Quite simply, genocide cannot be accomplished without a
prevailing sense of nationalism in the perpetrating group. As in the case of
the Czechoslovakians and Poles verses the Germans of the area, this nationalism
was fueled by a need for revenge and retaliation for the previous Nazi
occupation within the minds of the Czechs and especially the Poles. The goal of
“de-Germanizing the homeland” through expulsion of ethnic German citizens, through
cultural means such as banning the language and outright murder was enacted by
the Czechs and the Poles. This movement resulted in the loss of many innocent
German lives. Germans accused of being Nazis and those who appeared the most
“Aryan” suffered the most but all Germans in the areas were included in the
actions of terror in the areas whether or not they had any prior Nazi
affiliation. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rm-douglas/expulsion-germans-forced-migration_b_1625437.html)
As in Czechoslovakia and Poland, tensions ran high after the Second World War
and the breakup of Yugoslavia into smaller countries led to new aspects of
nationalism many felt were worth protecting and enforcing, thus creating ethnic
turmoil throughout the region. Nationalism became a big part of the movement to
remove Croatians and Bosnian Muslims from areas of Serbian occupation. These removals
were “encouraged” by acts of terror including theft, torture, rape, starvation,
and murder.
Looking to previous cases for
patterns can identify the building blocks of genocide. Intense hatred or
turmoil between ethnic groups at a governmental level is the number one factor.
As a result of this hatred, a sense of nationalism, an "us verses you" dynamic develops. When analyzing race relations in America, I do not believe we are at a level in
which one need be concerned of genocide. With this said, inequalities do exist
between classes, races, genders and sexual orientations. Hate groups such as
the Ku Klux Klan, Westboro Baptist Church, Jihad Watch, and the Institute for
Historical Review are just four of 939 active hate groups in America as
determined by the Southern Poverty Law Center. (http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map)
While these hate groups do exist and even thrive in some areas, the general
population of the United States does not agree or conform to these ideals. In
United States history, this fact was not always true. While neither have been publicly recognized as genocide by the United States government, both the
African Slave trade and subsequent slavery and the extermination of Indigenous
First Nations are argued as instances of genocide.
One may wonder if the dominant
white racial group did not continue to institutionally and culturally keep
Native Americans and African Americans down and out of positions of power, if a
revenge movement could gain traction as the Czechoslovakians and Poles did.
A member of the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrates his American right to be an asshole
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonphoenix/4153451388/
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