Reasons to be Impossible

Holocaust : Malnutrition.

I read this report yesterday.

Nearly six million children die from hunger or malnutrition every year, the Food and Agriculture Organisation says.

Six million is an evocative number - the usually rounded figure for Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust. The number of Jews rounded up and mechanically put to death in the greatest atrocity the world has ever known. 6 million. 6 Million.

The main Wikipedia article on The Holocaust takes a decidedly intentionalist view of the matter (see here for the Wikipedia discussion of intentionalism versus functionalism).

Now, I'm not really well informed enough to join this debate - but by inclination I'd lean towards functionalism since that fits with my general understanding of government and history.

Actually, I find functionalism much more frightening - the idea of petty low level bureaucrats just coming to find extermination to be a quick and easy solution to difficulties is hair raising. Imagine, boring, routine committee meetings: Item 5: body disposal. Evil masterminds are more reassuring, by far.

And here is the link - more than simple numerological coincidence. 6 Million. Will future generations look back and heap the same approbrium on us as was heaped on the Germans - collectively - for our functionalist holocaust by malnutrition. Entirely preventable malnutrition during which officials routinely sit down at meetings and discuss how many millions are going to die because they won't, can't will not consider the courses of action necessary; because they raise the nation state, private property or even God above the lives of 6 million children (and Bob alone knows how many adults - 850 million per year are malnurished).

The autogenocide of the human race.

Now - my question - why is this figure, greater than the Tsunami, than the Asian Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, Asian Bird Flu, SARS, the Iraq war - combined - why is it not top of the news every fucking day?

Anyway, here, in the spirit of Howard Zinn below is your chance to do your bit - I don't know how many readers I have, a handful. I know that much. And most of those readers have a handful of readers. Blog about this subject, see if we can pass a worthwhile meme along, eh?