iR2P

Nicholas Kristof has used his column in the New York Times to note the G8’s collective shrug over Darfur and ask the rhetorical question, “Is genocide really that bad?”

The answer is yes, he concludes; genocide is the ultimate human crime. It is interesting to read some of the comments that readers posted on Kristof’s blog in response, particularly those that discuss why the US hasn’t done more about Darfur. Although some accuse him of hypocrisy, the great majority (and there are even more on his Facebook page) are far more supportive and keen to take action.

One comment in particular I’d like to highlight. Somebody called Alex Waldauer remembers the sobering effect of a documentary on the Holocaust and reflects that “to know what genocide is, one must experience that jolt of the conscious”.