Dancing in the Glory of Monsters illustrates the complexity of violence associated with the Congo Wars. No party was completely devoid of bloodshed or blame. Each side felt victimized, and thus justified in their actions. As such, polarization became an easy trap in which to fall. Perhaps it is this complexity that contributed to the lack of coverage on the crisis. The media attempts to convey facts through the art of storytelling. But when the facts themselves are muddled, this becomes a very difficult feat to accomplish. Furthermore, a cohesive storyline requires clarity, which this conflict did not provide. The participants, their motives, and their relative morality were amorphous. No side could truly be labeled as “good” or “evil.”
Part of this was due to the number of ordinary civilians who were involved in the violence. Many took up arms themselves to form militias, blurring the line between civilian and soldier. Because the conflict did not take place solely within the confines of structured armies, it became difficult to separate the innocent from the guilty. The fact that so many “ordinary people” took part in this violence also adds credence to the possibility that any person or group can undertake mass violence under the right conditions. Such a possibility is extremely disturbing, and highlights our innate need to distance ourselves from such acts. Oftentimes perpetrators of horrendous crimes are described as “animals” or simply “not human”. This illustrates our tendency to psychologically distance ourselves from any similarity to those who conduct such violence, in an attempt to distinguish ourselves from the perpetrators. “He could do that, but not me, because he is not like me.” But the violence present in the Congo forces us to consider the possibility that anybody, under the right conditions, could become a part of mass violence.