VLVL Rex and the BLGVN

[Joseph Tracy]

Since Pol Pot isn't mentioned explicitly in the novel I don't see how
Pynchon could be an apologist for the "killing fields." You have mentioned
this repeatedly but I still don't see why.

"Pol Pot, an enemy of the Soviet Union, also gained support from Thailand
and the US. In particular, the US and the PRC vetoed the allocation of
Cambodia's United Nations General Assembly seat to a representative of Heng
Samrin's government. Influenced by realpolitik the US directly and
indirectly supported Pol Pot, who espoused a radically revised variant of
Maoism adapted to Khmer nationalism. Envisaging a perfectly egalitarian
agrarianism, the Khmer Rouge favored a direct route to communism, thus
bypassing the intermediate stage of socialism. An autonomist, Pol Pot was
quite the opponent of Soviet orthodoxy. Because he was anti-Soviet, the
United States, Thailand and People's Republic of China considered him
preferable to the pro-Vietnamese government."
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Otto

Isn't the timing rather awkward too,  for Rex to be giving an argument relating to Pol Pot who doesn't appear as a significant leader until 1974 or 75? The action here appears to be happening several years earlier in the 1st Nixon term. At any rate Jbor's attempt to liken Ho Chi Minh  to Pol Pot  fails historically. Ho was a successful revolutionary nationalist who led the Vienamese in their fight for  freedom 1st  from French , and   then American colonialism  and military occupation.  He united  his people in the face of enormous  military power and a classic scheme to  divide and conquer..   Pol pot was a bloodthirsty idealogue who tore his  own country to shreds. 

Going back to the original argument. Why is it so strange that Pynchon's reclusiveness might be partly an attempt to keep away from the watchful eye of the U.S. Govt. Certainly his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of spying, imperial conspiracies, and persecution provide adequate reasons for avoiding attention. As for the media , why feed this trivializing beast when you can communicate with a large audience on your own terms without sacrificing personal privacy, and the freedom of almost complete anonymity. 



Joseph Tracy
brook7 at earthlink.net
Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.
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