Largest massacre in history? (greatest, Washington, Hitler, Chinese)

[gg]

I wonder why people don't acknowledge this much? I find it interesting. I would have assumed it would be Hitler or Stalin, but neither killed as many as Mao Zedong with his Great Leap Forward policy led to the deaths of up to 45 million people There are people alive today that lived this. I never hear of it. Why is that?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...derer-his-due/

[msgsing]

It’s well documented that millions died under the rule of Mao. Most people don’t know history. China’s elimination of supposed enemies spanned decades and continued into the 1980’s. It was a series of massacres in many different places.

Probably beginning post 1949 with supporters of the previous government and land owners. The cultural Revolution of the 60’s across various cities and provinces. And as late as the 80’s with the Strike Hard programs against supposed so called hooligans who were condemned at drum head trials and immediately executed.

[gg]

Originally Posted by msgsing

It’s well documented that millions died under the rule of Mao. Most people don’t know history. China’s elimination of supposed enemies spanned decades and continued into the 1980’s. It was a series of massacres in many different places.

Probably beginning post 1949 with supporters of the previous government and land owners. The cultural Revolution of the 60’s across various cities and provinces. And as late as the 80’s with the Strike Hard programs against supposed so called hooligans who were condemned at drum head trials and immediately executed.

History is so valuable. Maybe it is as simple as the Jewish community promotes the education of the Holocaust, so they have a voice to educate. There is very little voice from the relatives of the Chinese or the Russians that were slaughtered in the US. Can it be that simple?

I think the US is failing in a big way regarding real history. I honesty don't even remember learning about Mao. I certainly should have learned about him though. That is a lot of death and not that long ago.

Thanks.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by gg

History is so valuable. Maybe it is as simple as the Jewish community promotes the education of the Holocaust, so they have a voice to educate. There is very little voice from the relatives of the Chinese or the Russians that were slaughtered in the US. Can it be that simple?

I think the US is failing in a big way regarding real history. I honesty don't even remember learning about Mao. I certainly should have learned about him though. That is a lot of death and not that long ago.

Thanks.

History is interesting. Much of what I read is history, in one form or another. I recently finished the biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

But why do you say it is valuable?

[gg]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

History is interesting. Much of what I read is history, in one form or another. I recently finished the biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

But why do you say it is valuable?

It is valuable to learn from it. It can repeat itself in many different forms and it does.

[elvis44102]

i love history, always have..i would say most Americans come from Europe, Asian history is less interesting to americans

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by gg

I wonder why people don't acknowledge this much? I find it interesting. I would have assumed it would be Hitler or Stalin, but neither killed as many as Mao Zedong with his Great Leap Forward policy led to the deaths of up to 45 million people There are people alive today that lived this. I never hear of it. Why is that?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...derer-his-due/

The difference is that the famine and resulting deaths were UNINTENDED consequences of the policy, or a cynical byproduct of a rushed industrialization effort like with the Ukrainian deaths under Stalin.
The Great Leap Forward was idiotic in conception and fraught with deception at the lower levels at execution but to say the famines were created for the purpose of killing off people is ridiculous. For something to fit the definition of 'massacre' the deaths would have to be the intended consequence or we're just playing with semantics.

[Roboteer]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

History is interesting. Much of what I read is history, in one form or another. I recently finished the biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

But why do you say it is valuable?

So we never forget what we humans, especially humans in government, are capable of.

When they are given (or when they take) too much power.

[gg]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

The difference is that the famine and resulting deaths were UNINTENDED consequences of the policy, or a cynical byproduct of a rushed industrialization effort like with the Ukrainian deaths under Stalin.
The Great Leap Forward was idiotic in conception and fraught with deception at the lower levels at execution but to say the famines were created for the purpose of killing off people is ridiculous. For something to fit the definition of 'massacre' the deaths would have to be the intended consequence or we're just playing with semantics.

Over 30 million dead is "unintended"? That is a lot of death to ignore.

[Harry Diogenes]

Originally Posted by gg

Over 30 million dead is "unintended"? That is a lot of death to ignore.

Intent and ignore are 2 different things. Mao's policies (and Stalin's) were inept, and caused many millions of unintentional deaths. But both also had people deliberately killed.