Man's Darkest Hour... A Genocide?

It was mentioned in class that the Rwandan Genocide was the most concentrated act of human killing in history.  While that may be true, the most “effective” act of human killing was in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge.  Some of you might remember having heard about Cambodia in US History, in how Vietnam invaded them after the Vietnam War.  Anyhow, the Khmer Rouge led a massive campaign of economic centralization, with the intent of creating a society where everyone participated in laboring on large, collective farms.  In the three years the Khmers held power (from 1975 to 1978), anywhere from 1 million to 3.3 million people were killed.  I believe 2 million is the number most people believe, but given the methods used to eliminate the victims (see the Killing Fields) we can never really know for sure.  Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that Cambodia’s population before the Khmers took power was around 7 million, meaning anywhere from 20% to 47% of the country’s population was killed in just 3 years time.  As horrific as the whole ordeal was, the main reason I wish to bring it up is because it was arguably a genocide.  While the Khmer Rouge mainly targeted intellectuals and professionals (as well anyone who opposed their plan), they also killed off anyone who was religious as well anyone of non-Khmer blood (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.).  The Khmer Rouge used the reasoning that these victims were, by being of another gene pool or of any religious group, inherently enemies of the state.  So, does that mean those victims were directly killed because of political reasons (as opposed to ethnic/religious reasons), even if those political reasons are openly tied to said ethnic/religious reasons?  I realize that, at this point, all we are doing is determining what circle of hell the perpetrators end up in.  Nonetheless, I do think the whole ordeal is a good way to measure our understanding of the definition of genocide.

Guard Dolphins (and Sea Lions)

We've all heard of mans best friend being used for security, bomb detection, hunting, helping the disabled, and a million other things. When I hear the word "guard animal", I immediately picture a dog. Yet apparently they aren't the only animal we have trained to help. The US Navy, through their Marine Mammal Program, is dedicated to "studying, training, and deploying them." They use the dolphins sonar abilities to help locate sea mines and other nasty things in the ocean. This program also noticed that "Other marine mammals like the California sea lion also have demonstrated the ability to mark and retrieve objects for the Navy in the ocean." If this sounds as ridiculous as it did to me and you want to know this is legit, heres a link you can follow:
http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/Pacific/71500/Pages/default.aspx
Apparently "The Navy also has two white whales, or belugas,... that have been subjects in a number of research projects and are currently on breeding loan." Personally, I think this is pretty cool.

Come and See

Or rather Idi i smotri, Иди и смотри, or perhaps even Ідзі і глядзі for the especially orthodox.  Anyhow, Come and See is, in its most basic element, a movie.  It was made in Russia in 1985, back when Russia was the (evil) Soviet Union. This meant its exposure to western audiences was initially quite low.  Perhaps ‘Communist Russia’ jokes would make one believe that was a good thing, but actually the good ol’ CCCP came through with a good film.  I’d even say damn good.  It certainly is entertaining as well beautiful in its own horrifying way.  But, while the elements of aesthetic and entertainment are alone enough to carry a movie (Amelie, for instance), Come and See goes one step further, through providing the audience with tangible historical insight.  

I like to think this knowledge supplements Schindler’s List quite well, and for good reason.  While Schindler’s List specifically targets the Holocaust (the main focus of Global Connections for the past… 2 months?), it doesn’t fully engulf itself in the actual historical event.  I do not say this as a way of insinuating my disapproval of the movie; I felt that Schindler’s List was, too, deserving of ‘damn good’ status, with its tragic (but not too tragic) narrative and endless quotability.  But, I have to agree with most of its ‘critics’, in that it was much less a Holocaust film than an Oskar Schindler film.

Come and See, on the other hand, holds back nothing in its brutal depiction of the Nazi occupation of the Byelorussian SSR.  The story itself certainly does not hold up as well as Schindler’s List; the audience just follows teenage protagonist Flyora as he bounces from one terrifying scene to the next.  However, perhaps such a lack of an intricate plot benefits the greater purpose of the film: the depiction of the inhumanity brought upon the world by the Third Reich.  Now, before you make the point that this movie isn’t about the Holocaust and therefore doesn’t apply to Global, let me remind you that the Soviets died alongside the Jews; they were both equally viable targets of the Wehrmacht.  As a matter of fact, way more Soviets died.  Between two to three times more.  But that’s beyond the point.  Let’s not count murdered human beings (even if they were bastard communists) like beans as a way of determining the worst of a list of incomprehensible acts of inhumanity.  Instead, let’s just remember that the aforementioned victims died for the same reasons: unprompted, but convenient, ethnic and ideological bigotry.  

Now, the question of credibility.  The movie definitely has a political slant.  Once again, the movie was made while the Soviet Union still existed, so they made sure not to depict the Byelorussian partisans reciprocating Nazi cruelty (which in reality they did.  Surprise, war’s no fun for anyone!).  The Soviets are made out to be stoic and noble, fighting bravely through their quiet desperation against their tyrannical enemy.  But the bias truly stops there.  The Nazis’ acts of cruelty are not overdone, even if they seem to be.  After seeing this movie, at least one ex-member of the Wehrmacht confirmed the accuracy of the movie, saying he participated in Nazi activities similar to those seen in the movies. 

Hopefully this movie (or at the very least this accompanying analysis) helps you further understand not only just how inhumane we can be, but also just how little it takes to make us act as so.  Yes, the line between normalcy and barbarism is so much thinner than we think.  Therefore it is our obligation, our duty as citizens of this world, to watch ourselves, and to make sure we do not cross this line.  Don’t believe me?  Then, by all means, come and see what happens when we do.