8 Stages of Genocide

According to Genocide Watch(http://www.genocidewatch.org/aboutgenocide/8stagesofgenocide.html), genocide occurs in 8 stages. By comparing these stages to Black Dog of Fate and specifically the recently read chapter, Dovey's Story, one can see a first person account of the advancement of prejudice to hate to genocide. The first stage is the division of "us and them", which has almost always exsisted in the relationship between Turks and Armenians. One is Christian, one is Muslim, a division that has exsisted for centurys. The next is symbolization, or the creation of classifying features to distinguish people. Through thier looks, language, and Christianity they were weeded out. In Dovey's Story Dovey attempts to blend in by wearing a Muslim burka, yet she failed to blend in. The third stage is dehuminization, where the persecutor attempts to justify their actions by taking away the humanity of the persecuted. The Turks begin reffering to the Armenians as dogs, and treating them as such. In Dovey's Story they are whipped like pack animals. The fourth stage is organization, the mobilization of people by the persecutors with the sole intention of eliminating their targets. The Turks used whole divisions of the army, with soldiers commited the worst crimes. The next stage is polarization, with the extremists taking control and eliminating the moderates. One can see this occuring in the beginning of the twentieth century with the rise of the Young Turks, who are far more extreme than the previous government. The sixth stage is preparation, where plans are drawn out to carry out the massacres. The Turks began systematic killings of intellectuals and planned for deportations before the death marches began. The seventh stage is extermination, the culmination of all the stages. The killers are organzied and no longer believe their targets are humans. It is the only way Turkish soldiers could feel burning victims alive and murdering whole towns were justified. The final stage is denial, which is seen clealry in today's Turkey. The governemnt and people still deny the events to this day, as the genocide is to horrible to even own up to. looking at the stages of genocide, one can clealry see that the Armenian Genocide is almost the example for how genocide is carried out and was a chilling prediction of the future.