Violence, Benevolence, Governmentality
Image: Gertrude Duby Blom with Lacandan friend, date unknown.
“We formed the first governmental expedition of the State of Chiapas to establish contact with the Lacandon Indians. A contact not to exploit them, nor to study them anthropologically. The mules carried very little of our things, the majority of the cargo were gifts for the Lacandon from the government. Our goal was to investigate the necessities of these remote Indians, to construct modern houses and to establish a relationship between them and the government.”
- Franz and Gertrude Blom, La Selva Lacandona, Vol. 1, p.69, 1955.
Delightful – the purpose was not to exploit them, nor to study them, but to civilize them, which is to say to destroy them. I don’t know of anywhere where I’ve seen this intent expressed this clearly.
Comment by anonymous cowherd — 11/1/2007 @ 1:36 pm