Comments on: Angkor: Built with the blood of slaves for your tourism pleasure http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/ Khmer food, restaurant reviews and recipes served to you from Phnom Penh by Phil Lees Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:38:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Maytel http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10857 Maytel Sat, 27 Jan 2007 09:19:20 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10857 Yes, we can and those cow's ain't yet home, but I suspect chickens may be on their way home to roost. Not to be an apologist for Khmer culture (not that they need one) but I personally believe it is naive to put Khmer attitudes towards Vietnamese and Thai as simply a case of racism. No doubt that Khmer fears about the Vietnamese and Thai are exploited by popularist politicians, but to a country and a people who came very close to complete nihiliation due, in large part, to outside geopolitical meddling it is perhaps not surprising that it continues to instil a large degree of hysteria. I'm not arguing that such attitudes are justified on the grounds of subsistence or autonomy and niether on the basis of perserving the present status quo, but I do believe that they go beyond what we in the west merely understand as racism and instead fall squarly in the realm of longstanding historical grievances. Grievances of the Khmer people that by all appearances look set to continue, rightly or wrongly and whether we the "enlightened westerners" agree with it or not. Yes, we can and those cow’s ain’t yet home, but I suspect chickens may be on their way home to roost. Not to be an apologist for Khmer culture (not that they need one) but I personally believe it is naive to put Khmer attitudes towards Vietnamese and Thai as simply a case of racism. No doubt that Khmer fears about the Vietnamese and Thai are exploited by popularist politicians, but to a country and a people who came very close to complete nihiliation due, in large part, to outside geopolitical meddling it is perhaps not surprising that it continues to instil a large degree of hysteria. I’m not arguing that such attitudes are justified on the grounds of subsistence or autonomy and niether on the basis of perserving the present status quo, but I do believe that they go beyond what we in the west merely understand as racism and instead fall squarly in the realm of longstanding historical grievances. Grievances of the Khmer people that by all appearances look set to continue, rightly or wrongly and whether we the “enlightened westerners” agree with it or not.

]]> By: Sary Em http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10848 Sary Em Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:24:30 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10848 We can debate about the Khmers current mentality until the cow come home and it would be all interesting. But when I read your quote about the dehumanization of slave who built those Khmer temples, I wonder whether I should feel guilty for having both visited Angkor Wat and Rome. Should the current day Italians also feel guilty every time they use water that the aquaduct brought and benefit from million of touists? Should we dismiss the Roman civilization and Pax Romana also? We can debate about the Khmers current mentality until the cow come home and it would be all interesting. But when I read your quote about the dehumanization of slave who built those Khmer temples, I wonder whether I should feel guilty for having both visited Angkor Wat and Rome. Should the current day Italians also feel guilty every time they use water that the aquaduct brought and benefit from million of touists? Should we dismiss the Roman civilization and Pax Romana also?

]]> By: Erik Davis http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10832 Erik Davis Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:33:42 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10832 Hey Phil, Thanks for the nod: as a student of religion who's obsessed with the production of food in culture, it's great to have such an excellent page as yours take note. I think that Caroline Hughes' article, noted by Maytel above, BTW, is an excellent one. I do have concerns that by basing her analysis so firmly in the representation sphere of politics, she tends to miss the fact that it is precisely in the representational political sphere that rabid anti-Vietnamese sentiment is produced and sustained. While there is a shocking degree of anti-Vietnamese feeling in Cambodia, at all levels of society, it rapidly becomes clear that those who can argue a rationale for it do so on the basis of subsistence and autonomy, and that those who resort to merely racist arguments tend to do so on the basis of preserving personal, familial, or political privilege and power. Hey Phil, Thanks for the nod: as a student of religion who’s obsessed with the production of food in culture, it’s great to have such an excellent page as yours take note. I think that Caroline Hughes’ article, noted by Maytel above, BTW, is an excellent one. I do have concerns that by basing her analysis so firmly in the representation sphere of politics, she tends to miss the fact that it is precisely in the representational political sphere that rabid anti-Vietnamese sentiment is produced and sustained. While there is a shocking degree of anti-Vietnamese feeling in Cambodia, at all levels of society, it rapidly becomes clear that those who can argue a rationale for it do so on the basis of subsistence and autonomy, and that those who resort to merely racist arguments tend to do so on the basis of preserving personal, familial, or political privilege and power.

]]> By: Maytel http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10824 Maytel Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:15:19 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10824 Besides which, maybe their fears are not unfounded, the continual stripping of Cambodia's natural resources, of its forest, of the paddy that floods across the borders, pushing up the price of bran, it does sometimes seem as though Cambodia's natural endowments and productive resource base is slowly but surely slipping away from them. For a people who collectively have so little, I'm not surprised that even the slightest news of border or water agreements between Thailand or Vietnam instills what we might consider overly neurotic responses. Besides which, maybe their fears are not unfounded, the continual stripping of Cambodia’s natural resources, of its forest, of the paddy that floods across the borders, pushing up the price of bran, it does sometimes seem as though Cambodia’s natural endowments and productive resource base is slowly but surely slipping away from them. For a people who collectively have so little, I’m not surprised that even the slightest news of border or water agreements between Thailand or Vietnam instills what we might consider overly neurotic responses.

]]> By: Maytel http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10822 Maytel Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:08:30 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10822 Further to the subject of Khmer national anxiety over their ongoing existence check out an article by Caroline Hughes entitled "Khmer Land, Khmer Soul: Sam Rainsy, Populism, and the Problem of Seeing Cambodia" In her view, such sentiments as expressed above are pandered to by popularist politicians who play on Cambodian's very real fears that Cambodia is in very real danger of slipping into non-existence, with the assistance of the current regime and especially given their recent border agreements. It is a vexatious issue for all Cambodians, beyond what I believe most of us comprehend. Further to the subject of Khmer national anxiety over their ongoing existence check out an article by Caroline Hughes entitled “Khmer Land, Khmer Soul: Sam Rainsy, Populism, and the Problem of Seeing Cambodia”

In her view, such sentiments as expressed above are pandered to by popularist politicians who play on Cambodian’s very real fears that Cambodia is in very real danger of slipping into non-existence, with the assistance of the current regime and especially given their recent border agreements. It is a vexatious issue for all Cambodians, beyond what I believe most of us comprehend.

]]> By: Lord Playboy http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10807 Lord Playboy Fri, 26 Jan 2007 01:55:14 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10807 To quote Lady Playboy ‘Yuon no good, yuon steal everything’ and that is before she gets onto the heated subject of Tom Yam Soup ‘Siam no go, Siam want to take everything from Cambodia, Siam no good. Tom Yam food Khmer!!!’ Bless her little cotton socks. To quote Lady Playboy
‘Yuon no good, yuon steal everything’

and that is before she gets onto the heated subject of Tom Yam Soup

‘Siam no go, Siam want to take everything from Cambodia, Siam no good. Tom Yam food Khmer!!!’

Bless her little cotton socks.

]]> By: Phil http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10805 Phil Fri, 26 Jan 2007 01:42:23 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10805 Sorry - Link is http://leahbowe.com/deathpower/2006/12/01/remembered-villages-imagined-communities/ Sorry – Link is http://leahbowe.com/deathpower/2006/12/01/remembered-villages-imagined-communities/

]]> By: manur http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/khmer/angkor-built-with-the-blood-of-slaves-for-your-tourism-pleasure/#comment-10801 manur Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:52:10 +0000 http://www.phnomenon.com/?p=166#comment-10801 Quite interesting. What's the exact url for the post you quote ?.. I can't find it. Thanks. Quite interesting. What’s the exact url for the post you quote ?.. I can’t find it.
Thanks.

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