Mass murder vs. Genocide

Many people might assume that mass murder and Genocide are the same thing. Although both do involve the brutality of killing many people, it would be we an inadequate term to consider them the same. The main reason for this inadequacy is that mass murder does not explain the motivation behind genocide, which is generally racial, national or religious. Mass murder does not capture the mean nature behind genocide. What this means is best explained by an example. Say a bomb goes off on a bus, like it did in London 2005. Although people are being targeted there is no specific people targeted, all Black’s, White’s, Chinese’s, Buddhist, Christian, Locals, and Tourists will die. The mean spiritless behind genocide is someone is picking and choosing who dies. Imagine being on that bus and you die because you were wearing a blue shirt. Is it you fault that, that morning you choose a blue shirt instead of green? If that really a reason to die for, something you in essence had little control over? Or take take another example, you were born with a dimple in your smile, and you die for that? You have no control over that! That is why genocide is plain mean spirited, because it singles out certain individuals not for their action which they do have control over, but for physical, social, or religious characteristic which they have no control over.