--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For one thing, before the 20th century…" description: "\"For one thing, before the 20th century, there were plenty of genocides. We tend to forget about them, partly because they weren't as well documented an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/steven-pinker-526_20th-century_for-one-thing-before-the-20th-century-th_354752.jpg" --- # For one thing, before the 20th century, there were plenty… ![“For one thing, before the 20th century, there were plenty of genocides. We tend to forget about them, partly because they weren't as well documented and partly because, until recently, people didn't care. We used euphemisms like 'sackings' and 'sieges' instead of calling them 'genocides.'” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/steven-pinker-526_20th-century_for-one-thing-before-the-20th-century-th_354752.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/steven-pinker-526_20th-century_for-one-thing-before-the-20th-century-th_354752.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/steven-pinker-526_20th-century_for-one-thing-before-the-20th-century-th_354752.jpg) > “For one thing, before the 20th century, there were plenty of genocides. We tend to forget about them, partly because they weren't as well documented and partly because, until recently, people didn't care. We used euphemisms like 'sackings' and 'sieges' instead of calling them 'genocides.'” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## 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 points out that many historical genocides are overlooked because they lacked documentation or public interest, and euphemisms softened their perception. **In simple terms:** Historical atrocities are forgotten when poorly recorded and euphemized. Key Takeaway Recognize and name past atrocities accurately. Themes history memory genocide language awareness Mood analytical critical informative Type historical social ethical When to use this quote - education - policy making - media reporting - human rights advocacy Key Concepts ethics political science historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies forget certain atrocities? - How can language be used to confront past crimes? A Different Perspective Euphemisms can obscure accountability, making prevention harder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Euphemism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/euphemism/) [Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide/) [Genocides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocides/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacking/) [Siege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siege/) ## Related quotes > [“But as Stephen Fry has so eloquently noted, all great atrocities and genocides first begin with marginalizing then dehumanizing a specific group of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/but-as-stephen-fry-has-so-eloquently-noted-all-great-atrocities-and/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [When there are no gas chambers, no barbed wire, and no concentration camps, many don't recognize the perpetration of new genocides and other targeted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prendergast/when-there-are-no-gas-chambers-no-barbed-wire-and-no-concentration/) [John Prendergast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prendergast/) > [As far as the Congress and the BJP go, we should not forget that they have not even apologized for the genocides in 1984…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinarayi-vijayan/as-far-as-the-congress-and-the-bjp-go-we-should-not-forget-that-they/) [Pinarayi Vijayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinarayi-vijayan/) > [But I am Armenian and I understand what it is to lose a country and lose a family and have massacres and genocides and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-martin/but-i-am-armenian-and-i-understand-what-it-is-to-lose-a-country-and/) [Andrea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-martin/) > [Other human rights atrocities from African slavery to the killing fields of Cambodia, the Armenian and Rwandan Genocides are all of course to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/other-human-rights-atrocities-from-african-slavery-to-the-killing/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [“The horrors of wars have shadowed our path in life. The soil of our land is saturated and soaked with the blood of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akreyi/the-horrors-of-wars-have-shadowed-our-path-in-life-the-soil-of-our/) [Widad Akreyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akreyi/) > [Millions also perished in the Chinese camps, and there have been terrible genocides in Cambodia and Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/millions-also-perished-in-the-chinese-camps-and-there-have-been/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) > [“The perpetrators of genocides are usually men of the herd, men who follow orders without questioning them. Rwanda was no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/the-perpetrators-of-genocides-are-usually-men-of-the-herd-men-who/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [“Everybody talks about genocides around the world, but when the killing is slow and spread over a hundred years, no one notices. 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Together we can build a better world!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akreyi/it-is-time-to-recognize-the-past-and-ongoing-genocides-to-prevent-new/) [Widad Akreyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akreyi/) > [Some crimes get honor and renown by being committed with more pomp, by a greater number, and in a higher degree of wickedness thanothers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/some-crimes-get-honor-and-renown-by-being-committed-with-more-pomp-by/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [If you were an ancient barbarian, I bet a real embarrassing thing would be if you were sacking Rome and your cape got caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/if-you-were-an-ancient-barbarian-i-bet-a-real-embarrassing-thing/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [They asked me to write it and zoomed me over there to do it. But they ended up sacking me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-campbell/they-asked-me-to-write-it-and-zoomed-me-over-there-to-do-it-but-they/) [Eddie Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-campbell/) ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. 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