Dehumanization occurs when an individual or group establishes in their belief system that the individual or group intended for discrimination is inferior. While no one can clearly define all the reasons by which violent action occurs, most sociologists and historians believe that dehumanization is the clearest antecedent to violence. Humans do not persecute groups or individuals who they perceive as equal. Thus, dehumanization is the first, crucial link in the long and barbarous chain of violent action, and can only be overcome by rehumanization.

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