SO I'VE BEEN AROUND LOS ANGELES for many years now, which includes GLENDALE, of course, which is home to MANY ARMENIAN-AMERICANS...and so the issue of "Armenian Genocide" is NOT something Angelenos can remain unaware very easily. It is IN OUR FACE as they say, and rightly so. We SHOULD be aware of such an atrocity that happened in the early 1900's , even if it was not to our "own people". And the issue remains about whether it was BY DEFINITION A "GENOCIDE" or, instead, a "war" or "conflict" or whatever other generic word one wishes to use that LEFT MANY ARMENIANS DEAD (estimates of 1 to 1.5 million).
If it is defined & accepted as "genocide" by the American government it has political ramifications that the country of Turkey does NOT want. They do NOT want to be seen as the "bad guys" who tried to eradicate a nation or nationality or ethnicity, akin to what the Nazis tried to do to the Jews.
At the same time, I personally wonder whether the Turks, who are mostly Muslim, were in fact trying to eradicate Christianity in the region more than they were trying to eradicate Armenians for being Armenians, but Armenians for being Christians. Either way it is ATROCIOUS but if it is FRAMED as a attempt of genocide against Christians in the region, then MORE PEOPLE worldwide would relate to it "emotionally" .
As it stands, it is framed as an Armenian issue and so even for those of us non-Armenians who are intellectually honest, and agree that it was a genocide, it still remains an "intellectual" matter to those of us who are not Armenian, and less so , an emotional matter, even though we commiserate to a certain extent just as general humanitarian people.
I wonder if the Turkish Muslims were more interested in trying to eradicate Christians , most of whom were Armenian in that area ?
So I will be researching and posting new information here about the issue and ask you to also be informed and learn more about it, whether you are Armenian or not, and also to my fellow Christians to pray about it. Pray for spiritual wisdom for our political leaders and for ourselves about this issue. Pray for the Armenian people who remain, to this day, emotionally affected by this tragedy. Pray for the Turkish people and/or leaders to do what is right, accordingly.
I recently saw the movie, "Architects of Denial" which is all about this issue and ecnourage you to see it as well as a good starting point to learning more.
And explore the web to find out more. But beware of "fake news" and propaganda that tries to deny the killing of Armenians. Here's a good link to begin with:
http://www.armenian-genocide.org/genocidefaq.html
And because I live in the Glendale area, I ask Armenian-Americans to be kind towards us non-Armenians. I've had a few bad experiences that made me think some Armenians don't respect some of us non-Armenians. Show us respect. Mutual respect & civility. God bless you.
