The Rwandan Genocide

The Rewandan genocide did not so much shock me, as I am one of many in my age group that had for a brief momment longed for anything out of the ordinary. I once stumbled upon a video in the foreign film section that was titled "Banned From Television." This film contained clips of third world dismemberment, torture and death sentences. It is not for the weak stomach individual. Upon reading "We Wish to Inform YouÐ'..." I was reminded of these clips, and a cold chill ran over my spine, for not only do I have an active and elaborate immagination, but I had also seen footage of similar grotesque forms of social behavior.

I constaintly asked myself how could someone be brought to bear a machette against another person. This kind of brutal killing is not like an impersonal shooting rampage; this is an upclose methodical very personal one. All the senses are being used for one purpose, to kill or be killed.

The reality of this racial genocide is that there is no distiction of race geneticly, but for the average Rewandan race is merely in the eye of the beholder. This kind of pseudo segregation makes political sense, in as much to keep those of the majority in line. If one should simpathyze with the slautered he/she too would become a tartget. This kind of social control is fearfully effective.

Some of the stories tell of escape, these are what have caught my wonder. I can only imagine what it must be like to actually fear for my life with no legal or illegal means to defend myself. I sometimes am frustrated with our victimless crime laws, but for someone to justify mass murder. There always seems to be a line and how far someone should/would go and in this case the line wasn't even conceived of.

The closest an American could get to this through historical contex would be our slave trade laws. At the time considered rational and realistic, and now barbaric and an ancient way of thinking. This rationality is in itself the problem; that we can assume that one life is more naturally suited for living while the other should serve to die is preposterous. The very nature of this lack of moral responsibility is precisely why these things happen. Kant proved this to be means to an end, and he was right. The only thing that he didn't take into account is that it would be used literally as such.