“If you are going to kill a people” — Trygve Skaug

If you are going to kill a people

If you're going to kill a people
you must start with the small ones
you must take the old ones
preferably in groups
and the ladies
people without uniforms
they're easiest while they sleep
or shop or eat
attend a funeral
or ride the school bus
don't spare anything
that's how you break them in the end
and for God's sake don't hesitate

If you're going to kill a people
you must be rhetorical
use language well
‘us-against-them’
remember scare tactics and obfuscation
get as many people as possible on board
if that doesn't work
then make sure as many as possible
look the other way
then you can carry on in peace
or not peace then
death and war I mean
then you can carry on in death and war

If you're going to kill a people
you must crush the most innocent
because then one quickly thinks
they're probably not so innocent
and there's probably a reason
those things
we call it the blind spot
when you've reached that point
then you're almost there
then you can paint with a broader brush
and soon you too can call yourself
a genuine genocide."

-- Trygve Skaug