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The Armenian Genocide - why is it controversial to call it, or not to call it, a genocide?
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maybe he's worried about pissing off Turkey...?
Lisa wrote: "maybe he's worried about pissing off Turkey...?"That's the rumor, yeah.
The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History
The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response
Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide
I 'know about' this event but haven't seen anyone else mention it in quite some time now. It's become so unfashionable to criticize nationalism these days. I mean, my goodness. A modern government decided to callously exterminate millions of helpless human beings? Gee whiz. I have been hearing so much lately that racism and colonialism had been eliminated; they are empty constructs, they stem only from ignorance, no one really practices either of them anymore; they were never part of anyone's policy, we have evolved entirely past them. Yeah. No one saw anything, no one heard anything, no photos so it didn't happen.Except, how about if your family is Armenian? How about if your people come from East Timor? How about if your family was Khmer? It means you can only trace your family tree back so far and then...nothing. Wouldn't that upset you? What do you do in that case, just swallow your grief and rage and shake hands with your Turk or your Indonesian neighbor? Hey how wonderful, their son is just home on leave from military service. Who was he out killing this year?
Oops. Nevermind. Can't mention anything aloud. No sour remarks, please! Racism is eliminated, we all know that. And colonialism is ancient history. And, of course, 'there's never been anything wrong with nationalism'.
p.s. whenever you actually visit Turkey there is never any mention of this episode in history. We toured every museum and palace in Istanbul. Nothing. The current Turkish government simply doesn't have any reason--nor gain any enjoyment--from addressing the topic; so it is left only for a handful of rogue historians and dusty academics to pore over in libraries.
In France, it has officially been recognized as a genocide. As our liberty of speech is a little more restricted than yours, just a little honest, denying it is now considered a felony.
By the way, the covid didn’t get me. I’m still alive, in spite of a few days relapse that might have been antibodies acting up.
Underground Knowledge — A discussion group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History (other topics)The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response (other topics)
Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide (other topics)
Perpetrator: Ottoman Empire (Committee of Union and Progress)
Period: April 24, 1915 – 1917
Country: Ottoman Empire
Attack types: Deportation, Mass murder
What do you guys know about this historical event?
Am curious to know...