Two things to make you feel bad

I'm still sick and feeling crummy, so I'm pulling this thing out of my draft archives that normally seems too horrible to post. Skip this one if you don't want to spoil your day.

The American Prospect has a fascinating review of a book of interviews with Rwandan Hutu who participated in the genocide.

They admit that they killed reluctantly at first, but soon it became routine work, no different than the hacking of weeds and plants on their plots of land. A sense of camaraderie and teamwork existed among those who hunted in the swamps, and everyone was allowed to kill at his own pace, so long as he killed.

Second, to remind us that it ain't just some savage Other that delights in killing, The Generic Brand has a depressing post about a photo-sharing website where GIs in Iraq exchange horrific, gruesome pictures, and brag about them.

... the photos are chilling. What is just as chilling, if not more so, is the attitude of the folks who post there, all swagger and chest-thumping bravado at the killing of other people. This is what war does to our sons and daughters; it dehumanizes them, it makes them capable of taking pictures like these and of being proud to have posted them for the world to see. Would you want to spend much time with a fellow who proudly posts pictures of what he terms "barbecued hajis"?

I hope to be feeling better tomorrow.