Hallo Fritz,
This was posted here years ago. Perhaps it needs to be seen again:
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The Practice of Ritual Defamation
How values, opinions and beliefs are controlled in democratic
societies.
Defamation is the destruction or attempted destruction of the
reputation, status, character or standing in the community of a person
or group of persons by unfair, wrongful, or malicious speech or
publication. For the purposes of this essay, the central element is
defamation in retaliation for the real or imagined attitudes, opinions
or beliefs of the victim, with the intention of silencing or
neutralizing his or her influence, and/or making an example of them so
as to discourage similar independence and "insensitivity" or
non-observance of taboos. It is different in nature and degree from
simple criticism or disagreement in that it is aggressive, organized
and skillfully applied, often by an organization or representative of
a special interest group, and in that it consists of several
characteristic elements.
Ritual Defamation is not ritualistic because it follows any prescribed
religious or mystical doctrine, nor is it embraced in any particular
document or scripture. Rather, it is ritualistic because it follows a
predictable, stereotyped pattern which embraces a number of elements,
as in a ritual.
The elements of a Ritual Defamation are these:
1.In a ritual defamation the victim must have violated a particular
taboo in some way, usually by expressing or identifying with a
forbidden attitude, opinion or belief. It is not necessary that he
"do" anything about it or undertake any particular course of action,
only that he engage in some form of communication or expression.
2. The method of attack in a ritual defamation is to assail the
character of the victim, and never to offer more than a perfunctory
challenge to the particular attitudes, opinions or beliefs expressed
or implied. Character assassination is its primary tool.
3. An important rule in ritual defamation is to avoid engaging in any
kind of debate over the truthfulness or reasonableness of what has
been expressed, only condemn it. To debate opens the issue up for
examination and discussion of its merits, and to consider the evidence
that may support it, which is just what the ritual defamer is trying
to avoid. The primary goal of a ritual defamation is censorship and
repression.
4. The victim is often somebody in the public eye - someone who is
vulnerable to public opinion - although perhaps in a very modest way.
It could be a schoolteacher, writer, businessman, minor official, or
merely an outspoken citizen. Visibility enhances vulnerability to
ritual defamation. An attempt, often successful, is made to involve
others in the defamation.
5. In the case of a public official, other public officials will be
urged to denounce the offender. In the case of a student, other
students will be called upon, and so on.
6. In order for a ritual defamation to be effective, the victim must
be dehumanized to the extent that he becomes identical with the
offending attitude, opinion or belief, and in a manner which distorts
it to the point where it appears at its most extreme. For example, a
victim who is defamed as a "subversive" will be identified with the
worst images of subversion, such as espionage, terrorism or treason. A
victim defamed as a "pervert" will be identified with the worst images
of perversion, including child molestation and rape. A victim defamed
as a "racist" or "anti-Semitic" will be identified with the worst
images of racism or anti-Semitism, such as lynchings or gas chambers.
7. Also to be successful, a ritual defamation must bring pressure and
humiliation on the victim from every quarter, including family and
friends. If the victim has school children, they may be taunted and
ridiculed as a consequence of adverse publicity. If they are employed,
they may be fired from their job. If the victim belongs to clubs or
associations, other members may be urged to expel them.
8. Any explanation the victim may offer, including the claim of being
misunderstood, is considered irrelevant. To claim truth as a defense
for a politically incorrect value, opinion or belief is interpreted as
defiance and only compounds the problem. Ritual defamation is often
not necessarily an issue of being wrong or incorrect but rather of
"insensitivity" and failing to observe social taboos.
An interesting aspect of ritual defamation as a practice is its
universality. It is not specific to any value, opinion or belief
or to any group or subculture. It may be used for or against any
political, ethnic, national or religious group. It may, for
example, by anti-Semites against Jews, or by Jews against
anti-Semites; by rightists against leftists or by leftists against
rightists, and so on.
The power of ritual defamation lies entirely in its capacity to
intimidate and terrorize. It embraces some elements of primitive
superstitious belief, as in a "curse" or "hex." It plays into the
subconscious fear most people have of being abandoned or rejected
by the tribe or by society and being cut off from social and
psychological support systems.
The weakness of ritual defamation lies in its tendency toward
overkill and in its obvious maliciousness. Occasionally a ritual
defamation will fail because of poor planning and failure to
correctly judge the vulnerability of the victim or because its
viciousness inadvertently generates sympathy.
It's important to recognize and identify the patterns of a ritual
defamation. Like all propaganda and disinformation campaigns it is
accomplished primarily through the manipulation of words and
symbols. It is not used to persuade, but to punish. Although it
may have cognitive elements, its thrust is primarily emotional.
Ritual Defamation is used to hurt, to intimidate, to destroy, and
to persecute, and to avoid the dialogue, debate and discussion
upon which a free society depends. On those grounds it must be
opposed no matter who tries to justify its use.
Friday, 07 September, 2007, 07:07:50, you wrote:
>>From Haaretz - Last update - 11:37 06/09/2007
FF> U.S. prof. who says Jews abuse Holocaust to curb critics resigns By The
FF> Associated Press
FF> A Chicago university professor who has drawn criticism for accusing some
FF> Jews of abusing the legacy of the Holocaust agreed Wednesday to resign
FF> immediately "for everybody's sake."
FF> DePaul University officials and political science professor Norman
FF> Finkelstein issued a joint statement announcing the resignation, which came
FF> as about a hundred protesters gathered outside the dean's office to support
FF> him.
FF> Finkelstein, who is the son of Holocaust survivors, was denied tenure in
FF> June after spending six years on DePaul's faculty. His remaining class was
FF> cut by DePaul last month.
FF> Advertisement
FF> His most recent book, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and
FF> the Abuse of History, is largely an attack on Harvard law professor Alan
FF> Dershowitz's The Case for Israel. In his book, Finkelstein argues that
FF> Israel uses perceived anti-Semitism as a weapon to stifle criticism.
FF> Dershowitz, who threatened to sue Finkelstein's publisher for libel, urged
FF> DePaul officials to reject Finkelstein's tenure bid.
FF> Finkelstein said in the statement that he believes the tenure decision was
FF> tainted by external pressures, but praised the university's "honorable role
FF> of providing a scholarly haven for me the past six years."
FF> The school denied that outside parties influenced the decision to deny
FF> Finkelstein tenure. The school's portion of the statement called Finkelstein
FF> a prolific scholar and an outstanding teacher.
FF> Finkelstein called that acknowledgment the most important part of the
FF> statement.
FF> "I felt finally I had gotten what was my due and that maybe it was time, for
FF> everybody's sake, that I move on," he said at a news conference that
FF> followed a morning rally staged by students and faculty who carried signs
FF> and chanted "stop the witch hunt."
FF> Finkelstein added: "DePaul students rose to dazzling spiritual heights in my
FF> defense that should be the envy of and an example for every university in
FF> the United States."
FF> The professor would not discuss financial terms of the resignation
FF> agreement, which he said was confidential, but noted that it does not bar
FF> him from speaking out about issues that concern him, including the
FF> unfairness of the tenure process.
FF> He also said he does not know what he will do next, but came to realize
FF> before Wednesday that "the atmosphere had become so poisoned that it was
FF> virtually impossible for me to carry on at DePaul. The least I could hope
FF> for is to leave DePaul with my head up high and my reputation intact."
FF> Dershowitz was critical of the school. "DePaul looks like they caved into
FF> pressure," he said in a telephone interview. "The idea of describing him as
FF> a scholar trades truth for convenience. He's a man who is a propagandist and
FF> is not a scholar."
FF> Still, Dershowitz said, "I'm happy he's out of academia. Let him do his
FF> ranting on street corners."
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--
Je mehr wir haben, desto mehr fordert Gott von uns.
********
We can't change the winds but we can adjust our sails.
********
The safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope,
soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones,
without signposts.
C. S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters"
********
Es gibt Wahrheiten, die so sehr auf der Straße liegen,
daß sie gerade deshalb von der gewöhnlichen Welt nicht
gesehen oder wenigstens nicht erkannt werden.
********
Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't
hear the music.
George Carlin
********
The best portion of a good man's life -
His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
William Wordsworth
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