Ordinary People and Mass Atrocities

We often operate under the assumption that misfortune only befalls others—that car accidents, earthquakes, floods, and wars are tragedies confined to distant places and unfamiliar people. In psychology, this phenomenon is recognized as optimism bias: a cognitive tendency to convince oneself that catastrophic events will remain at a distance.

This bias stems from a variety of psychological and social factors. Individuals naturally tend to focus on their personal strengths and positive attributes, fostering an illusion of control—the belief that one can foresee and avert disaster. At times, people mistake wishful thinking for reality. While a degree of optimism is not inherently harmful, it can dangerously detach communities from reality, leaving them unprepared and unable to make rational decisions when a crisis abruptly strikes.

This analysis focuses specifically on the dynamics of war, massacres, and macro-level atrocities. As Kurds, conflict and instability are familiar realities; yet, large-scale international warfare always felt remote. The Israel-Hamas war shattered that illusion, demonstrating how rapidly a regional—or even global—conflict can arrive at one's doorstep. Although the immediate intensity has somewhat subsided recently, the future remains entirely unpredictable.

In a short span, this conflict revealed profound societal fractures. Nearly every global community, including Kurdish society, polarized into fierce ideological camps. Rates of hostility and aggression surged, while tolerance and mutual understanding sharply declined.

This societal breakdown recalls historical mass atrocities and underscores a critical historical reality: the pivotal role of ordinary citizens in major catastrophes. It is easy to assume that massacres and genocides are exclusively engineered by governments, militaries, and armed factions. However, historical precedent proves that ordinary individuals—teachers, doctors, farmers, florists, and artists—frequently drive these tragedies. Ordinary people have historically populated the ranks of extremist movements, Nazi killing squads, and Ba'athist intelligence networks. By examining the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis, this article examines the complicity of the common citizen in mass atrocities. Should conflict arrive at our own borders tomorrow, will we remain untainted by global atrocities, or will we become complicit in historical transgressions?

Ordinary people assume distinct roles during major crises, often mobilized through propaganda, fear, and rigid partisanship. Swept up by populist waves, individuals become cogs in the machinery of disaster—whether by actively participating in violence, disseminating disinformation, or endorsing eliminationist ideologies. Conversely, others choose to protect victims, mitigate violence, and foster understanding. This article aims to analyze current societal trends and explore how individuals can safeguard themselves against complicity in mass violence.

According to Dr. Gregory Stanton, president of Genocide Watch, genocides and mass atrocities unfold across ten distinct stages, each relying heavily on the participation of ordinary citizens:

1. Classification

Genocide begins by dividing people into categories based on nationality, religion, race, or ethnicity, establishing a rigid "us versus them" dichotomy. For instance, the Nazi regime classified Jews as a distinct and inferior group. While state-sponsored, this classification was quickly adopted by ordinary citizens influenced by pervasive social propaganda. Similarly, during the Rwandan genocide, ordinary Hutu and Tutsi citizens adopted highly polarized classifications.

2. Symbolization

In this stage, names or symbols are mandated to visually distinguish targeted groups. The Nazis forced Jewish citizens to wear the yellow Star of David. Driven by fear, self-interest, or ideological conformity, ordinary citizens complied with these mandates, further isolating the targeted population. This pattern was mirrored historically during anti-Alevi incidents, where civilian perpetrators marked Alevi homes to identify them for violence. Reports from the Yazidi genocide similarly indicate that local neighbors marked Yazidi households to streamline targets for ISIS militants.

3. Dehumanization

Here, a targeted group is equated with animals, vermin, or disease to strip them of human attributes. Although initiated by authorities, ordinary citizens validate this rhetoric by adopting dehumanizing language. During the Rwandan genocide, radio broadcasts routinely broadcasted subhuman rhetoric regarding Tutsis, which was progressively normalized by the general public. The Kurdish population has frequently faced similar rhetorical erasure, where their deaths are minimized or stripped of normal human tragedy. Likewise, during the Yazidi genocide, perpetrators treated victims and abducted women as subhuman property.

4. Organization

While genocides are systematically organized by states, militias, or armed groups—such as the targeted elimination of intellectuals and minorities under Pol Pot in Cambodia—ordinary citizens frequently provide logistical support or join these structures. In the Bosnian conflict, ordinary individuals routinely volunteered for militias or actively backed political factions executing ethnic cleansing.

5. Polarization

Extremist factions utilize targeted propaganda to drive wedges between communities. In Bosnia, state media and political campaigns escalated ethnic animosity, paving the way for mass violence. Ordinary citizens advance this polarization by severing social and economic ties with the opposing group, transforming passive bias into active segregation.

6. Preparation

Perpetrators draft death lists, procure weapons, and logistically plan the execution of the genocide. Ordinary citizens participate in this stage by identifying neighbors, gathering intelligence, and assisting in documentation. During the Holocaust, civilian populations assisted authorities in identifying Jewish residents for deportation to concentration camps.

7. Extermination

This stage marks the onset of systematic mass murder. Ordinary citizens either participate directly in the killings or turn a blind eye as their neighbors are eliminated. The Yazidi genocide documented instances of neighbors turning on neighbors or surrendering them to ISIS. Similarly, ordinary men joined Nazi mobile killing units, eventually normalizing mass murder until it became routine bureaucratic tasks (a phenomenon documented extensively in the historical study and documentary Ordinary Men).

8. Denial

Following mass atrocities, perpetrators suppress evidence, block investigations, and deny accountability. Ordinary citizens contribute to this stage by adopting official denials, downplaying the scale of the violence, or actively spreading revisionist narratives. This obstruction severely impedes justice, accountability, and reconciliation. Historically, most genocides undergo a protracted period of denial; some acknowledgments take decades, while others remain contested a century later.

9. Justification

In this phase, the blame for the atrocity is shifted entirely onto the victims, framing the violence as a necessary or deserved measure. In the Bosnian conflict, victims were frequently blamed for their own fate. Ordinary citizens propagate these narratives, reinforcing the idea that the targeted group "deserved" the outcome.

10. Post-Catastrophe (Justice and Reconciliation)

This final stage focuses on the pursuit of justice, societal reconstruction, and the prevention of future atrocities. Ordinary citizens play a vital role here by fostering inter-communal dialogue, promoting mutual recognition, and expediting recovery from collective trauma.

Contemporary Implications

In the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many of these structural stages are clearly observable, driven significantly by public participation. The stage of classification is acutely evident; the "us versus them" dynamic has intensified profoundly. Social media platforms have become battlegrounds where users launch aggressive campaigns against the opposing side, escalating to the point where mutual coexistence is rejected.

Because individuals rarely critique their own in-group, critical self-examination regarding the "other" is essential. Preventing the dehumanization of those outside our immediate identity group is the only way to avert historical complicity. For Muslim communities, this requires a responsible evaluation of attitudes toward Jewish communities. Are they afforded dignity and a recognized right to exist, or are narratives viewed strictly through an ethnocentric lens? Geopolitical power balances shift over time; the fundamental ethical question is how a community behaves when it holds the monopoly on power.

Furthermore, symbolization remains highly visible. In numerous global cities, targeting campaigns utilize extremist imagery or historical symbols of hate. Similar displays have occurred within certain Kurdish urban centers. These are not minor incidents; they compromise the fundamental safety of civilian populations. If communities fail to counter these extremist ideologies during their formative stages, containment becomes impossible.

Concurrently, revisionist rhetoric regarding the total displacement or elimination of populations persists across the Middle East. Eliminating an entire society violates all frameworks of universal ethics. Having historically faced existential threats themselves, marginalized communities must reject the application of those same destructive impulses toward others.

Polarization has extended far beyond the immediate combatants, dividing global observers into rigid, irreconcilable factions. This fracture is evident within Kurdish civil discourse as well. Pervasive mainstream media narratives have significantly marginalized dissenting, nuanced voices. Yet, without these independent perspectives, societies risk falling into collective ethical failure.

Finally, the stages of denial and justification are highly active. The atrocities committed against Israeli civilians on October 7 are frequently denied or minimized despite extensive documentation. In international spaces, images of abducted children have been systematically defaced or torn down—a normalization of hostility that mirrors the denial surrounding major historical atrocities, from the Holocaust to Dersim, the Anfal campaign, and Halabja. Historically, perpetrators either minimized casualty figures or maintained that the victims brought the destruction upon themselves.

Ultimately, the historical record demonstrates that major catastrophes rely heavily on the compliance of the ordinary citizen. Every public statement, digital interaction, or shared narrative either acts as fuel for hostility or serves to de-escalate violence. In periods of geopolitical crisis, individual responsibility dictates acting as a force for stabilization rather than destruction.