By Mikeni López
In her 1963 book “Eichmann in Jerusalem: a Report on the Banality of Evil political-theorist,” Hannah Arendt argues that the Holocaust was, largely, the collective work of ordinary people who were acculturated to strip the Jewish people and others of their humanity.
There are parallels between the actions of Eichmann and others at that time and the behavior of many men today when confronted with sexism. As a man, I know first-hand how easy it is to unwittingly fall culprit to sexism in our society. Let me be clear: men are not Nazi’s. However, I believe there are lessons that men can learn from their example.
Arendt coined the phrase “the banality of evil” because the crimes against humanity were routinized and implemented without moral outcry or question. The trial of Adolf Eichmann altered the way in which Arendt saw evil. She expected the Third Reich to be composed of monsters. To Arendt’s surprise, the Holocaust was a result of the actions of ordinary people.
As Arendt examined the trial, she discovered that the evil committed was fueled by a lack of empathy, responsibility and failure to acknowledge individual obligation.
Today, the majority of men think their neutrality is enough when dealing with sexism.
Like Eichmann, men abdicate responsibility with statements like “I shouldn’t be blamed for what other men do.” Many often argue that they aren’t responsible for sexism if they do not directly participate in assault or rape. Similarly, Eichmann, like many of his cohorts, argued that he was not directly responsible for the actions of other officials. Men bear a responsibility because they internalize and often act upon sexist views of our society.
Street-harassment has come to the foreground recently thanks to a PSA from the Hollaback organization. This viral video showed a volunteer walking through N.Y.C.
In the video, we see the volunteer followed for several minutes by two men in separate instances. Despite her obvious disinterest, these men proceed to demand her phone number. The volunteer notes, “Not a day goes by when I don’t experience this.”
Throughout the video, no bystanders intervened as the volunteer was harassed. People don’t see themselves as having an obligation to stand up to expressions of sexism, because they believe that it is not their place to get involved. In doing so, men squander the opportunity given to them by their privileged status.
Instead of acting, many have blamed women for “failing” to stand up for themselves. In her book, Arendt noted that the survivors of the Holocaust were asked by the prosecutor, “’Why did you not protest?… Why didn’t you revolt?’”
Arendt was appalled by these questions from the prosecutor, because she understood that oppressed people often feel psychologically defeated before they have an opportunity to act. Arendt quotes David Rousset, a survivor of the Holocaust: “[The S.S.] know that the system which succeeds in destroying its victim before he mounts the scaffold . . . is incomparably the best for keeping a whole people [in] submission.”
Arendt concluded that the thoughtlessness of others outside of those oppressed communities was central to the Holocaust. Lack of empathy was the type of thoughtlessness that made the atrocity most possible.
In Eichmann’s trial, it was reported that he had much difficulty communicating. Many thought that this was due to his inability to talk in general. Arendt disagreed, writing “The longer one listened to [Eichmann], the more obvious it became that his inability to speak was closely connected with an inability to think from the standpoint of somebody else.”
Michael Che, an actor featured on Saturday Night Live, has recently come under fire because he dismissed the experiences of women in his parody of the Hollaback PSA. Although he apologized, Che, like Eichmann and many bystanders, shows a lack of empathy for those who are oppressed.
Within the CCSU community, a lack of empathy for women is present. One popular app among students, Yik Yak, allows users to share their thoughts. Many of the comments, fueled on by the anonymity of the app, are blatantly sexist and are met with little resistance from others.
Just as the power of the Third Reich depended on the lack of empathy of the German people, a patriarchal society relies on the perpetuation of sexism through complicit thoughtlessness and lack of responsibility and obligation to do something when faced with sexism. Today, more should speak up when confronted with this oppression. Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the Holocaust, reminds us that “what hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander.”