Genocide

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:59pm

It makes me livid that the US and UN seems to be worried about Genocide and human rights violations, but seem to not care about it in other places. Sudan is in the news right now, but what about Sri Lanka where the Tamals have been oppressed and killed for YEARS. Politics just make me incredibly sick. They don't seem to care about human dignity at all. And this isn't just a democrat or republican problem. I see it on all sides in all countries that have the means to help stop these atrocities.


Tamil Human Rights Violations

Updated On: 2/19/06 at 08:59 PM

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:01pm

For example....the genocides in Rwanda...

[ihearttheatre]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:05pm

My school has an Amnesty International chapter, and we've been writing lots and lots of letters in an effort to stop and/or prevent human rights violations. It's great that organizations such as Amnesty International exsist, but I don't understand why powerful governments seem to completely ignore these happenings.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:06pm

Especially coming from a country like ours, who seem to enjoy sticking themselves where they have no business...but things like genocide are everyone's business..

[ihearttheatre]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:10pm

PLUS, so much time is spent educating about the Holocaust so that it will "never happen again". Bullsh!t.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:13pm

I've noticed a lot in class how while studying the Holocaust, they always fail to show us the anti-semitism on the U.S.'s part, since not only did we not help before millions died, but we also let in 4 times more of Irish immigrants than Jewish immigrants, and we wouldn't let in Jewish children because to quote the wife of I believe it was a leader of the Sons of America "20,000 cute German children grow up into 20,000 ugly German adults".

[Broadway_freak]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:51pm

very true

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 10:04pm

everyone ignored the genocides in Rwanda....it was just disgusting


sally, you said "they always fail to show us the anti-semitism on the U.S.'s part, since not only did we not help before millions died,"

what exactly did you expect the US to.....BEFORE we were even at war? It was quite awhile before we even knew what was going on in the camps (Hell, most germans didn't even know what was going on at first)....and once we declared war, we fought the germans, and eventually liberated the camps.......

I will certainly not deny anti-semitism at that time in the US.......we were were also NOT going to enter the war....so the government felt it needed to act in a certain way (again not defending them)......

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 10:06pm

Right, I should have worded myself better. It's true that there's not much we could have done if we didn't really know about what was happening, it was really our anti-semitism I was attacking.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 10:12pm

That's why the US has been so willing to bend over backwards to help Israel even when they have been in the wrong. Our guilt from WWII is so strong we are willing to just about do anything Israel wants. That attitude seems to be abating though which is much more conducive to peace in the region, though Hamas controlling the Palestinian government is extremely troubling, but that's another thread for another day.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 10:22pm

Really, is that the reason? If we truly felt guilty about it, I'd assume we'd help real genocides...would we not? Not counting the fact that Israel was a huge city for the Jewish religion.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 10:24pm

Son, I think your assessment is an over simplification of the issues.

Israel has done many things I disagree with. But the US support for Israel is not just out of guilt from WWII, but because Israel is our only serious ally in the Middle East. And, they are the only government even within a spitting distance of a democracy in the Middle East. Israel at times has also done our bidding. This is not a one-way street.

Many of the Arabs have more freedoms in Israel than they do in other Arab countires. And, while I do not agree with or condone many of the policies of the Israeli government under Sharon, many of these practices have been a reaction (or over-reaction) to attacks by various groups intent on destroying Israrel.

There is also an underlying religious issue as to why many on the Christian right support Israel, which has nothing to do with guilt.

EDIT - Sally - I am not sure what your are saying. Israel is in fact a country that has deep religious meaning to all three major religions. That is the problem - the land is of more value to many of these people than the actual people.



Updated On: 2/19/06 at 10:24 PM

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 2/20/06 at 2:49am

You are correct. I just have been so frustrated with the Israeli government under Sharon that I tend to fall into the trap of oversimplifying things in my agitation. This is not a cut and dry issue. The guilt is just one of many contributing factors. Israel is our only ally in the middle east. Isn't that partially to do with the creation of the state of Israel in the first place? I know there are issues with the cold war and the countries getting sick of the US putting their noses in their business. It's a complex issue that needs dealt with by rationality and compassion on both sides. Which is ridiculously difficult to make happen.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/20/06 at 10:24am

I will agree with you there - I feel sometimes that the Israels and Palestinians are like addicts, and they will have to hit bottom to recognize that there is no winning when the only way to resolve an issue is force. There is so much hate that the baby steps to integrate and expose each side to the other have been lost.

While you can point to both sides and say they did this, or they did that, it comes down to whether or not they can live together as neigbors. The election of Hamas greatly undermines this effort and will only further perpetuate the cycle, I fear.

I find the Arabs in this whole puzzle to be the most offensive. A two-state solution was proposed in 1949, but the Arab states rejected it, attacked Israel,and had no use for the Palestinians - they just wanted the Jews out of land that had been occupied by a variety of parties since the Britsh came in. The Arabs today only use the Palestinians as tools to harm and attack the Israelis, and still, other than paying the family of suicide bombers, do not support the infrastructure.

The Palestinian leadership has not served its people well. Hamas has a history of at least serving its people, while blowing up Israelis.

And, I am an American who happens to be a Jew - just so people know. I get into some lively discussions during dinners with my family, especially when my father was alive.

But, end of threadjack.

Back to Genocide.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 2/20/06 at 10:35am

A reason why the US and UN ignoring genocide is that the signed a treaty about it. So if they say it is actually genocide, they have to do a lot about it, So pretty much they don't say that it truly is genocide because it saves them money people do not have to go in there. It is disgusting thatthis happens and that, until recently, the only US citizens that really seemed to know about what is going on in Sudan are college students.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 2/20/06 at 2:30pm

IWantItWhen - I'm aware of that, I'm just quite certain that that's not the reason why we're there.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/20/06 at 2:52pm

check your library for a new reference set,
The Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, an amazing set by MacMillan Reference USA

here's a review

Coverage is not limited to the modern era, but includes discussions of Rome's treatment of Carthage, the campaigns of Genghis Khan, the Spanish Inquisition and the Atlantic slave trade. Other essays examine the question of whether the definition of genocide applies to the forced removal of Native Americans or the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Also explored is the susceptibility to abuse of such groups as women, children, homosexuals or the disabled. Finally, other scholars explore the sociology and psychology of victims, perpetrators and survivors. From the Supreme Court decision on the Amistad slave captives to the prosecution of Serbian war criminals, a selection of historical documents trace the extension of protections to civilian populations in international law. Though scholarly in its approach, this set is highly recommended for high school, academic and public libraries."
--Reviewed by John Lawrence, Oneota Reading Journal, September 2005