--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were not realizing that, with just a…" description: "\"We were not realizing that, with just a machete, you can do a genocide.\" — Boutros Boutros-Ghali" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/boutros-boutros-ghali-19672_genocide_we-were-not-realizing-that-with-just-a-m_2288671.png" --- # We were not realizing that, with just a machete, you can… ![“We were not realizing that, with just a machete, you can do a genocide.” quote by Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/boutros-boutros-ghali-19672_genocide_we-were-not-realizing-that-with-just-a-m_2288671.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/boutros-boutros-ghali-19672_genocide_we-were-not-realizing-that-with-just-a-m_2288671.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/boutros-boutros-ghali-19672_genocide_we-were-not-realizing-that-with-just-a-m_2288671.png) > “We were not realizing that, with just a machete, you can do a genocide.” [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Notes how a simple tool like a machete can enable mass violence, warning of underestimated threats. **In simple terms:** Simple tools can cause genocide. Key Takeaway Beware misuse of ordinary tools. Themes violence technology ethics Mood cautionary urgent Type political ethical When to use this quote - conflict prevention - policy making - education programs Key Concepts political science human rights Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards prevent weapon misuse? - How do societies recognize early signs? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Machetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machetes/) ## Related quotes > [For us, genocide was the gas chamber - what happened in Germany. We were not able to realize that with the machete you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/for-us-genocide-was-the-gas-chamber-what-happened-in-germany-we-were/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [Great artists make the roads; good teachers and good companions can point them out. But there ain't no free rides, baby. No hitchhiking. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/great-artists-make-the-roads-good-teachers-and-good-companions-can-2/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/i-was-no-longer-troubled-when-he-pulled-out-a-machete-in-a-crowded/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [There is a hollow, holey cylinder running from hilt to point in my machete. When I blow across the mouthpiece in the handle, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/there-is-a-hollow-holey-cylinder-running-from-hilt-to-point-in-my/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [I'm just glad it wasn't Machete Night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-froese/i-m-just-glad-it-wasn-t-machete-night/) Bob Froese > [“In your heart, in your bones, no matter how silly you know it is, you feel that everything has been leading to this, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/in-your-heart-in-your-bones-no-matter-how-silly-you-know-it-is-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The worst feeling is realizing you have so much to do and you're just not bothered to do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/the-worst-feeling-is-realizing-you-have-so-much-to-do-and-you-re-just/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [For a moment, staring down and realizing what I'd just done, I wanted to throw myself in after him, because surely there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/for-a-moment-staring-down-and-realizing-what-i-d-just-done-i-wanted/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“And you are just now realizing it, you are just now arriving at the place you were always meant to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/and-you-are-just-now-realizing-it-you-are-just-now-arriving-at-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The machete was needed anytime you had to slash out your own trail. This necessity arose more often than a person who is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-f-mcmanus/the-machete-was-needed-anytime-you-had-to-slash-out-your-own-trail/) [Patrick F. McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-f-mcmanus/) > [You don't want these problems, that's a bad idea. Machete'll have your ass runnin' like diarrhea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yung-joc/you-don-t-want-these-problems-that-s-a-bad-idea-machete-ll-have-your/) [Yung Joc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yung-joc/) > [“You know what would be awesome? . . . If I could have a machete.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-looby/you-know-what-would-be-awesome-if-i-could-have-a-machete/) [Molly Looby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-looby/) > [“When Matthew merely stared at him, Jackson reached into the weapon box and pulled out a sheathed machete, handing it to the boy. Matthew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/when-matthew-merely-stared-at-him-jackson-reached-into-the-weapon-box/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [Friday the 13th, where's my hockey mask and machete?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friday-the-13th-where-s-my-hockey-mask-and-machete/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear won't let you glide on platitudes and other people's wisdom. Fear brandishes a machete to find your loose threads and weak links. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley/fear-won-t-let-you-glide-on-platitudes-and-other-people-s-wisdom-fear/) [Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley/) ## More by Boutros Boutros-Ghali > [We must rid the world of the scourge of these agents of death and destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/we-must-rid-the-world-of-the-scourge-of-these-agents-of-death-and/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [It has long been recognized that an essential element in protecting human rights was a widespread knowledge among the population of what their rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/it-has-long-been-recognized-that-an-essential-element-in-protecting/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [Water will be more important than oil this century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/water-will-be-more-important-than-oil-this-century/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [The real problem was not the troops; the real problem was that only the United States had the infrastructure to do the transport of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/the-real-problem-was-not-the-troops-the-real-problem-was-that-only/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [I believe it will take time to find a solution to the problem. Thus we must have patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/i-believe-it-will-take-time-to-find-a-solution-to-the-problem-thus-we/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [While the broad principles of democracy are universal, the fact remains that their application varies considerably ... We are at the beginning of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/while-the-broad-principles-of-democracy-are-universal-the-fact/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [Democracy is an objective. Democratization is a process. Democratization serves the cause of peace because it offers the possibility of justice and of progressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/democracy-is-an-objective-democratization-is-a-process/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [The problem is when you are writing something in retrospective, it needs a lot of courage not to change, or you will forget a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/the-problem-is-when-you-are-writing-something-in-retrospective-it/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [So this is why I'm always say happy that somebody mentions Rwanda, because behind Rwanda, we have Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/so-this-is-why-i-m-always-say-happy-that-somebody-mentions-rwanda/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [But I believe that the DPKO at this time was very much involved with American administration and was acting, taking on consideration the demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/but-i-believe-that-the-dpko-at-this-time-was-very-much-involved-with/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [When you have an accident, they will save their own people, and those who have worked with you or with the NGOs are left.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/when-you-have-an-accident-they-will-save-their-own-people-and-those/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [There is a greater fatigue concerning the African problem today than five or 10 years ago. The situation now in Africa is worse today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/there-is-a-greater-fatigue-concerning-the-african-problem-today-than/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [Co-operative enterprises provide the organisational means whereby a significant proportion of humanity is able to take into its own hands the tasks of creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/co-operative-enterprises-provide-the-organisational-means-whereby-a/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [Only stupid people don't change their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/only-stupid-people-don-t-change-their-minds/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [I used to say I never talk about my successor, neither about my predecessor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/i-used-to-say-i-never-talk-about-my-successor-neither-about-my/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) [Explore all 32 Boutros Boutros-Ghali quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) ## More Genocide quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“There is no time for patience - there is no time for diplomacy - there is no time for policies, legislations and meaningless paperwork.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-is-no-time-for-patience-there-is-no-time-for-diplomacy-there-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I find in working always the disturbing intrusion of elements not a part of my most interested vision, and the inevitable obliteration and replacement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hopper/i-find-in-working-always-the-disturbing-intrusion-of-elements-not-a/) [Edward Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hopper/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [If people in Indonesia look 'different', they are afraid. Racist insults fly if someone does not look like part of the majority. Indonesia is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/if-people-in-indonesia-look-different-they-are-afraid-racist-insults/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“People talk about history and things like slavery, genocide, and religious persecution as horrors that happened in the past because we were ignorant. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/people-talk-about-history-and-things-like-slavery-genocide-and/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) > [The situation in Europe is much more advanced, in terms of pro-genocide trends, than in the United States, yet. But we're going very rapidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-larouche/the-situation-in-europe-is-much-more-advanced-in-terms-of-pro/) [Lyndon LaRouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-larouche/) > [There are something like 300 anti-genocide chapters on college campuses around the country. It's bigger than the anti-apartheid movement. There are something like 500…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/there-are-something-like-300-anti-genocide-chapters-on-college/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Even more horrifying was the “Rwandan Genocide” that witnessed the mass slaughter of nearly one million Rwandan Tutsis in only 100 days, by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-grumley/even-more-horrifying-was-the-rwandan-genocide-that-witnessed-the-mass/) [Michael C. 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