Is It Okay to Use the ‘G-Word’?

The U.N. definition of genocide is legalistic and the result of compromise. So it’s worth looking at Putin’s intent.

Apr 6

A family grieve for a missing relative in front of a mass grave in the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after the Ukrainian army secured the area following the withdrawal of the Russian army from the Kyiv region on previous days, Bucha, Ukraine on April 03, 2022. (Photo by Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) — A family grieves for a missing relative in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv. (Photo by Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.)

Hi,

So one of the things we try to do around here is provide more context. Now, context means different things to different people. The great thing about the G-File is I don’t have to care about what those other people mean by context (or, for that matter, what they mean by “chlorophyll” or “blurgh”).

For my purposes, what I mean by context is, “stuff you might want to know if you were going to have a compelling conversation about stuff going on,” or, “stuff people leave out of the conversations I see on TV.”

So let’s talk about genocide.

Volodomyr Zelensky has accused the Russians of genocide in the wake of revelations of mass killings in Bucha, and there’s good reason to think that Bucha is just the first of many Buchas. The Ukrainians believe it is just “the tip of the iceberg” and I suspect they’re right, even if it’s in their interest to say so.

Is It Okay to Use the ‘G-Word’?

The U.N. definition of genocide is legalistic and the result of compromise. So it’s worth looking at Putin’s intent.

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