Monday, May 12, 2014

Colonizers are Modernizers

An anthropologist acquaintance points out:
Double standards of animal abuse for indigenous peoples and majority peoples. When the Bunun indigenous people have a pig catching contest, the state forbids it, labeling it as animal abuse. When the Han Taiwanese fatten up pigs beyond belief for temple sacrifices, they call it culture and promote it.
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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very true. Modernity is often the weapon of choice for the colonizer as it can allow them to perpetrate a bloodless genocide; often turning the object of colonial desire into the foot soldier. When a regime controls access to mobility, self-colonization often is the result. Taiwan has a rich history of this phenomenon, not only in the past with the acculturation and assimilation of the indigenous peoples, but more recently with the current ROC regime that uses points of contact with the state to promote its colonizing project under the guise of "modernity" and "nation building". The colonial era is mistakenly presumed to have ended with Japan's exit in 1945. If one examines the structures of a colonial enterprise, it is evident that Taiwan has yet to achieve post-coloniality.

Anonymous said...

The fat pigs in Taiwan is a Hakka tradition. They make up about 15-20% of the population so hardly a majority, unless you also count the Hoklo speakers that many experts to be descended from the original Hakka settlers.

Michael Turton said...

I think you've kinda missed the point there, anon at 11 AM.

les said...

Pretty soon our culture will be 'modernized' with behavior like spitting, public urination and smoking everywhere and anywhere becoming 'cool'. Half the entertainment industry is willing to brown-nose China for the crumbs off the table, so they'll be more than happy to help spread the word.

Anonymous said...

les, don't forget the new dog & cat meat hotpot restaurants soon to open in the Taiwan province. Snake alley may even have live civet cat skinning demos for China tourists to make them feel at home.

Readin said...

@anon. I could be wrong but don't the KMT clump both Hakka and Hoklo together as Han for colonial purposes?