Professor offers 'unique' views on genocide

Genocide, according to one scholar, is not the complex issue many others have argued it is. University of Washington Professor Danial Chirot discussed his unique views yesterday in Stiteler Hall to an attendance of more than 30 people. Chirot presents a surprisingly simplistic view of genocide. Arguing that genocide evolves from basic cultural instincts, Chirot offered a short list of reasons for this cold-blooded act -- desire for superiority and the grouping of individuals under the guise of "a collective enemy." "A group of people united on some cultural ground want to ensure that they control a territory and have a majority of 'their' people there and less of the 'others'," Chirot said. Since the trend of genocide is not an exclusively modern one -- accounts of mass killings have been documented since biblical times -- Chirot insisted that "deeper causes, ones more basic" cause such violence. In his speech, entitled, "Toward a Theory of Genocide," Chirot summed up these deeper causes in just a few words -- "honor, revenge and greed mixed with a small dose of insecurity." He noted that many groups engaging in mass killings do so because they feel threatened by their weaker counterparts. In most cases throughout history, he added, these inferior groups were chosen "not just to make a point." "There was an old-fashioned element of just plain fear," he said. Chirot also noted that genocide becomes more common when those in the majority stop thinking of the oppressed as individual people, instead seeing them as a group of faceless enemies. He warned that with the impersonal societies emerging in the late 20th century as a result of industrial advances, "modern societies are more likely to believe that new technology can create utopias? [and] call for a cleansing to create a 'pure new society'." Offering advice about how to prevent future mass killings, Chirot said "we have to look at modern, technologically advanced societies and find out ways to prevent genocide in the next century." Following the extensive research Chirot did on genocide, the simplicity of his conclusions was disconcerting to many audience members, who argued against his views. Although a few asked questions in an effort to find a deeper, more controversial reason for genocide, Chirot strongly defended his simple conclusions, maintaining that the simplest reasoning is often the most accurate. College freshman Nate Calhoun, who agreed with Chirot's views, said he "was impressed with his ability to defend the validity of his statements." "He was honest to admit that there are only two simple statements, and no earth-shattering discovery," Calhoun added.