# What would it take to get major powers to commit genocide? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 20, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202 "2016-12-20T01:19:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202/41 "2016-12-25T19:41:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > This thread is asking, “what would it take to get the major powers to commit genocide”. I’m not interested in silly semantic games. It’s not a semantic game, as that was actually a \*rhetorical \*question, since the answer is obvious: “Nothing” is the correct answer. > [@](#): > > Uhm, yes there is a revolutionary change in US relations with Indians compared to how things were 150 years ago\* Oh, started giving them their land back, then? Otherwise, not so revolutionary - 150 years ago: shitty life on reservations;today: shitty life on reservations. Just because the US kills them slowly now, doesn’t mean the genocide has stopped. Thankfully there’s been an uptick in Native population growth, but it’s no thanks to the US Govt. ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202/42 "2016-12-25T22:01:38Z")
I think there’s a fundamental thinking error in this thread. That is, it appears to be true here (as well as many places I see such things discussed) that everyone without realizing it, thinks of genocide as something that “happens.” That one moment, there is no genocide, and the next moment, one group of people decides en masse, to kill everyone in another group. The will and desire to commit genocide, doesn’t come from a single act, or even a series of them, unless a great deal of additional groundwork is laid, or unless a single powerful group within a society, acts on it’s own. Now. There certainly ARE people in the US who are actively working to lay the groundwork for genocide here. They are anyone who over and over declares that any identifiable segment of the population is inherently defective and dangerous to the rest of us. But even if those psychotics are someday successful, it wont be The United States committing genocide, it will be the particular regime running the United States at that time, who will be guilty. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202/43 "2016-12-26T10:29:40Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > But even if those psychotics are someday successful, it wont be The United States committing genocide, it will be the particular regime running the United States at that time, who will be guilty. Regimes rarely do their genociding unaided by at least some of the general populace. Pol Pot didn’t fill the killing fields himself, Hitler didn’t personally drive the Birkenau trains, Jackson didn’t personally ride guard on the Trail of Tears. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202/44 "2016-12-26T12:06:32Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > I think there’s a fundamental thinking error in this thread. That is, it appears to be true here (as well as many places I see such things discussed) that everyone without realizing it, thinks of genocide as something that “happens.” That one moment, there is no genocide, and the next moment, one group of people decides en masse, to kill everyone in another group. > > . That’s why I said that genocide in the course of an actual war isn’t the same as premeditated genocide against a helpless or doing only low level resistance. If Japan hadn’t surrendered, the Japanese people would have been nearly eradicated. But that’s not US planning to end the Japanese, that’s the Japanese insisting on fighting to the death. Thankfully they came to their senses when the actual destruction of their entire race was at hand, but if they hadn’t, that would be on them, not on us. That goes double for any nation that would be crazy enough to use nukes on us. They are extinct if that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202/45 "2016-12-29T15:37:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Genocide is the intent to wipe out a people. When a nation won’t surrender no matter how much damage they take, and they get wiped out as a result, that’s just war. Genocide takes place with or without significant resistance on the part of the victims. A war that was fought fiercly and led to one side getting totally wiped out would just be a war. No,. Genocide IS wiping out people, by intent or not. We could wipe a people out and commit genocide without any intent to do so at all. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202/46 "2017-01-07T22:56:04Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Do you think there is/are any possible action(s) that radical Muslims could do to get the American people / government / military to say “f\*\*\* it, just kill them all” and actually set out to systematically eliminate an entire religion from off the face of the Earth (or at least trying their hardest)? > > For example, if they managed to steal five nuclear bombs and simultaneously detonate them in DC, NYC, LA, Houston, and Chicago? Do you think they’d get their apocalypse then? Or do you think America’s “genocide threshold” is higher than that? Lower? > > What about the Russians? the Chinese? I think if you simply look at history itself, you will find that it takes very little. All you need is a crappy set of circumstances, a bunch of miserable unhappy hopeless people, and some moron spewing pretty words, add in a scape goat and you got genocide. It is sadly very easy. How many people do you think would electrocute a perfect stranger to death for 50 dollars? Go look up that study [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-get-major-powers-to-commit-genocide/775202.md?page=2)