This (the "no difference between AKs and machetes" stuff, which you seem to have edited out) would be a telling response, except that the Hutu had AKs; they did their killing with machetes not because machetes were all they had, but because machetes were what they preferred.

Thank you, all the same, for helping me boil down this argument to its very bones. I'm talking about killing; y'all are talking about guns -- but there doesn't seem to be a general recognition of the distinction between the two. I've flailed in the direction of recognizing that distinction before, but thinking about your response was just what I needed to put my finger squarely on it. Thanks again! I greatly appreciate that.