Concentration Camps
 

06-22-2019

This week Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the United States is “running concentration camps on our southern border” during an Instagram Live stream, sparking public outcry at the use of the term “concentration camps.” In an interview with the Independent about Hannah Arendt and The Origins of Totalitarianism, Roger Berkowitz said that his “own view is that the camps are designed in some degree to isolate, disempower, and dehumanize their inhabitants. Part of the intent is to deter future refugees.” Berkowitz continues:

“This is a humanitarian crisis and to that extent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is right to sound the alarm about the camps as inconsistent with the ideals of the United States as a refuge for oppressed and poor people looking for a better life,” Mr Berkowitz continued. “Of course the United States has run concentration camps before, but these are moments in our history we should be embarrassed by. This is another such moment.”

You can read the article here, and an expanded thread here.