# Rhinoceroses, sad situation, but "Genocide?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145 "2015-08-06T11:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/1 "2015-08-06T11:29:53Z")
“Rhino Genocide,” a construction which yields nearly a quarter-million Google hits. Yes, we’re really sorry about the rhinos, especially because it’s happening so that Chinese men can achieve an erections through the placebo effect. It may result in the extinction of the rhino, and for these reasons it deserves our attention. But capturing that attention by using the word “genocide?” We don’t blame the activists. They are entitled to their opinion that all animal life is equal to human life. They are also in the business of spreading their message, often an important one that nobody else is interested in championing. But we do blame the editors who receive their press releases, and only condense it for space before sending it along. This is what passes for editorial oversight in the age of cyber journalism. The internet is so big that somewhere out there the opposing view will be posted, and so everything will balance out. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/2 "2015-08-06T14:50:52Z")
I’m not sure I’d use the term “genocide.” It implies that the extermination of the rhinos is planned and masterminded from a central source. This is not so. “Hunting the rhinos to extinction” would be a more accurate phrase, but much less clickbaity. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/3 "2015-08-06T14:55:25Z")
> [@](#): > > gen·o·cide > ˈjenəˌsīd/Submit > noun > the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/4 "2015-08-06T15:09:11Z")
Rhinos are not people. They are not members of any ethnic group or nation. ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/5 "2015-08-06T15:22:31Z")
I prefer the Wikipedia definition: > [@](#): > > Genocide is the systematic elimination of all or a significant part of a racial, ethnic, religious, cultural or national group. What happens to the Rhinos does not fit. Genocide implies intent and in case of the Rhinos that is not what’s happening. The term Genocide in this context is mainly used to raise alarm. It’s not a tactic that I like very much, but on the other hand I do agree that the situation deserves attention. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/6 "2015-08-06T15:24:32Z")
Yes, “genocide” is stupid. “Holocaust” would be better, since in the general sense it just indicates mass killing, although using the word might be seen as trivializing the Holocaust of WWII. If you want to be colorful, you could use something like “Armageddon.” ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/7 "2015-08-06T15:26:09Z")
I would tend to agree with the OP. The term genocide here is excessive and probably specifically chosen to get clicks over actually being accurate. Really, I think a word like genocide should be used sparingly because it’s about the most serious charge one can make against a person or group of people; I can’t think of anything I’d consider fundamentally worse than committing genocide. But I also tend to think that genocide is intentional and malicious, where what’s happening to the rhinos is incidental and misguided. Unfortunately, extinction used to be a much scarier word, but it, too, got kind of worn out, so how else do people draw attention to species at serious risk of extinction other that calling it genocide. That said, I could see calling a situation where people are deliberately trying to cause a species’ extinction as being called genocide, but how often does that actually happen? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/8 "2015-08-06T15:57:12Z")
> [@Hiker](#): > > What happens to the Rhinos does not fit. **Genocide implies intent** and in case of the Rhinos that is not what’s happening. You don’t think they intended to kill them off to the point of extinction? It’s been in all the news; they’ve been endangered for decades. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/9 "2015-08-06T16:05:56Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > You don’t think they intended to kill them off to the point of extinction? > > It’s been in all the news; they’ve been endangered for decades. But how many rhinos have been killed for the purpose of wiping them out? It’s not really important to me either, whether it’s to wipe out the species or to gather trophies and sell horns is just as bad. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/10 "2015-08-06T16:06:24Z")
I think “extinction” is a perfectly cromulent word for this situation. No need to gussie it up. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/11 "2015-08-06T16:23:02Z")
> [@Hiker](#): > > I prefer the Wikipedia definition: > What happens to the Rhinos does not fit. Genocide implies intent and in case of the Rhinos that is not what’s happening. The term Genocide in this context is mainly used to raise alarm. It’s not a tactic that I like very much, but on the other hand I do agree that the situation deserves attention. Genocide SORT OF fits. There’s a certain monstrousness to genocide … evil and egocentrism swollen to the extent that it makes wiping out a people seem like a good idea … that’s echoed by the monstrous egotism that leads Chinese men to be totally indifferent to the fate of the rhinoceros vs. their need to get an erection. It also, perhaps, is indicative of a huge flaw in Chinese culture. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/12 "2015-08-06T16:23:45Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes, “genocide” is stupid. “Holocaust” would be better, since in the general sense it just indicates mass killing, although using the word might be seen as trivializing the Holocaust of WWII. > > If you want to be colorful, you could use something like “Armageddon.” I think “hecatomb” would be preferable to “holocaust”, precisely because of the trivializing by using the latter. “Armageddon” is currently being overused to describe, of all things, snowfall (“snomageddon”) and suchlike. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/13 "2015-08-06T16:32:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > But how many rhinos have been killed for the purpose of wiping them out? It’s not really important to me either, whether it’s to wipe out the species or to gather trophies and sell horns is just as bad. However much money they’ve been making from selling powdered rhino horn is trivial compared to how much money they think they’ll make selling the _last_ powdered rhino horn. Once they’ve extincted the rhino, they’ll come up with something else to sell as aphrodisiacs and set their sights appropriately. For my money, somebody should start circulating a rumor that all that rhino horn settles in the bones of the people who ate it, and those Japanese businessmen are the real mother lode. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/14 "2015-08-06T16:38:16Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > However much money they’ve been making from selling powdered rhino horn is trivial compared to how much money they think they’ll make selling the _last_ powdered rhino horn. Agreed, on that basis it could be intentional now. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/15 "2015-08-06T16:54:29Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Genocide SORT OF fits. There’s a certain monstrousness to genocide … evil and egocentrism swollen to the extent that it makes wiping out a people seem like a good idea … that’s echoed by the monstrous egotism that leads Chinese men to be totally indifferent to the fate of the rhinoceros vs. their need to get an erection. It also, perhaps, is indicative of a huge flaw in Chinese culture. Rape is pretty bad too, but it doesn’t apply if I fuck a pumpkin. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/16 "2015-08-06T17:30:14Z")
Rhinocide. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/17 "2015-08-06T17:38:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes, “genocide” is stupid. “Holocaust” would be better, since in the general sense it just indicates mass killing, although using the word might be seen as trivializing the Holocaust of WWII. > > If you want to be colorful, you could use something like “Armageddon.” How about Rhinogeddon? If Anglos (for lack of a better word) in the US were killing millions of Mexican-Americans because they thought drinking their blood gave them eternal youth, we’d consider it genocide even if there was no coordinate effort to kill them all. No? ---
**Author:** ![Walton\_Firm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@Walton\_Firm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walton_Firm)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/18 "2015-08-06T18:29:04Z")
[According to Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2985/has-viagra-helped-endangered-species-by-reducing-demand-for-rhino-horn-etc), [ol] [li]Traditional Chinese Medicine does not consider rhino horn to be an aphrodisiac or an impotence cure. That’s a Western myth.[/li][li]TCM does use rhino horn as a cure for lots of other things, especially fever.[/li][li]A lot of rhino horns aren’t ground into powder for use in Chinese medicine, but are sold in the Middle East for use as dagger handles.[/li][/ol] Not directly relevant to the OP’s main point, but might as well fight a little ignorance while we’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/19 "2015-08-06T18:47:54Z")
> [@Walton\_Firm](#): > > [According to Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2985/has-viagra-helped-endangered-species-by-reducing-demand-for-rhino-horn-etc), > [ol] > [li]Traditional Chinese Medicine does not consider rhino horn to be an aphrodisiac or an impotence cure. That’s a Western myth.[/li][li]TCM does use rhino horn as a cure for lots of other things, especially fever.[/li][li]A lot of rhino horns aren’t ground into powder for use in Chinese medicine, but are sold in the Middle East for use as dagger handles.[/li][/ol] > > Not directly relevant to the OP’s main point, but might as well fight a little ignorance while we’re at it. Now it’s the Vietnamese: > **[Why Does a Rhino Horn Cost $300,000? Because Vietnam Thinks It Cures Cancer...](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/05/why-does-a-rhino-horn-cost-300-000-because-vietnam-thinks-it-cures-cancer-and-hangovers/275881/)** > > A rhino-head heist spree is sweeping the world and destroying rhino populations, mostly because of some ridiculous myths ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145/20 "2015-08-06T18:48:50Z")
bah. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhinoceroses-sad-situation-but-genocide/727145.md?page=2)