GWOT II - Drunken Bar Conversation

[drewkitty]

“Do you know what genocide is?”

“A cheese sandwich.” he said. “Write it down. Genocide is a cheese sandwich.”

“What does anyone care about a cheese sandwich?”

“Genocide, genocide, genocide. Cheese sandwich, cheese sandwich, cheese sandwich. Who gives a shit? Crimes against humanity? Where’s humanity? Who’s humanity? You? Me? Did you see a crime commited against you? Hey, just a million [insert nationality here].".

"Did you ever hear about the Geneva Convention?”

“That convention makes a nice wrapping for a cheese sandwich.”

Comments

[athaia]

I find the cited critique of the book interesting:

What is missing from Gourevitch's account is the how and why of the killings. It is one thing to describe the horror, another to explain the motivations that occasioned the carnage. ... The absence of attention to the history of the country creates a portrait of a genocide that is insensitive to the complexity of the circumstances. In essence, Gourevitch's story reduces the butchery to the tale of bad guys and good guys, innocent victims and avatars of hate. His frame of reference is the Holocaust.[1]

So, what is Lemarchand arguing for here? That there were "reasons" for the Rwandan genocide, but not for the Holocaust? That there were "bad guys and good guys" in Europe during the Holocaust, but "it's complicated" in Africa? That comparing the Rwandan genocide to the Holcaust is simplistic, but framing the Holocaust in a "good guys vs bad guys" isn't simplistic?

I'm confused.

[drewkitty]

The announcers on RTFM Hate Radio were not confused. The trainers teaching village leaders how to organize machete militias to kill their neighbors after checking their ID cards were not confused. The victims begging to be allowed to pay for a bullet instead were not confused.

Why are we confused?

[athaia]

Don't know why you are confused, I'm confused why anyone would take issue with comparing the Rwandan genocide with the Holocaust, as Lemarchand did.