> -clip- It is not a
>coincidence that Mr. Hussein was shown in a humiliating and dehumanizing
>way, e.g. by being subjected to a medical examination. The Bubbas will
>be joking about that for years to come.
>
>
It's certainly better than seeing him in one of his palaces, surrounded
by bodyguards, denouncing cabinet members prior to having them dragged
off somewhere.
As for this 'dehumanizing' business... how does this work, exactly? People get medical examinations all the time. News reports of starvation victims in Somalia included occasional shots of health workers examining them, too. I never got the idea that, because the person's being medically examined, they're somehow "not human" or "less than human." Looks to me as though Saddam's getting medical attention, to make sure he's healthy enough for incarceration and trial.
Does this process have something to do with exhibiting wrong-doers? That displaying someone in chains, manacles, prison oranges, or whatever, is intended to mark them as other than human? Perhaps, but many of us on this list would _love_ to see corporate criminals doing a perp walk. I'm sure there are many of us who couldn't resist looking at the infamous mug shot of Michael Jackson, either. The process does mark people, but a) it doesn't seem as though this "marking" is universally reviled, and b) it's not clear on how this marking makes them "dehumanized."
Now, if the news footage showed Saddam Hussein naked and bleeding, chained to a post while U.S. soldiers pelted him with garbage (watermelon rinds, orange peels, chicken parts), and burned him with cigarette butts, well, that _would_ be pretty ugly. I'd have no problem denouncing that.
As for "bubbas" joking about it... well, that doesn't bother me very much. If I learn that these alleged "bubbas" are laughing at _South Park_ or _There's Something About Mary_, I ain't going to stop enjoying those, either.