Were most people at least somewhat racist in America in 1950?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

I don't know enough about these killings to hold a valid opinion as to how to label them. Like any half-educated person, I do know that people were killed in horrifying numbers in Cambodia, and that it was sickening and disgusting (inadequate terms). So in a sense I just did label them, of course, but I'm not sure about the "genocide" label in this case. What is your opinion?

I would consider the actions of the Khmer Rouge to be genocide despite the perps being of the same race and ethnicity as the overwhelming majority of their victims, due to 2 million people being killed. However, I've heard Pol Pot's atrocities referred to as "self-genocide" or "autogenocide" because the victims of the Khmer Rouge were - with a relatively small number of exceptions - fellow members of the Khmer ethnicity.

However, there is debate on whether Pol Pot's crimes were genocide due to the UN definition of genocide in General Assembly Resolution 260 not including targeting groups based on political views or social status. The UN and the Extraordinary Chambers In The Courts Of Cambodia only consider atrocities against the small Muslim and ethnic Vietnamese populations of Cambodia to be genocide - and the numbers of Muslims and ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia, a very homogenous society, were tiny to begin with, and few of Pol Pot's victims were Muslim or Vietnamese due to their small numbers in the overall population. Most Khmer Rouge leaders have been charged with war crimes, grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, crimes against humanity, homicide, and torture, not genocide per se.