The dangers of stereotyping: critical lessons from the Uyghur genocide

Thirdly, while baseless, both stereotypes are hard to refute. It is not because the accusations are accurate but because they are based on the false premise of predetermined genetic, collective disposition and deep-seated generalisation that "all Uyghurs are terrorists" or "all whites are racists," from which a whole lot of condemnation, accusations, hate, and conclusions are derived and justified in advance, conflating truth with falsity, fact with hypothesis and feelings with rationality. Therefore, no rational arguments or considerations can easily dismantle these massive and baseless stereotypes.

Still worse, instead of promoting racial reconciliation and forgiveness, some of these anti-racist activists breed racial animosity, amplify racial tension, and encourage violence. The more sinister aim is to penetrate their minds through struggle sessions, self-criticism, and confessions, as China is doing to Uyghurs in camps, making them completely transparent, remorseful, fragile, and fractured, as the only way to restore "justice".

Drawing parallels from the Uyghur genocide, it is evident that the extreme form of the current anti-racism movement in the US is heading down a dangerous path, mirroring the tragic experiences of Uyghurs. It is the treacherous act of broadly stereotyping a group of people by permanently and indiscriminately imprisoning them in their history and racial identity, which they did not choose and cannot change or abandon. Finally, this stereotyping, if not questioned seriously and challenged adequately, will nullify rational dialogue and will eventually transform the former victims into new perpetrators who will repeat the same crimes in a vicious circle.