People are not numbers
In previous posts, we’ve emphasized the importance of listing victims’ names to counter emotional numbing. How we value human lives—and decide when to protect them—shapes our actions. Numbers can’t convey the humanity they represent. Remembering names beyond numbers is crucial: a name identifies someone as a fellow human being, reminding us that their life, like ours, matters.
In a recent interview, Donald Trump shared a vision for his potential second administration, where immigrants slated for deportation would be identified by "serial numbers."
Does this dehumanizing rhetoric sound familiar? We’re sure it does.
By assigning people serial numbers, Trump’s vision mirrors the early stages of dehumanization that historically allowed societies to commit atrocities with reduced moral burden.
“… (in war) the first step away from a person’s name is the first step toward killing him without thinking too much about it.” Nick McDonnell.
The conversation around immigration in America needs to be reframed to focus on compassion, recognizing that every individual, regardless of their status, deserves to be treated with dignity.
As history has shown, the consequences of erasing someone's identity are too profound to overlook. By emphasizing the need to deport noncitizens and reducing individuals to mere numbers, Trump’s words echo one of the darkest chapters in modern history—the Nazi regime's systematic use of serial numbers to dehumanize prisoners during the Holocaust.
The former president stated that authorities "know their names, and they know their serial numbers," evoking painful memories of the concentration camps where prisoners were treated as numbers.
These tactics have also been captured in cinematic representations through dystopias that often reflect historical realities and convey powerful emotions. Here are some examples:
Black Mirror (2019) - This episode shows how people’s worth is reduced to a social rating score, where their every interaction is rated, controlling their societal status and opportunities. We can see this rating system dehumanizes individuals, turning them into numbers in a world obsessed with social approval. This dystopia is especially relevant today as we live in the era of algorithms and social media.
Squid Game (2021). In the Red Light, Green Light scene, we see how players are reduced to the number in their tracksuits, highlighting their dehumanization in a deadly competition they are taking part in.
The Prisoner (1967) – In this classic series, the protagonist is referred to as "Number Six" instead of his name, symbolizing the stripping away of personal identity in a totalitarian society, and also as a way of exerting psychological control.
Stranger Things (2016) – This memorable scene follows after a group of friends find a mysterious girl in the woods and take her to the basement of one of their houses to help her. When Mike asks for her name, she shows him the number tattooed on her arm, "Eleven," symbolizing how she has been reduced to a mere experiment.
The deadly arithmetic of compassion
We’ve learned from experience as well as from scientific research that it’s hard to appreciate the humanity that numbers represent. Even worse, in some cases, the more who die, the less we care. As the numbers mount, our feelings of compassion may collapse entirely.
In a world where the dehumanizing use of numbers has facilitated unimaginable atrocities, remembering and honoring each individual by their name is the first step towards compassion and resistance.