Silencing objections: Social constructions of indifference

This article addresses the question: Why is there so often silence in the face of injustice? Much of this silence is socially constructed, the result of a process through which possible (and, often, previously audible) objections to injustice are muffled, not by modifying the conditions giving rise...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of human rights Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 187 - 206
Main Author Cohen, Ronald L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.06.2002
Subjects
Behavioural psychology
Human behaviour
Human rights
Injustice
Law and order
Milgram, Stanley
Morality
Social behaviour
Social construction
Social psychology
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Summary:This article addresses the question: Why is there so often silence in the face of injustice? Much of this silence is socially constructed, the result of a process through which possible (and, often, previously audible) objections to injustice are muffled, not by modifying the conditions giving rise to the objections, but by other means. Not all silences are socially constructed, of course, and some of those that are may have the genuine endorsement of all those who observe them. The author examines those socially constructed silences that are clearly not uncontested or incontestable and, drawing on Stanley Milgram's classic work on obedience to authority and other, more, contemporary social psychological research, attempts to understand the social construction of various forms of silence and their consequences for current and future forms of injustice.
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ISSN:1475-4835
1475-4843
DOI:10.1080/14754830210125674