives and psyches. The past is always with us! Victimhood is a legacy many seek to correct and prevent; many others seek to forget.
Knowledge of the enormous destructive impacts of natural and human-shaped disasters upon animate and inanimate milieus has prompted nations and global consortia to develop organized risk and hazard efforts and tools. These include early warning, appraisal, communication systems, intervention, and prevention efforts. Recognized organizations include the USA’s Department of Homeland Security Disaster Program (Washington, DC) , the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and the World Health Organization (WHO), in Geneva, Switzerland. There are scores of cooperative agencies engaged in monitoring natural disaster and human-made risks.
Efforts to end human-made wars and violence among and within nations continue. Even optimists, however, cannot deny the continuing horrors of current genocides and destruction and oppression of people the world. Human beings struggling to survive pray for relief and an end to wars and violence; but efforts have proven inadequate to the Brobdingnagian nature of the task. Tragic!
I have taken upon myself the task and responsibility to identify and communicate in graphic and tabular forms examples of natural and human-made disasters. I do so because I believe it is essential we do not deny or ignore the multitude of risks we face. The graphic and tabular formats may be useful in immediate apprehension for teaching or discussion. Knowledge, by itself, is not necessarily prevention or salvation, but it does provide a foundation for grasping the spectrum and sources of the challenges we face.
2. Disasters
A dictionary definition of disasters is in many ways unneeded. We know that a disaster is an event of much destruction and suffering. Nevertheless, a dictionary definition is a shared arbiter of the denotative and connotative meanings of the term. There are many definitions. I like the following from the Webster App:
A sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction; Broadly: A sudden or great misfortune or failure.
According to the Webster APP, the term was first used 1568, and is derived from the French “desastre,” and Italian “disastro.” I once asked my Sicilian mother about the status of a store bought boxed cake: She said in English: “It is a disaster! Never again!” There are big and small disasters, there are personal and global disasters. In all instances, they are not good!
Consider the lexicon of related disaster terms, many of which have biblical referents: Apocalypse, calamitous, cataclysmic, catastrophe, damaging, debacle, destruction, devastating, dreadful, earth-shattering, lethal, momentous, powerful, ruinous, strong, toxic, and virulent! Simply reading the lexical list is depressing!
As a cultural psychologist, I wondered what terms constitute the lexicon in other languages and cultures. What, for example, would we find in Chinese languages, given the ancient age of this mighty land that has been compelled to withstand natural and man-made disasters for millennia!
Chart 1 is a graphic display of natural disasters. The Chart offers a quick encompassing view of the spectrum of natural disasters. Chart 1 is followed by Table 1 which provides a written listing. Once again, my intent was to help discussion and education activities by having a quick reference to the topic.
Chart 2 is a graphic display of human-made and human-facilitated disasters. The Chart’s contents reveal a tragic compilation of the consequences of human actions upon the species and upon of the natural world. Some have taken to calling humans the super predator. If only animals and nature could speak? Table 2 provides a written summary. Words versus images offer no consolation. The following sections elaborate upon disasters, offering brief commentaries.
CHART 1: EXAMPLES OF NATURAL DISASTERS
TABLE 1: EXAMPLES OF NATURAL DISASTERS (Alphabetical Order)
Wind Storms (Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Typhoons) (Regional and Global)
The human, economic, political, and moral costs of natural disasters is beyond estimation. When a mega-natural disaster occurs, all aspects of human and natural life are implicated, often for decades of recovery. Natural disasters are common-place across the world, even as some are confined to certain areas. Whether an onslaught of natural disasters may deplete and erode government capacities for intervention, and provoke regional and national instability is now a major concern.
There can be no doubt of the massive tolls exacted in death, destruction, and injury. The tragedy of natural disasters is further compounded by the fact natural disasters are frequent in number, severe in consequence, and often repetitive. Human roles in creating natural disasters are now widely known, especially in climate change challenges. Certain regions are subject to continual disasters and erosion of recovery resources. The Philippines is an example of this situation.
Human-Made and Human-Facilitated Disasters
The growing number of human-made and human-aided disasters is humbling and frightening. Human stewardship of life in all its forms is proving to be a disaster in itself. I am reminded here of the popular Pogo cartoon: “We have met the enemy, and it is us.” True words!
Even as we question why humans continue to engage in self-destructive acts, we are perplexed by the paradoxes. We look to leaders, but amid their corruption, cronyism, and selfish concerns, solutions appear impossible. A massive financial effort is needed; more importantly, however, there is a need for a new consciousness; humanity is part of nature, not its ruler!
The time-honored motivation of pursuing wealth, power, and position for a few to the exclusion of the welfare of the masses has become the norm. Tragic! “When will we ever learn?” These are folk song lyrics filled with the grief and sorrow of failures to learn form our actions.
CHART 2: EXAMPLES OF HUMAN-MADE DISASTERS
Even as I write these words, I find myself concerned about humanity’s future. It is not only humanity’s survival, adaptation, and adjustment as we think of it in conventional terms it is about the extensive reliance on artificial intelligence (AI), and especially the unbridled use of AI in developing robotics. The combination of AI and robotics is challenging our basic assumptions of human nature (i.e. ontology). At some point, AI creations will surpass human capabilities and talents (i.e., singularity). What then? Will this be another human-made disaster? I called this “Relinguishing Human Identity,” in a chapter on unfolding evolution via bio-metric communication technologies (see Marsella, A.J. (2016). Gatherings:” A collection of writing genre. Alpharetta, GA: Mountain Arbor Press). Think drones! Think cloning! Think dehumanization! Think dystopia!
TABLE 2 EXAMPLES OF HUMAN-MADE AND HUMAN-AIDED DISASTERS (Alphabetical Order)
Desertification of Arable Land (Sahara)
Fracking (Destruction of Potable Water, Earthquakes)
Structure Collapse: Buildings, Bridges (Bangladesh, India, USA)
Terrorist Attacks
Toxic Chemicals (Agent Orange, Vietnam)
Wars (Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan)
And So . . . ?
What can do we do? The challenges we face are enormous in proportion and consequence. The human, natural world, physical world costs exceed imagination. And yet we continue! Is iit possible to use education to address these challenges? Not traditional education mired in skill sets and memorization, but rather the introduction of visionary thoughts and knowledge. Imagine all college students having to begin their education by exposure in the first years to “Big History,” overviews of major history events and forces, including the ideologies and malicious forces that guide and nurture them.
Imagine elementary school children in the third grade exposed to the critical social, economic, and political events and forces shaping their lives so they do not become numb to the events and forces. The intent is a new consciousness. This is what the famous Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, proposed in his critical pedagogy: Critical consciousness! In English “Conscientization; in Portuguese, “conscientizacao.” Education is not neutral. (See Wikepedia and Paulo Friere (1997), Pedagogy of the Oppressed (NY: Continuum Publishing). If education serves those in power, it is indoctrination! Is critical pedagogy any less important than fractions or grammar?
If we are to survive the onslaught of disasters, we will need to think in a more activist way, and to grasp the consequences of our choices. We must not socialize conformity to our existing world, but rather arouse awareness and encourage protests toward our failures.
Albert Einstein, advised: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them” Albert Einstein is no longer with us, but his words remain, and demand attention. Anything less … a disaster!
Author: Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822. He is the author and editor of twenty books, and more than 300 publications noted for challenging the ethnocentricity and biases of Western psychology and psychiatry, and for advocating peace and social justice.
Tear down your crosses, crescents, and angled stars.
You ignore their precepts.
Excuses for madness,
Salve for betrayal,
Gloves for stained hands
Veils for truth!
Fall upon your knees,
Beg forgiveness,
Judas!
Failed prophets!
Flawed angels!
God pretenders!
Stainers of time!
Mortal art thou, Man!
Blood, bone, sinew!
Seeker!
Mind!
Spirit essence!
V.
Sing the song of life!
Cast seeds upon the land,
Plant trees in barren hills,
Water fallow fields!
Look to mountains,
Forested woods,
Desert sands,
Mirrored lakes,
Gaze in wonder!
Inhale air,
Sip water,
Break bread,
Behold skies;
All else is vanity!
Go now!
Walk tortoise paths,
Follow hare tracks,
Eat berries,
Urinate,
Create streams – droplets!
Erase scars of war!
All is sacred!
Behold grandeur,
Fill senses with awe –
Failing this,
Know you never lived!
At end of day,
Earth will accept your
Crumbled remains,
And . . . try again!
And you will have no choice!
and here are the words from Walt Whitman’s Preface to Leaves of Grass (1855):
“This is what you shall do:
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labor to others,
Hate tyrants, argue not concerning god,
Have patience and indulgence toward the people,
Re-examine all you have been told
At school or church or in any book,
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
And your very flesh shall be a great poem.”
Comment by Anthony Marsella:
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is my favorite poet – and in many ways, my favorite humanist. He witnessed the horrors of the American Civil War — its sights, sounds, and smells inspired his commitment to peace. But long before the War, his special senses gave voice and word to the changing world about him. He captured time and times!
I find life in his every word — each line and verse, a sacred-clarion call to life! In his words – their pace, stridency, boldness – spring passionate observations, accusations, and visions of hope revealing uncommon and uncompromising courage and wisdom.
I wonder what Walt Whitman would say if he appeared in our time? I know he would recognize the betrayal of history’s lessons – humanity’s continued infatuation with violence and war. He would scold us! Reprimand us! Remind us solutions are to be found in compassion and connection — not metal.
I wrote a draft of this poem in hours the next morning and early day. I waited a few days, overwhelmed by my efforts to hear his voice, to channel his presence. It is best to rest when you awaken the dead. My words lack the power and grace of Walt Whitman; but I am consoled by the fact, my intention is his!
Anthony Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the TRANSCEND Network, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces. He can be reached atmarsella@hawaii.edu.
