Genocide belongs on our radar screen

[gottaB]

By Zev Chafets NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

This is a story about mass murder, human catastrophe and the really important things in life.

A few years ago, I went out to dinner with a close friend. I won't mention his name. He had just bought an expensive refrigerator and it was all he could talk about. He was especially excited by a little bulb that illuminated the vegetable bin or fruit drawer, something like that....

Genocide belongs on our radar screen....
***

I'm not sure exactly why people are ho-hum about genocide, or what exactly should be done about it. Mr. Chavets has a few insights to share, and genuine outrage.

[ixion]

1. despite occasional 'outrage' the public is generally accepting of genocide

They have been for centuries. Genocide is okay by the populace, as long as it doesn't pertain to them, which is a sad and heartless and cruel aspect of the human psyche left over from early human existence, and is a similar response to 'rubber-necking' at a car wreck. People are, in general, fascinated by the tragedy rather than saddened by it.

The US has been responsible for genocide in our history, and at the time it was a perfectly acceptable status quo event. This, of course, was the 'clearing' of the western frontier, and the killing of countless thousands of Native Americans.

And although we look back on that in shame, it doesn't seem to stop us from looking indifferently on as one group of thugs or another murder thousands of innocent people for one reason or another.

As long as it isn't 'us'. :-(