Semelin examines the motives of the individual for participating in mass killings and notes that there are many reasons, but most revolve around prestige, and looking good in the eyes of ones neighbors, friends, and coworkers (Semelin, 2003). He looks at the killing of the Jews in World War II, often by neighbors or friends, or at least fellow countrymen, like the Poles, and notes that people went along with the tide of what was happening. They justified what they did by believing they were obeying their superiors, or obeying the law, and didn't internalize the acts they were perpetrating. He notes an ex-soldier from the Khmer army in Cambodia who talks of killing 400 men, who believed he was fulfilling his allegiance to the Khmer dynasty, and did not dwell on the right or wrong of his act, but merely followed orders.
Others kill in revenge for age-old disputes, such as many of the killings in the Bosnian conflict, where feuds had raged for centuries (Semelin, 2003). Many of the killers are young people without responsibilities or families to worry about. In other situations it is the looting which offers rich rewards. Militias often release violent prisoners to help in their mission, men who have nothing to lose. The first killing in any of these situations is the hardest, but after that it becomes routine, all in a days work, something everyone else is doing so why not join in? Cultural beliefs and codes of honor are often a motif for participation in mass killings, such as in Cambodia and Rwanda.
This theme is continued in the essay on Rwanda and the mass killings that took place there, with the author suggesting that mass killings occur when there are "difficult life conditions" which certainly existed in Rwanda prior to the massacre (Untitled, 2005). The Hutu were in power and published a list of Hutu Ten Commandments which completely denigrated the Tutsis. Large scale killings such as took place in Rwanda are...