“In crises, the insignificant person appears who symbolizes the asymmetry of the development of the spirit and the soul, who knows how to use the press, radio, and other technical means of taking over people’s souls, which the democratic society provides him. With the help of these technical means, he can create people in his image and thereby multiply his own human type a million times” (“auf diese Weise seinen eigenen Menschentyp in das Millionenfache zu vermehren”).
Sociologist Karl Mannheim voiced that assessment in a book published in 1935, and it is clear that the direct recipient of it was Hitler, who was able to “create millions of Germans in his image.” In my view, here is described the universal mechanism of lumpenization, marginalization, turning people into a mass.
We see new manifestations of it every day in Armenia. In my editorial yesterday, I wrote that people’s lives and health should be treated with respect. That’s how I reacted to the inhumane comments made concerning the death of CC deputy Vigen Khachatryan. The same comments were written when Manvel Grigoryan, Rita Sargsyan, and Galust Sahakyan died. The political camp has absolutely nothing to do with it. And when I urged to show humane behavior, the retort was the same in all these cases: ” what if they… ”
Today, 120 thousand of our compatriots, including 30 thousand children, are deprived of food and medicine. Why is this possible? Let’s leave aside all the outside players with their cruelty and hypocrisy. Let’s at least be honest with ourselves. It is also possible because at least 680 thousand people think: “They deserve it; worthy, what if they? …”.
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One who used technical means to transfer his human species to hundreds of thousands convinced them that, in this way, they would take revenge for two decades of looting and injustices. A special kind of “resentment.”
Of course, they won’t admit they think so. Maybe they don’t even realize that it is the driving force of their thinking. I have heard these confessions only from frank people.
Fascism is undoubtedly an ideology that, fortunately, is not widespread in Armenia. Cruelty, however, is a state of mind that has nothing to do with ideas.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
