--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s so savage. So primitive.” “Modern…" description: "\"“It’s so savage. So primitive.” “Modern man isn’t far behind. Think of the Nazis in WWII. The Serbs in Bosnia. Khmer Rouge. Taliban. Chechnya. The list..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/anonymous-1_khmer-rouge_it-s-so-savage-so-primitive-modern-man-i_1535506.jpg" --- # It’s so savage. So primitive.” “Modern man isn’t far… ![“It’s so savage. So primitive.” “Modern man isn’t far behind. Think of the Nazis in WWII. The Serbs in Bosnia. Khmer Rouge. Taliban. Chechnya. The list goes on. It’s all the same. Mass murder followed by cover-up. Nothing changes.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/anonymous-1_khmer-rouge_it-s-so-savage-so-primitive-modern-man-i_1535506.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/anonymous-1_khmer-rouge_it-s-so-savage-so-primitive-modern-man-i_1535506.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/anonymous-1_khmer-rouge_it-s-so-savage-so-primitive-modern-man-i_1535506.jpg) > ““It’s so savage. So primitive.” “Modern man isn’t far behind. Think of the Nazis in WWII. The Serbs in Bosnia. Khmer Rouge. Taliban. Chechnya. The list goes on. It’s all the same. Mass murder followed by cover-up. Nothing changes.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that modern societies continue to commit atrocities similar to historical genocides, suggesting a persistent pattern of mass violence and denial. **In simple terms:** Modern violence repeats history, with cover‑ups and little change. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront ongoing atrocities. Themes violence history morality justice human rights Mood somber critical urgent Type cautionary analytical reflective When to use this quote - humanitarian work - policy advocacy - education - media reporting - legal accountability Key Concepts genocide collective denial political extremism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies break the cycle of violence? - What role does denial play in perpetuating atrocities? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize complex conflicts and ignore differences in context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Khmer rouge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/khmer-rouge/) [Mass Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-murder-343474/) [Modern man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-man/) [Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savage/) [Savage Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savage-primitive-5707391/) [Think Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-nazis-1328604/) ## Related quotes > [It's not that I think the Nazis were right, or anything. It's just that, we weren't there, we don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/it-s-not-that-i-think-the-nazis-were-right-or-anything-it-s-just-that/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“But most people are essentially good. You have to believe that.” “Even the Nazis?” Father Re hesitated, and then said, “I can’t explain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-t-sullivan/but-most-people-are-essentially-good-you-have-to-believe-that-even/) [Mark T. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-t-sullivan/) > [“Manifest Destiny anticipated nearly all the ideological and programmatic elements of Hitler's Lebensraum policy. In fact, Hitler modeled his conquest of the East on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/manifest-destiny-anticipated-nearly-all-the-ideological-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And I think all Nazis didn't see themselves as bad people. I've never met a racist yet who thought he was a racist. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/and-i-think-all-nazis-didn-t-see-themselves-as-bad-people-i-ve-never/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [“Books can be immensely powerful. The ideas in them can change the way people think. Yet it was the Nazis and Stalin's officers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-farndon/books-can-be-immensely-powerful-the-ideas-in-them-can-change-the-way/) [John Farndon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-farndon/) > [Fine, you do that, and you tell them that at the very first opportunity, I'm coming down there and killing all of them. Mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fine-you-do-that-and-you-tell-them-that-at-the-very-first-opportunity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What's to be believed? Or does it matter at all? When mass murder's been answered with mass murder, rape with rape, hate with hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-s-to-be-believed-or-does-it-matter-at-all-when-mass-murder-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The birch-bark canoe of the savage seems to me one of the most beautiful and perfect things of the kind constructed by human art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-birch-bark-canoe-of-the-savage-seems-to-me-one-of-the-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Civilize the mind but make savage the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/civilize-the-mind-but-make-savage-the-body/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I dont give a f\*ck. I never did, I never will and thats how I f\*cking feel. Young savage I keep it trill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-give-a-f-ck-i-never-did-i-never-will-and-thats-how-i-f-cking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-surging-seething-murmuring-crowd-of-beings-that-are-human-only-in-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a huge and savage conscience that won't let me get away with things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-huge-and-savage-conscience-that-won-t-let-me-get-away-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today the average inhabitant of the western hemisphere knows a little of everything. He has the newspaper on his breakfast table and wireless within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-the-average-inhabitant-of-the-western-hemisphere-knows-a-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am going to hold a pistol to the head of the Modern Man. But I shall not use it to kill him–only to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-going-to-hold-a-pistol-to-the-head-of-the-modern-man-but-i-shall/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-modern-man-thinks-that-everything-ought-to-be-done-for-the-sake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Khmer rouge quotes > [“To survive during the Khmer Rouge, you had to steal, cheat, lie, point fingers at others, even kill. And now you are ashamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brinkley/to-survive-during-the-khmer-rouge-you-had-to-steal-cheat-lie-point/) [Joel Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brinkley/) > [The trial organized with U.N. participation of some kind will be for crimes committed by Khmer Rouge leaders from 1975 to 1979. That's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hun-sen/the-trial-organized-with-u-n-participation-of-some-kind-will-be-for/) [Hun Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hun-sen/) > [“At daybreak on the first day, thousands of Cambodians are already calmly waiting outside my polling station. They squat on the ground, silent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-postlewait/at-daybreak-on-the-first-day-thousands-of-cambodians-are-already/) [Heidi Postlewait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-postlewait/) > [ I, for one, will not have \[the Vietcong\] insulted by any comparison to the forces of Zarqawi, the Fedayeen Saddam, and the criminal underworld… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-for-one-will-not-have-the-vietcong-insulted-by-any-comparison-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Richard Nixon was elected president mendaciously promising not victory, but a “secret plan” to bring the war to an “honorable end.” The secret plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/richard-nixon-was-elected-president-mendaciously-promising-not/) [Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/) > [“I'd have to, if on Sunday I wanted to run off with some "slack-jawed Suzy," some "invertebrate," a "post-pubescent wasteoid who imagines the Khmer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-d-have-to-if-on-sunday-i-wanted-to-run-off-with-some-slack-jawed/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“certain kinds of polities, communist party-states such as the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, are capable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/certain-kinds-of-polities-communist-party-states-such-as-the-soviet/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [From 1975 to 1979 - through execution, starvation, disease, and forced labor - the Khmer Rouge systematically killed an estimated two million Cambodians, almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loung-ung/from-1975-to-1979-through-execution-starvation-disease-and-forced/) [Loung Ung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loung-ung/) > [“Perhaps the truth was that Hell wasn’t a physical location; it was an idea that could be summoned into being. Hell had been created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/perhaps-the-truth-was-that-hell-wasn-t-a-physical-location-it-was-an/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [When you're just a breath away from North Korea, it boggles your mind that that exists, or that something like the Khmer Rouge ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/when-you-re-just-a-breath-away-from-north-korea-it-boggles-your-mind/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [“One in eight Cambodians – as many as 2 million people – were killed during the Khmer Rouge’s campaign to eradicate their country’s history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/one-in-eight-cambodians-as-many-as-2-million-people-were-killed/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [“The deserters and dissenters expelled from the party formed RENAMO, a rebel group committed to snatching power from FRELIMO. Supported by South Africa and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/the-deserters-and-dissenters-expelled-from-the-party-formed-renamo-a/) [Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/) > [“The 20th century merits the name "The Century of Murder." 1915 Turks slaughtered 2 million Armenians. 1933 to 1954 the Soviet government encompassed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-hilberg/the-20th-century-merits-the-name-the-century-of-murder-1915-turks/) [Raul Hilberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-hilberg/) > [My own reaction from a distance is that Pol Pot's demise as the leader of the Khmer Rouge was inevitable, and that his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-schanberg/my-own-reaction-from-a-distance-is-that-pol-pot-s-demise-as-the/) [Sydney Schanberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-schanberg/) > [Long time I been on my own, but now really I'm alone. I survive the killing, the starving, all the hate of the Khmer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mccormick/long-time-i-been-on-my-own-but-now-really-i-m-alone-i-survive-the/) [Patricia McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mccormick/) [Browse all 33 Khmer rouge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/khmer-rouge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s so savage. So primitive.” “Modern man isn’t far behind. Think of the Nazis in WWII. The Serbs in Bosnia. Khmer Rouge. Taliban. Chechnya. The list goes on. It’s all the same. Mass murder followed by cover-up. 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