Ashamed Of Humanity
I'm sorry this isn't under a cut but I want everyone on my f-list to read it. All of it. Please.
At this very moment, I am, honest to god, ashamed of being a human. It is not the first time I've felt this way and unfortunately, I know it will not be the last. We thing of ourselves as superior but we are the lowest forms of life on this planet. Because we are the only species that kills itself ... intentionally and without cause.
I just finished watching "Hotel Rwanda" and I have never cried so much in my life. Not even during "Schindler's List". The Holocaust is one of the darkest stains on our history and nothing can ever erased that. But what do we do when an equally large stain forms before our eyes and we do nothing to stop it? How do we justify it? How do we defend our inaction? In 1994, the West stood by and watched as the Tutsis in Rwanda were murdered. The UN peacekeepers were told not to fire their weapons as the people around them begged for help. The entire world watched as another genocide took place before their eyes. And they did nothing.
Why? Because like Joaquin Phoenix's character Jack says "If people see this footage, they'll say Oh, my God, that's horrible. And then they'll go on eating their dinners." And most importantly, as Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte) explains "You're black. You're not even a n*****. You're an African ... They're not going to stay, Paul. They're not going to stop the slaughter."
Is this acceptable? President Clinton described the US inaction as "the biggest regret of [his] administration." But do we let it rest at that? Do we let the leaders of this planet get away with this murder? Because, in my eyes, turning away is that same as pulling the trigger yourself.
When I was watching this movie and crying my eyes out, my brother came by and asked me why I was watching such a depressing movie. Some of you may be wondering the same thing. I'll tell you what I told him. If you turn off the tv, if you close your eyes, if you turn a deaf ear, the killing does not go away. The violence does not stop. The hatred in the souls of mankind does not diminish. The only thing that happens is that we pretend it didn't.
So please, read about it. Talk about it. Tell people who don't know about it. Because we cannot forget and we must not pretend it never happened.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395169/
* Please don't feel obligated to reply to this post. I'll be satisfied it you just read it.
At this very moment, I am, honest to god, ashamed of being a human. It is not the first time I've felt this way and unfortunately, I know it will not be the last. We thing of ourselves as superior but we are the lowest forms of life on this planet. Because we are the only species that kills itself ... intentionally and without cause.
I just finished watching "Hotel Rwanda" and I have never cried so much in my life. Not even during "Schindler's List". The Holocaust is one of the darkest stains on our history and nothing can ever erased that. But what do we do when an equally large stain forms before our eyes and we do nothing to stop it? How do we justify it? How do we defend our inaction? In 1994, the West stood by and watched as the Tutsis in Rwanda were murdered. The UN peacekeepers were told not to fire their weapons as the people around them begged for help. The entire world watched as another genocide took place before their eyes. And they did nothing.
Why? Because like Joaquin Phoenix's character Jack says "If people see this footage, they'll say Oh, my God, that's horrible. And then they'll go on eating their dinners." And most importantly, as Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte) explains "You're black. You're not even a n*****. You're an African ... They're not going to stay, Paul. They're not going to stop the slaughter."
Is this acceptable? President Clinton described the US inaction as "the biggest regret of [his] administration." But do we let it rest at that? Do we let the leaders of this planet get away with this murder? Because, in my eyes, turning away is that same as pulling the trigger yourself.
When I was watching this movie and crying my eyes out, my brother came by and asked me why I was watching such a depressing movie. Some of you may be wondering the same thing. I'll tell you what I told him. If you turn off the tv, if you close your eyes, if you turn a deaf ear, the killing does not go away. The violence does not stop. The hatred in the souls of mankind does not diminish. The only thing that happens is that we pretend it didn't.
So please, read about it. Talk about it. Tell people who don't know about it. Because we cannot forget and we must not pretend it never happened.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395169/
* Please don't feel obligated to reply to this post. I'll be satisfied it you just read it.