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I still get chills hearing about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. This article struck me in a different way: the farmers vs urbanites. I never saw it this way befo
by sfpoet 6y ago
I still get chills hearing about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. This article struck me in a different way: the farmers vs urbanites. I never saw it this way before.
- x87678r 6y agoChinese Cultural Revolution was similar country vs city as well.
- topspin 6y agoRussia exhibited the opposite phenomena. In part it was urbanites vs farmers. The "kulak" was the source of all evil and had to be brought to heel through collectivization. The most effective technique the Soviets found to accomplish this was mass starvation.
- lostlogin 6y agoI mostly agree - though the role of complete incompetence and mismanagement shouldn’t be overlooked.
- mc32 6y agoIt doesn’t matter who. The mechanism is always divide and conquer with the help of “useful idiots” in their parlance who are usually very enthusiastic members who believe the dogma a little too much and thus get in the way of “progress” and get “ditched” so to speak.
- 3131s 6y agoThese were not "useful idiots", and I don't think this oversimplification will help anyone understand what really happened in Cambodia. The mostly teenage-aged members of the Khmer Rouge had legitimate grievances of their own and Pol Pot capitalized on this, the extreme brutality of the US government, to oust the Lon Nol government on the basis of its alignment with the US.
- Nasrudith 6y agoWell there is the useful and the purge when they are no longer useful makes them the idiots because they brought about the means of their downfall. They are no different than the brownshirts as their intentions didn't matter in the end. Stupid is as stupid does and given the sheer list of victims they deserve no sympathy.
- refurb 6y agoThe Khmer Rouge weren’t dumb. Pol Pot came from a wealthy family and was educated at the top French-Cambodian schools. Similar to the North Vietnamese massacre of 3,000 civilians during the Battle of Hue, it’s the doctors, teachers, professors and other elite who have the power to oppose you. The rural folks have little power or money to resist.
- WillPostForFood 6y agoPol Pot came from a wealthy family and was educated at the top French-Cambodian schools. And actually went to Paris for schooling.
- kikokikokiko 6y agoIt's just the same that is happening today. If you want to create a socialist, send your son to Paris/London/Seattle. Send him to Cuba or Venezuela and you'll create the founder of the Next UBER.
- pnw_hazor 6y agoLots of the South Vietnam Viet Cong leaders/organizers were upper class and educated in Paris as well. Most them were kept out of power after the Communists took over. Many believed they were fighting for some kind of socialist democratic state -- they were duped by the northern Communists.
- andrenth 6y agoAnd studied under Sartre.
- refurb 6y agoThe more you dig the more amazing history gets.
- cpursley 6y agoMaybe I'm not so paranoid after all about the hints of a sort of cultural revolution going on in the US.