This is basically a repost of all my past blog posts that are related to Genocide. I went over the posts and pieced them together the best I could. I also edited some stuff that needed correction.
What's the difference between massacres and genocide? Granted, genocide seems more organized and systematic compared to massacres; but murder is murder, no matter how you look at it. They are still the act of taking another's life. You can say that massacres are indiscriminate killing of people, and genocide would be the slaughtering of a certain group or groups of people... But the end result is still the same.
When people hear the word genocide, the first thing that they think is probably the Holocaust. Of course, the Holocaust was a horrendous atrocity; but it's only famous because we the people have made it so. We hardly mention the large-eradication of Native Americans during the 1800's when the newly formed United States began their expansion westward towards the Pacific Ocean. We barely talk about the millions of civilians murdered in the Laos or Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Are we so conceited as to sneer and point out other people's actions, but completely be ignorant of our own atrocities?
We make Hitler and the Germans out to be demons and madmen out to eradicate life, yet we glorify General Custer, who was dead set on the mass elimination of Native Americans just so the US can gain more land. We say the Nazis were monsters for killing Jews, yet we have killed more foreigners in history than the Nazis. We say Hitler was racist and hated Jews, but who has the history of discriminating nearly every race that was different from white. We're all horrified at the use of chlorine gas and other weapons in the death and concentration camps all over Germany, yet we're the ones who gave small pox infected blankets to Native Americans. Again, I will refer you to my previous post America: Land of Hypocrisy.
Yes, Hitler and his Nazis were wrong in trying to eradicate the Jewish just because they were different. Some people may not wish to admit it, but the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the words Germany or Nazi would be Hitler or the Holocaust. Again, everything depends on perception and interpretation. Hitler was racist to the Jews and we besmirch him for it. Whereas the United States has had a history of racism. Racism against the Africans (African Americans included) brought here against their will; Racism against the Chinese who came here for new opportunities; and racism against the Irish immigrants who came seeking new lives. Hell, we even had a freaking concentration camp for Japanese people back in World War II.
Me must be truly ignorant if all we do is look at other people's actions and problems; not bothering to turn around and view our own flaws and vices. If we count up the numerous atrocities the US has committed, the Holocaust pales in comparison.
" I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. " ~ James A. Baldwin
This quote, spoken by a Head Football Coach at Wake Forest, depicts exactly what I feel about this country. It's not that I don't like America, I just find a ton of flaws in this country. And now, accordingly to the quote, I will exercise my right to criticize.
First off, I'll begin with the phrases "Land of the Free" and "Right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". If I remember correctly, we (and I use this term loosely) had a eight-year revolution based upon these phrases. Now to analyze... After the Revolutionary War, the "Land of the Free" only applied to whites. I doubt the thousands of African slaves that toiled in plantations viewed it the same way. The slaves had life, it was just dictated by their owners. But they didn't have liberty or happiness, since they were being forced to work against their will. Now to jump 100 years into the future; to the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, where the Chinese were prejudiced against by wealthy whites who were trying to find a cheap way to build their railways quickly. Now that I think about it, I guess that our founding fathers weren't being hypocritical when they first said/created those phrases... They just meant freedom and liberty for whites. But then this brings of the problem of racism...
" All men are created equal, it is only men themselves who place themselves above equality. " ~ David Allan Coe
I guess all the examples I gave for the previous quote could also be used for this one... But oh well. The following was influenced/inspired by a certain book I read recently that left a strong mark on my mind... Everyone knows what racism is. And everyone is racist. You may not know it. You may not admit it. But each and everyone of us are racist in some way. Hell, I'd admit it myself: I'm racist because I always cross to another street whenever I see a a group of African Americans ahead of me. Following that perspective... Wouldn't the entire world be racist? Even if we deny it... We're still being racist by categorizing people as Asians, African Americans, and Whites. We're all human. The minute we're born, we all have the same number of organs; the same number of arms, legs, eyes, etc. It would be disastrous if we tried to categorize the human race further, since we all may be human, but different in small ways. So what if someone worships a different God? So what if their eyes are smaller than your own? Now comes the offensive things... If you're easily aggravated or offended, stop reading this post and look out the window. Or go outside and play with your friends. I find it hilarious that nearly all racism originates from whites. History has shown that whites are probably one of the most racist people on this planet. Whether it be agianst blacks or asians, or even native americans, there's a common point. Granted I make it sound as if whites are the cause of racism, but I'm not. I'm merely stating my opinion. What is racism anyway? Is it hate against another person? Is it contempt towards a group of people who are different? Or is it dislike towards something that isn't like you? Does it matter? In the end, they still result with one group of people hating the other group, and that is the basis of genocide: The seperation and distinction between groups of people. And America has had PLENTY of separism and segregation.One prime example of US atrocities is is the Philippine-American War, which was a war between a small country versus a world superpower for independence. (Remind you of something?) The population of the Philippines was originally somewhere between 9,000,000... But after the Philippine-American War, the civilian population dropped by 1,000,000. Want to know why? Because American soldiers killed Filipinos indiscriminately and completely destroyed land and villages. They even concentrated civilians into so-called "protected zones", where disease and starvation killed off hundreds of Filipinos.
In November 1901, the Manila correspondent of the Philadelphia Ledger reported:
| “ | The present war is no bloodless, opera bouffe engagement; our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads of ten up, the idea prevailing that the Filipino as such was little better than a dog... Our soldiers have pumped salt water into men to make them talk, and have taken prisoners people who held up their hands and peacefully surrendered, and an hour later, without an atom of evidence to show that they were even insurrectos, stood them on a bridge and shot them down one by one, to drop into the water below and float down, as examples to those who found their bullet-loaded corpses. | ” |
How is this any different from the detention camps during World War II? We as Americans villanize Hitler for capturing Hebrews and holding them in camps like Auschwitz and Chelmno, while we ourselves have tortured and killed prisoners in cold blood.
You would expect friendly fire or collateral damage on the frontlines, right? Civilians getting in the way or accidental deaths... It's not on purpose is it? For Major Littletown Waller, a US marine accused of shooting eleven defenseless Filipino civilians, said:
Can you look me in the eye now and tell me that the US is not like the Third Reich? Can you tell me that we aren't the same as Hitler? After the so-called Philippine-American War (More like Massacre in my humble opinion), the US took complete control over the Philippines. Another country succumbing to US Imperialism...
Many spectate that the war was fought by the US because we wanted new land and territories, and to display our military might to the world; showing them that America is indeed one of the world's superpowers. After the conquering of Manila and the taking of the Filipino government, the US promised to return control back over to the Philippine government and grant them independence. They said that they would help them with their quest for independence by building schools, hospitals, and trading ports in the Philippines; but it was all a ploy to enrich US merchantilism in the South-East. Now to quote something I read in Elie Wiesel's Night : "I have more faith in Hitler than the rest, because atleast he is keeping his promises [...] ". What has the US done for the Philippines? They helped bring about a war that saw to the deaths of one-sixth of the country's population. They helped destroy the countriy's land and plunge it into a battlefield between Communists and Insurgents. Hell, despite our recent economic downfall, we're still supplying the Philippinean government with money and weapons to fight their little civil war.
Everyone should know about the Iraqi War and so-called "War on Terrorism" that's happening across the seas by now. And if you haven't, crawl out from under your rock and pick up a newspaper. Started in 2001, after the tragedy of 9/11, the war involves US troops being shipped halfway across the world to fight in a war on foreign land.
This brings up alot of inquiries and topics, such as Nationalism and Patriotism... The only way our government could have garnered up enough support for the invasion of Iraq is by using the tragedy that happened on September 11th and make us all believe that it was specifically targeted at us the citizens. Nationalism comes up when the government grouped almost every person in the country as a whole and declared that the foreigners across the sea were savages and terrorists. The government played on our patriotism by firing us all up against the "enemies of our nation".
I never truly did understand the politics and ingenuity behind wars and terrorism... The only things I know is what the government-controlled mass media feeds us daily. Humans are herd animals by nature. They have a need to be with others; to think the same as others... They are very suggestive this way. Feed a person enough crap and they'll begin to believe in it. I'm not really a religious person, but I guess the Bible was somewhat right when it called human beings being "sheep" and the certain few individuals who actually dare to think and lead "shepherds".
They say that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction somewhere in their country, but I don't see any massive missiles being fired into the sky. They say terrorists are psychotic killers who murder people by the hundreds, and yet why is the most damage being done to cities and civilians by US troops? Yes, alot of people died in the World Trade Center, but is that any reason to condemn the deaths of thousands across sea?
" The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic. "
~Erich Remarque
This quote, first made by the German writer Erich Maria Remarque, is often miscredited to Joseph Stalin. Yeah, terrorists crashed a plane into the World Trade Center and killed hundreds of people. All we're doing is dropping thousands of megatons of explosives into the country of Iraq... It's totally fair. Have you ever stopped to think that the innocent civilian who just died when his house was the target of a US bomb had his own family? That he was completely uninvolved with the few people who actually caused the 9/11 tragedy to happen? No... We just look at them and say "Oh, he's an Iraqi. He must be working with Al Qaeda and the Taliban."
Let's take a step back for a minute and imagine ourselves to be someone living in Iraq right now. Who do you think seems more deserving of the name terrorist? The few radicals that are fighting with your government in a civil war for their beliefs, of the foreign strangers who drop explosives into your city day after day and send soldiers with tanks blasting away in your streets? Gee... such a tough question...
Where does society draw the line nowadays? The US spends about 45% of it's annual budget to fund military aspects and war efforts. Is our government full of war mongers? Is it the other country's fault for involving us? Or is it because we, the citizens, are drawn to violence and fighting? No matter the reason, the end result is always the same: People crying and people dying. Violence is violence, no matter how you categorize it or justify it.
Wanna know something funny? Every war the US has been in was to protect our own economy and find a way to monopolize imperialism. The Revolutionary War was fought because the colonies did not wish to pay any more taxes to Great Britain, and instead wished to keep the money for themselves, including the various trading goods and import/export system they had. The US was involved in the Latin American Revolution, since they wished to keep the trading ports in the Caribbean, and to monopolize Mexico and the other Latin countries. Hell, even the Monroe Doctrine was created so that Americans would dominate the Western hemisphere, giving them complete control over the economy and trade. Another good example would be the US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those two countries have been fighting civil wars and revolutions for the better part of the 21st Century, and yet the US was completely ignorant of that. But the minute the fighting threatened to affect the import/export of oil or anything else that was to the best interest to America, we immediately dispatched troops and money overseas. And now to quote a long dead philosopher whose words bear repeating...
" All wars are fought for money. " ~Platos
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