In today's political climate, immigration is often a battleground, with opposing sides shouting past each other. Here, at"Luc's 2 Cents," we believe there's a better conversation to be had. This podcast is your antidote to the noise. We'll be amplifying the voices of immigrants themselves, sharing their journeys, struggles, and triumphs as they build new lives in the United States. Get ready for authentic stories, honest experiences, and a fresh perspective on what it truly means to be an immigrant in the United States of America.
Luc:
Greetings from Portland, Maine, and welcome to this podcast. I'm Luc Kuanzambi and I'll be your host. This episode is brought to you by Xenos Communications Consulting, LLC, the company that facilitates your engagements with immigrant audiences. Stay tuned.
Emily:
Episode 2: Propaganda: An insidiously homicidal venom
Luc:
Hello everyone. And thanks for coming back to this podcast Although the primary goal of this podcast is to explore the social and political opinions of immigrants and those who have a stake in interacting with them here in the United States, from time to time, I will take a detour to the land of soliloquy. This is not a deviation, but my attempt to grapple with some concepts that factor in the overall ecosystem of immigrant experiences in the world and in the United States. In today's episode I wish to strike up a conversation with you about a few ominous historical characters, the likes of whom still roam the earth nowadays. Any avid student of human history will remember Joseph Goebbels as the architect of Nazi lies. He was one of the masterminds of the Jewish Holocaust. A demigod of insidious political propaganda His name now synonymous with propaganda and mass manipulation casts a long shadow over 20th century history. If there's a pantheon for villains, Goebbels has secured himself a conspicuous slot next to Adolf Hitler, Herman Goring and Benito Mussolini without a shadow of a doubt. This ambitious yet physically limited man carved a chillingly influential path within the Nazi regime. In my humble opinion without Goebbels Nazism would have ended up as a strictly German domestic affair, not a full-blown international armed conflict. Goebbels was in the indoctrination and radicalization of the German population with the ubiquitous broadcast of ideological lollipops through the infamous Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and P ropaganda. His sharp yet murky mind managed to lead both Europe and the rest of the world into deadly intercontinental hostilities. One of the fall-outs was the near extinction of an immigrant population in Europe, the Jewish people. You see, before he became overly consumed by selfish ambitions, Goebbels, in his younger days, nurtured noble dreams to become a renowned author. But in a plot twist, he drifted from literature to lies. Born in 1897, Goebbels dreamt of literary fame. Despite a doctorate in literature, his aspirations as a novelist floundered. However, his exceptional oratory verve fueled his rise within the Nazi party which he joined in 1924. Hitler's charisma and message resonated with Goebbels. And his understanding of propaganda proved invaluable. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Gauleiter, meaning district leader for the city of Berlin in 1926. When Field Marshall Paul Ludvig von Hindenburg, President of Germany, appointed Adolf Hitler as German Chancellor in 1933, his ascencion to power propelled Goebbels to the pinnacle of his career: Reich Minister of Propaganda. Ruthlessly, he established absolute control over German media, arts and information. Newspapers, radio broadcast, films and even public events became instruments to spread Nazi ideology. Goebbels, a master manipulator, particularly exploited the burgeoning power of radio to shape mass opinion. Anyone deemed a threat-Jews, political opponents, whomever- was demonized through relentless propaganda. In 1933, under Goebbels watch, took place the infamous burning of books that were deemed"Un-German." What seemed on the surface a patriotic act stood as a stark symbol of mass manipulation. Nazi propaganda films like"Triumph of the Will" further glorified Hitler and the regime's overcrowded political rallies, creating a warped sense of national unity. Goebbels knew the recipe for the secret sauce to a German totalitarian machine. Goebbels propaganda machine became a central engine driving Nazi anti-Semitism. He relentlessly vilified Jews portraying them as subversive and enemies of the German State. His hateful rhetoric wasn't mere words. It fueled violence and persecution culminating in the horrors of the Holocaust. Goebbels propaganda bears a heavy responsibility in enabling this genocide. As World War II loomed, Goebbels desperately tried to maintain public support for the crumbling regime. However, with mounting military defeats, his efforts proved increasingly futile. Following Hitler's suicide in 1945, Goebbels briefly became Reich Chancellor. Unwilling to face the consequences of his actions, Goebbels and his wife, frau Magda Goebbels, committed suicide after poisoning their six children. Joseph Goebbels' legacy is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked propaganda. His story serves as a chilling testament to how manipulation of information can be used to incite violence and fuel hatred. Now let's look at another continent. Five decades later. Fast-forward to the 1990s. The peaceful Eastern African country of Rwanda wakes up to a string of harrowing ethnic cleansing massacres. This episode is brought to you by Xenos Communications Consulting, LLC, the company that facilitates your engagements with immigrant audiences. Stay tuned. In the tapestry of horrors that was the 1994 Rwandan genocide stood a private-owned broadcasting company fanning hate ideologies targeting the Tutsi populations of Rwanda. Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines or Radio Mille Collines, R T L M for short, stands out as a particularly chilling thread. This radio station launched in 1993, which means just one year before the genocide, wasn't merely a source of news and entertainment. It became a weapon of mass manipulation, spewing forth a relentless stream of hate speech that incited this slaughter of over 800,000 Tutsis in just a hundred days. In recent documentaries, many survivors of these killings came on record to recount how the perpetrators of this atrocities often carried a machete in one hand, and a portable radio set in the other hand. Radio Mille Collines was known for a mix of awfully good music, followed by policies for ideological slogans and murderous calls to action against the Tutsis. The more they listened to it, the killers became disensitized to the plight of their victims as this radio soothed their minds from any semblance of human conscience. R T L M emerged amidst a backdrop of simmering ethnic tensions between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority in Rwanda. Founded by individuals aligned with the government, RTLM initially presented itself as an independent voice. However, this facade quickly crumbled. The station morphed into a mouthpiece for the extremist Hutu Power ideology demonizing Tutsis and portraying them as an existential threat to Hutus. This dangerous narrative amplified by inflammatory speeches, fabricated news reports and calls to violence became the station's trademark. RTLM's propaganda tactics were diabolically effective. They exploited the radio's reach, particularly in rural areas, to sow fear and paranoia among the Hutu population. In broadcasts that routinely dehumanized Tutsis by referring to them as"cockroaches" or"snakes," RTLM stripped them of their humanity, making violence against them seem justifiable. The extremist radio hosts were glorified as heroes and listeners were urged to take up arms against their Tutsi neighbors who were nothing less than their fellow citizens. The station even identified specific individuals and locations of Tutsis hiding in churches or seeking refuge facilitating targeted killings. When those massacres started, the world quickly knew. But no one can explain why nobody was able to stop the gory killings. Any moderate Hutu who dared to oppose the genocide was labeled a traitor and targeted for violence. This discouraged any potential dissent within the Hutu population. Fabricated reports of imminent attacks by Tutsis, fueled a constant sense of threat, further inciting violence. This episode is brought to you by Xenos Communications Consulting, LLC, the company that facilitates your engagements with immigrant audiences. Stay tuned. The assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana in April 1994, acted as the spark that ignited the genocide. R T L M seized the moment portraying the event as a Tutsi conspiracy and urging Hutus to take revenge. Broadcast became celebrations of killings, offering logistical support to the perpetrators by directing them to specific locations and identifying potential victims. Horrific orchestration of violence continued for a hundred days until RTLM was finally forced off the air as rebels gained control of the capital city, Kigali. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania recognized RTLM's broadcasts as a form of direct and public incitement to commit genocide. Several R T L M journalists were convicted for their role in the killings. While the radio station itself is a relic of the past, its legacy serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of unchecked hate speech. It's crucial to acknowledge that RTLM was not the sole cause of the Rwandan genocide. Deep-seated ethnic tensions, political failures, and a long history of colonial manipulation played a part. However, RTLM's relentless hate speech undeniably served as a powerful catalyst inflaming existing animosities and mobilizing or ordinary citizens to participate in the mass killings. Many historical observers argue that these three decades of armed conflict in Eastern Congo are nothing more than a byproduct of the Rwandan genocide. And the Congo scores and victims have perished from direct armed confrontation and indirect effects of the war. And there's no agreed tally of the victims, except for the unanimous estimate that between 1996 and 2024 millions of Congolese and Rwandans have died from the overspill of the genocide. And that war in Eastern Congo carries the vestiges of the same recipe for disaster. Including broadcast vitriol, mutual dehumanization of protagonists and episodes of skirmishes or heavy fighting. To heal the region it will take the willingness of people from across the border to tune down the rhetoric. The story of Radio Mille Collines compels us to confront the dangers of unchecked media manipulation. In today's world, where social media can spread misinformation and hate speech with alarming speed, the lessons of the Rwandan genocide remain tragically relevant. Understanding the tactics used by RTLM and fostering media literacy are crucial steps in preventing such atrocities from happening again. You see my dear friends, every step a man takes comes after a thread of thought. But between a thought and an action there are sometimes, a few regrettable words. In a simple choice of words we can appease or scare people. We can either launch a war or start a peace process. Words are so powerful that they can end any kind of armed conflict, even though those involved in this armed conflict kill each other with swords, spears, bullets, or nuclear warheads. When it comes to leadership, words really do matter. Even in our households, words help parents set an example for the kind of kids they intend to raise. Words give way to either blessings or generational curses. As a Christian immigrant in America, whenever I pray I forget not to thank God for waking me up in a peaceful city. Before I came to America, on a few instances, I woke up in a war torn city. I recall that around February 2007, I was stuck in a war zone for nearly 72 hours. The diplomats I worked for and myself spent days crawling on the dusty floor in the basement of a hotel under construction in the Gombe district of downtown Kinshasa. This blitz war broke out because two major politicians decided to settle their disputes by arms fighting with heavy weaponry. By the grace of God. I survived those bombs that blasted just blocks away from where we were hiding and countless bullets that whistled above my head. I can assure you that the conflict was like music played by crescendo. It all started with the carefree choice of wording from the mouths of people with a lot of influence on TV and radio stations. We were never given a warning. And many of the people who were bold enough to take the dirt roads of Gombe to escape the fighting were met by an indiscriminate salvo of bullets. I'll spare you the gory details. Before I knock off this episode I wish to leave you with some food for thought. Why is it that most ideological leaders survive the wars that they have started or embarked on? You know, well, that the crowds of people follow their narratives are worked out for long periods until the conflagration of hostilities and many of whom seldom live another day to tell. Propaganda morphs out as a well-rounded intellectual manipulation; sleek talk that basks mind and soul. Until people turn into herds of assassins. Propaganda proves effective because it often harnesses our most basic human instincts in the name of lofty principles, such as patriotism to the detriment of human virtue. But as time sores, it appears that propaganda always did a great job of hiding the grim shadow of chaos, death and desolation it seeks to cast on the society. My friends, if we don't learn from human history we will outdo the horrors of the past. If you look at a human being with contempt long enough you'll find yourself looking at an expandable version of that person. It doesn't matter whether you share blood bonds, family history, friendship, or business ties. Always remember on the other side of the ideological divide stands someone in your linage: Your parent, your spouse, your relative, your child, your grandchild. The only way for you to remain incapable of heinous acts is to stay away from the sweet nectar of hate speech. I hope you come back for another episode. And if we disagree, I will always strive to meet you in the middle. And God bless you.
@Nathy:
Have you ever craved a thought provoking podcast that tackles today's issues with an even hand? Look no further than"Luc's 2 Cents," a podcast created, produced, and published entirely by Luc and his independent venture, Xenos Communications Consulting, LLC. Luc, an immigrant with a passion for fostering understanding, has poured his heart and limited resources into developing this pilot season. Luc's 2 Cents strives to bridge the divides of today's political landscape. Luc believes in open discussions that don't shy away from complexity and welcomes listeners from all walks of life. To ensure ideological neutrality, Luc refuses to compromise his vision by accepting funding that might influence the show's content. However, the well financing these pilot episodes is running dry. If you believe in the power of civil discourse and want to see Luc's 2 Cents continue, reach out to Luc on X, formerly known as Twitter, at Luc's 2 Cents. Your support will directly enable Luc to keep this important platform alive and foster productive dialogue across the spectrum. Let's bridge the gap together, two cents at a time.
This episode was brought to you by Xenos Communications Consulting, LLC, the company that facilitates your engagements with immigrant audiences. Till next time.
