I Am Pol Pot

[scarletghoul]

This fresh and intriguing book seems pretty cool, and I'm hoping to get a copy when I can find it at a lower price.


Friday, September 11, 2009 Fall reading: the fictional biography I Am Pol Pot


Fall is a time when many people look for new books to read. I Am Pol Pot is a historical novel that tries to intemperate the motives of the leadership of the short lived regime called Democratic Kampuchea. Most people have heard of Pol Pot, the loss of Kampuchean lives, and his movement, which was called the Khmer Rouge, by the western press. Here is a short summery of the novel:

I Am Pol Pot (http://www.amazon.com/Am-Pol-Pot-Steve-Otto/dp/0557039657/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234817813&sr=1-1)
The making of Democratic Kampuchea
A fictional autobiography
By Steve Otto (http://www.authonomy.com/Profile.aspx?userid=e5e57bcd-5002-4a20-9c97-8d5a4bf4e5da)

This novel looks at Pol Pot’s revolution, which developed as a result of the 1970s turbulence of the Vietnam War. When President Richard Nixon spread the Vietnam War to Kampuchea, (called Cambodia today) he not only caused outrage and protest at home, including the Kent State Ohio massacres, but he also threw Kampuchea into a state of civil war. His inept handling of the situation brought about one of the strangest and cruel social experiment of the 20th Century. Pol Pot ruled through a committee known for the first year only as the Ankar (organization). His name was not even spoken to the Kampuchean people for two years. His Communist Party of Kampuchea had amassed a powerful movement of disenfranchised peasants, who were loyal to him and his regime. The Residence of Phnom Penh, the city’s capital, were not so lucky. They were treated with suspicion and punishment for those considered “un-redeemable” was harsh.
This novel looks at the Cambodian revolution from inside the ruling circle. It is a depiction of the man, his ideas and his motives. He saw himself as the world’s great redeemer, while most people outside his movement saw a horror show. This is his story.


From http://polpot8.blogspot.com/ . Some excerpts can be found on the same page.

[bailey_187]

Long live brother number 1 !!!!!111!!

[MilitantAnarchist]

I guess it would be good to use for starting a bonfire, that is the only use i can see for it, i used Mein Kampf for the same thing.

P.S Fuck Pol Pot

[RHIZOMES]

Cool if I wanna know more about psuedo-communist nationalist primitivism I know where to look now thanks

[Qayin]

Pol potty

[gorillafuck]

Cool if I wanna know more about psuedo-communist nationalist primitivism I know where to look now thanks
How was it nationalist?

[Dimentio]

How was it nationalist?

In theory, it wasn't very nationalist. But in practice, the Khmer Rogue persecuted the Thai and the Vietnamese minorities inside Democratic Kampuchea.

I have heard somewhere that Pol Pot had been a disciple of Sartre.

[scarletghoul]

Yeah Pol Pot was educated in France and thats where he became leftist, so, given the time, he could well have been influenced by Sartre.

And yeah there was nationalism in the Khmer Rouge movement (its in the name lol), as there is some nationalism in most communist movements. Especially in countries which have just been under imperialist attack, and face attack from neighbouring countries.

And they weren't primitivist. That's a stupid allegation that doesnt stand up to historical fact.

[MilitantAnarchist]

Nationalism isnt exactly the worst thing about Pol Pot really... Wanting a nation to be peasants with no intellectuals, and wipeing out the disabled, and the whole racism thing... oh yea and the 2million he killed....
Sounds familiar dont it?

[scarletghoul]

haters gon hate

[bailey_187]

haters gon hate

cause pol pot got him some bathing apes

[MilitantAnarchist]

haters gon hate

fair point. everyone is entitled to a belief and an oppinion...

Keep track of mine sunshine :mad:

[Robocommie]

Man, fuck Pol Pot. If you think you're doing Communism a favor by defending his idiotic and blood-stained interpretation of revolution, you need to wise up.

Pol Pot was so fucking bad, the Vietnamese took him out. Vietnam was a REAL revolution.

[RHIZOMES]

And they weren't primitivist. That's a stupid allegation that doesnt stand up to historical fact.

Tell me why then.

I would say they're nationalist primitivists because they wanted to return to a feudalistic stage in Cambodian history, and the persecutions other comrades have mentioned. And Pol Pot's patriotic obsession with the Angkor Wat.

[spiltteeth]

I'm pretty open-minded, but does anyone know where I can get some balanced info on polpot? From what I know his whole reign was unmitigated horror, but like I say I only have heard from capitalistic sources, so I try to be open minded.

[spiltteeth]

This fresh and intriguing book seems pretty cool, and I'm hoping to get a copy when I can find it at a lower price.


From http://polpot8.blogspot.com/ . Some excerpts can be found on the same page.

Then yr defiantly gonna wanna check this out
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae191/spiltteeth/polpot1.gif

[scarletghoul]

I'm pretty open-minded, but does anyone know where I can get some balanced info on polpot? From what I know his whole reign was unmitigated horror, but like I say I only have heard from capitalistic sources, so I try to be open minded.
The Khmer Rouge was pretty crap. I'm not saying they were good, but theres so much bullshit attitudes towards them, that pol pot was just pure evil and wanted to kill everyone.
Here's a telling excerpt from the chat:

<greater_than_stalin> anyway pol pot was not just some crazy asian who loved to kill
<Onecom> lol sure he was
Its really a stupid way to look at history.

Also check this out.-
BQMyX80jCF8
3qhgmfnRJio

[Dimentio]

Yeah Pol Pot was educated in France and thats where he became leftist, so, given the time, he could well have been influenced by Sartre.

And yeah there was nationalism in the Khmer Rouge movement (its in the name lol), as there is some nationalism in most communist movements. Especially in countries which have just been under imperialist attack, and face attack from neighbouring countries.

And they weren't primitivist. That's a stupid allegation that doesnt stand up to historical fact.

No. But their economic policies were batshit insane and de-facto primitivist, as they were de-facto nationalist. The idea to empty the countryside and make everyone farmers was ludicruous and built on very weird philosophical positions.

[Ismail]

This is the best and most balanced take on Pol Pot I've seen (and it isn't pro-Pol Pot): http://www.aworldtowin.org/back_issues/1999-25/PolPot_eng25.htm


Nonetheless, Democratic Kampuchea set out to face this threat in a reactionary manner. Phnom Penh radio broadcast an appeal to "purify our armed forces, our Party and the masses of people... in defence of Cambodian territory and the Cambodian race.... One of us must kill 30 Vietnamese... two million troops would be more than enough to fight the Vietnamese, because Vietnam has only 50 million inhabitants.... We need only two million troops to crush the 50 million Vietnamese, and we would still have six million people left. We must formulate our combat line in this manner, in order to win victory."

[spiltteeth]

Yeah Pol Pot was educated in France and thats where he became leftist, so, given the time, he could well have been influenced by Sartre.

And yeah there was nationalism in the Khmer Rouge movement (its in the name lol), as there is some nationalism in most communist movements. Especially in countries which have just been under imperialist attack, and face attack from neighbouring countries.

And they weren't primitivist. That's a stupid allegation that doesnt stand up to historical fact.

I really doubt Pol Pot was influenced by Sartre, by his own account Marx was over his head, so all his marxist theory came from books by Stalin.

[Pogue]

I don't really see how this would be particularly interesting, seems a bit of a childish premise really.

[scarletghoul]

I really doubt Pol Pot was influenced by Sartre, by his own account Marx was over his head, so all his marxist theory came from books by Stalin.
The whole french student communist movement, which Pol Pot and the other KR leaders were a part of, was hugely influenced by the likes of sartre and the other french commie philosophers of the time
Certainly there would be some indirect influence at the very least

[Pogue]

The whole french student communist movement, which Pol Pot and the other KR leaders were a part of, was hugely influenced by the likes of sartre and the other french commie philosophers of the time
Certainly there would be some indirect influence at the very least

i think he was undoubtedly 'influenced', i dont think he really tookt he complexities of communist ideology on board though, judging by his subsequent actions.

[spiltteeth]

Hasn't anyone here heard the axiom "'you can't make a revolution unless you skin a couple of babies?"
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae191/spiltteeth/Vann-Nath-Paintings-14.jpg

From what I've hear the best book on Ol' Potty is 'Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare'
by Philip Short

[SocialismOrBarbarism]

Why not see what they themselves had to say?

http://geocities.com/groupstpp/study.html

I haven't really read any of it, but the idea that they were primitivists and wanted everyone to be farmers seems false.

[milk]

Tell me why then.

I would say they're nationalist primitivists because they wanted to return to a feudalistic stage in Cambodian history, and the persecutions other comrades have mentioned. And Pol Pot's patriotic obsession with the Angkor Wat.

Nationalists yes, but you're wrong on everything else.

[scarletghoul]

Hasn't anyone here heard the axiom "'you can't make a revolution unless you skin a couple of babies?"
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae191/spiltteeth/Vann-Nath-Paintings-14.jpg

From what I've hear the best book on Ol' Potty is 'Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare'
by Philip Short
Yes. I just got it for my birthday, and it seems to be awesome, though I haven't started reading it properly.

edit: wait no, my book is Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare by the same author.

[spiltteeth]

Yes. I just got it for my birthday, and it seems to be awesome, though I haven't started reading it properly.

edit: wait no, my book is Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare by the same author.

Happy birthday!

[narcomprom]

i think he was undoubtedly 'influenced', i dont think he really tookt he complexities of communist ideology on board though, judging by his subsequent actions.
isn't that what existentialism was about? "keep it simple, stupid"

[scarletghoul]

That's an interesting concept; I never thought of looking at the Khmer Rouge as an existentialist movement.

I also got I Am Pol Pot for my birthday (lol a bit of a theme this year). I will read it soon.

[fatpanda]

pol pot was an ass
but why is there no such biography or comic about suharto?he killed more than pol pot

[spiltteeth]

That's an interesting concept; I never thought of looking at the Khmer Rouge as an existentialist movement.

I also got I Am Pol Pot for my birthday (lol a bit of a theme this year). I will read it soon.

You must have a pretty cool family and friends.

If I handed people my birthday list and it had a bunch of books about Pol Pot on it, they'd probably start to worry.

[scarletghoul]

Haha. Well there was a load of other books on the list too :)

Besides they worry about me anyway, for other reasons

[Led Zeppelin]

I guess it would be good to use for starting a bonfire, that is the only use i can see for it, i used Mein Kampf for the same thing.

P.S Fuck Pol Pot

Wow, you totally bought into bourgeois propaganda haven't you? Why do you slavishly take over the bourgeois version of history instead of looking at what really happened, huh?

Pol Pot was definitely not responsible for what's attributed to him by bourgeois scholars. He wasn't even in the position of power to do all the things they say he did, so the whole premise is ludicrous!

And it's also totally..........oh wait, I just realized I'm not insane.

[Salamander 奥托]

I am Steve Otto, the person who wrote I Am Pol Pot. If you have any questions, this would be the time to ask them.