{"id":6307,"date":"2016-02-16T23:27:24","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T04:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=6307"},"modified":"2018-08-24T14:20:25","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T18:20:25","slug":"tuesday-february-16-2016-juniper-and-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=6307","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday, February 16, 2016 \u2014 Juniper and Bones"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can\u00adnot smell juniper with\u00adout think\u00ading of small bones. I have very strong smell mem\u00ado\u00adries, some\u00adtimes stronger than visu\u00adal mem\u00ado\u00adries. I can still call up in my mind the smell of the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the myr\u00adi\u00adad smells of dif\u00adfer\u00adent deserts, the scents of tama\u00adrack and black spruce as you get near the W\u00eenip\u00e2kw, the smells of the blessed neem trees in Kano, the spring lilacs in Cana\u00addi\u00adan towns, the com\u00adfort\u00ading scents of fresh\u00adly-sawn lum\u00adber, the many smells of snow in dif\u00adfer\u00adent settings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hold that thought, for I must digress.<\/span><\/p>\n

I just re-read Edgar Pangborn\u2019s A Mir\u00adror for Observers<\/em> for the eighth time. The only oth\u00ader nov\u00adel I\u2019ve read as many times is Lewis Carroll\u2019s Through the Look\u00ading Glass<\/em>. Reg\u00adu\u00adlar reread\u00adings of Carroll\u2019s mas\u00adter\u00adpiece would not sur\u00adprise any\u00adone \u2014 I\u2019m sure there are peo\u00adple who have read it dozens of times \u2014 but you might find it puz\u00adzling that I would give equal loy\u00adal\u00adty to a sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion nov\u00adel writ\u00adten in 1954, by an author who was respect\u00aded in his day, but nev\u00ader a high-pro\u00adfile celebri\u00adty in the field. A Mir\u00adror for Observers<\/em> is not even his best known book (though it is his best). I read the book in child\u00adhood, and it imprint\u00aded itself on my mind so vivid\u00adly that I hard\u00adly need\u00aded to reread it, for I could play out every scene in my mind at will. But, at reg\u00adu\u00adlar inter\u00advals through\u00adout a life\u00adtime, I have read it with full attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edgar Pang\u00adborn was an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan writer who went to Har\u00advard at the age of fif\u00adteen, then trained at the New Eng\u00adland Con\u00adser\u00adva\u00adto\u00adry with the inten\u00adtion of becom\u00ading a con\u00adcert pianist and com\u00adpos\u00ader, but end\u00aded up writ\u00ading pulp fic\u00adtion. In the 1950\u2019s and 1960\u2019s, he wrote a series of sto\u00adries and nov\u00adels that were well-received, but prob\u00ada\u00adbly had more impact on the next gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion of writ\u00aders in the field than on the gen\u00ader\u00adal read\u00ader\u00adship. He lived much of his life reclu\u00adsive\u00adly in Bearsville, New York, a tiny ham\u00adlet in the Adiron\u00addack moun\u00adtains, and died in 1976. His best known work was the nov\u00adel Davy<\/em> (1964), a fine work. But A Mir\u00adror for Observers<\/em> did not always remain in print, and I had var\u00adi\u00adous crum\u00adbling paper\u00adback copies until it was re-issued in hard\u00adcov\u00ader in 2004.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why am I so devot\u00aded to this low-pro\u00adfile book, and why did I reread it this time?<\/span><\/p>\n

Some recent events, both pub\u00adlic and per\u00adson\u00adal, have forced me to think about things that I expe\u00adri\u00adenced decades ago, which I have nev\u00ader been able to prop\u00ader\u00adly artic\u00adu\u00adlate, but which will be quite under\u00adstandible to those who know me. A Mir\u00adror for Observers<\/em> address\u00ades the moral issues these events embody. The book is about, among oth\u00ader things, per\u00adson\u00adal respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty for pub\u00adlic, col\u00adlec\u00adtive evil. Pang\u00adborn was unusu\u00adal\u00adly sen\u00adsi\u00adtive to this issue, as few writ\u00aders have been. Look at the parade of renowned writ\u00aders and artists who have kissed the ass\u00ades of tyrants and devot\u00aded their skills to pro\u00adpa\u00adgan\u00addiz\u00ading for Con\u00adser\u00advatism, Com\u00admu\u00adnism, Fas\u00adcism, and all the oth\u00ader Isms that have unleashed suf\u00adfer\u00ading and hor\u00adror on the human race! Pang\u00adborn was absent from that gib\u00adber\u00ading and scream\u00ading crowd, and he could elo\u00adquent\u00adly express why. The \u201cmir\u00adror\u201d in the nov\u00adel is an archae\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal arti\u00adfact, a bronze hand mir\u00adror from the ancient Aegean. He under\u00adstood that the issues are old, and that one must look into a mir\u00adror to solve them. But much as I take plea\u00adsure in reread\u00ading that fine book, since the 1980\u2019s, I could not read it with\u00adout the smell of juniper obtrud\u00ading in my mind. So to read A Mir\u00adror for Observers<\/em> is, for me, a strange mix\u00adture of com\u00adfort and dis\u00adcom\u00adfort, famil\u00adiar\u00adi\u00adty and alien\u00adation, all keyed to my expe\u00adri\u00adence, and the smell of juniper.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t wax nos\u00adtal\u00adgic when I smell juniper. Juniper makes me angry, bit\u00adter, and for\u00adlorn. The mem\u00ado\u00adry of it leaps up and spoils things for me at odd times. When I was in Ice\u00adland, for instance, I care\u00adful\u00adly avoid\u00aded going to the H\u00f6f\u00f0i. The H\u00f6f\u00f0i is a house in Reik\u00adjavik that is pro\u00admot\u00aded as one of the city\u2019s tourist sites. It\u2019s noth\u00ading more than a rather nice house built in 1909, but Reik\u00adjavik has few old build\u00adings, and even few\u00ader things with inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance, so the fact that Ronald Rea\u00adgan and Mikhael Gor\u00adbachev held their sum\u00admit meet\u00ading there in 1986 looms large in the local imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion. Any\u00adone who is dumb enough to think that the Sovi\u00adet Empire col\u00adlapsed because of the actions of Rea\u00adgan no doubt would be inter\u00adest\u00aded. But I avoid\u00aded it, and had no inter\u00adest in set\u00adting foot in it. I have always held a spe\u00adcial con\u00adtempt and hatred for Ronald Rea\u00adgan. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, the H\u00f6f\u00f0i is on the water\u00adfront of Reik\u00adjavik, dra\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly vis\u00adi\u00adble from Bor\u00adgart\u00fan and only four short blocks from the main drag of Lau\u00adgave\u00adg\u00adur, so it is imposi\u00adble to avoid pass\u00ading it if you spend any time in the town. They say that there\u2019s a ghost in the H\u00f6f\u00f0i. It sup\u00adpos\u00aded\u00adly came into the hands of Ice\u00adlandic Gov\u00adern\u00adment because the pre\u00advi\u00adous own\u00ader, the British Con\u00adsul, was dri\u00adven out by her haunt\u00ading. But for me the ghosts were more numer\u00adous, and less charm\u00ading. The H\u00f6f\u00f0i reeked of invis\u00adi\u00adble juniper, mak\u00ading me think of Guata\u00admala. No place could be less like Ice\u00adland than Guatamala.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cen\u00adtral Guata\u00admala is a maze of undu\u00adlat\u00ading hills, with very steep sides descend\u00ading into u\u2011shaped val\u00adleys. The low\u00adest land is cleared, farmed and dot\u00adted with scruffy bar\u00adil\u00adlas<\/em> of flim\u00adsy hous\u00ades with dark rust-brown cor\u00adru\u00adgat\u00aded met\u00adal roofs. But the hills are forest\u00aded with a mix\u00adture of pine and juniper called huitales<\/em> by the locals. Very fra\u00adgrent. The hills once held many vil\u00adlages, but most are now aban\u00addoned. In the hill coun\u00adtry, Span\u00adish is sel\u00addom heard. The peo\u00adple speak a dozen or so lan\u00adguages, among them Kiche, Kakchikel, Mam, Poco\u00admam, Pocom\u00adchi, Ixil, Kekchi, Saka\u00adpul\u00adtek, Kan\u00adjobal, etc., relat\u00aded, but mutu\u00adal\u00adly unin\u00adtel\u00adli\u00adble. In the coun\u00adtry\u00adside, most peo\u00adple are nom\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly Catholics, but pre\u00adserve a deep core of ancient Mayan reli\u00adgion. The cities, and the upper class\u00ades, how\u00adev\u00ader, are pre\u00addom\u00adi\u00adnant\u00adly fol\u00adlow\u00aders of Evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal and Pen\u00adta\u00adcostal Protes\u00adtant church\u00ades that orig\u00adi\u00adnate in the U.S.A. The country\u2019s spo\u00adradic attempts to func\u00adtion as a democ\u00adra\u00adcy have sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, over many decades, been sab\u00ado\u00adtaged by the C.I.A., which has time and again staged coups and installed blood\u00adthirsty and cor\u00adrupt dic\u00adta\u00adtors, usu\u00adal\u00adly to please the finan\u00adcial inter\u00adests of the Unit\u00aded Fruit Com\u00adpa\u00adny and oth\u00ader glob\u00adal cor\u00adpo\u00adrate pow\u00aders. These dic\u00adta\u00adtors waged con\u00adstant war against the poor\u00adest and the most help\u00adless. By far the most cor\u00adrupt and blood\u00adthirsty of these mon\u00adsters was Jos\u00e9 Efra\u00edn R\u00edos Montt. R\u00edos Montt, an ardent Pen\u00adta\u00adcostal who was a lay preach\u00ader in the Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia-based Church of the Word, announced that \u201cthe<\/em> true Chris\u00adt\u00adian has the Bible in one hand and a machine gun in the oth\u00ader<\/em>,\u201d and com\u00admand\u00aded hor\u00adrors iden\u00adti\u00adcal to those of the most bru\u00adtal Com\u00admu\u00adnist regimes \u2014 in the name of \u201canti-Com\u00admu\u00adnism.\u201d His regime, of course, was in all ways absolute\u00adly iden\u00adti\u00adcal to a Com\u00admu\u00adnist dic\u00adta\u00adtor\u00adship, except in name<\/em>. In rur\u00adal soci\u00adeties, the peas\u00adantry are the back\u00adbone of resis\u00adtance to total\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan dic\u00adta\u00adtor\u00adships, which are usu\u00adal\u00adly cre\u00adat\u00aded by city-bred elites. Just as the Khmer Rouge, Mao, Lenin and Stal\u00adin strove to break their peas\u00adantries with mass exe\u00adcu\u00adtions, mass depor\u00adta\u00adtions, and planned famines, R\u00edos Montt over\u00adsaw a planned pro\u00adgram of geno\u00adcide. More than three quar\u00adters of the vic\u00adtims were eth\u00adnic Maya, the rest Span\u00adish-speak\u00ading ladi\u00adno<\/em> peas\u00adants, who were, in R\u00edos Montt\u2019s sys\u00adtem of racial clas\u00adsi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion, only slight\u00adly above the Maya.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the method, dubbed Operaci\u00f3n Ceniza<\/em>: The Gov\u00adern\u00adment forces would sur\u00adround a vil\u00adlage, then con\u00adduct house-to-house search\u00ades. First, all females between puber\u00adty and the age of twen\u00adty were sep\u00ada\u00adrat\u00aded out and repeat\u00aded\u00adly gang-raped. Then, usu\u00adal\u00adly, their arms and legs where bro\u00adken so that they would suf\u00adfer to the max\u00adi\u00admum degree when they were lat\u00ader exe\u00adcut\u00aded. At first, many adult men fled into the for\u00adest, think\u00ading that their fam\u00adi\u00adlies would remain unharmed, until expe\u00adri\u00adence taught them bet\u00adter. Those who were round\u00aded up usu\u00adal\u00adly were forced to wit\u00adness wives, daugh\u00adters, and often their moth\u00aders gang-raped, then tor\u00adtured and exe\u00adcut\u00aded. The elder\u00adly were par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly sub\u00adject\u00aded to tor\u00adture, but the fiercest sav\u00adagery was saved for small chil\u00addren. These were usu\u00adal\u00adly clubbed to death with batons (sup\u00adplied by the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan tax\u00adpay\u00ader) or burnt alive. Most of the remain\u00ading men, after being forced to dump the shat\u00adtered corpses of their fam\u00adi\u00adlies into hasti\u00adly dug pits or ditch\u00ades, were then herd\u00aded into huts and either machine-gunned or blown to bits with hand-grenades. In the west\u00adern high\u00adlands, in the area of Hue\u00adhueten\u00adgo, for exam\u00adple, this was done in more than six hun\u00addred vil\u00adlages. The moun\u00adtains still have many emp\u00adty villages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bod\u00adies decay quick\u00adly in hot, moist cli\u00admates and bones dis\u00adsolve in Guatamala\u2019s luvi\u00adso\u00adlic for\u00adest soil. But in 1984, there were still plen\u00adty of aban\u00addoned vil\u00adlages sur\u00adround\u00aded by trench\u00ades and hum\u00admocks of vis\u00adi\u00adbly dis\u00adturbed soil, dec\u00ado\u00adrat\u00aded with the frag\u00adments of thou\u00adsands of children\u2019s bones. Usu\u00adal\u00adly, there was the smell of juniper. Vil\u00adlagers would say noth\u00ading, even if they could speak Span\u00adish. Men\u00adtion\u00ading these events to out\u00adsiders would quick\u00adly lead to \u201cdis\u00adap\u00adpear\u00ading.\u201d But it was essen\u00adtial that each vil\u00adlage have sur\u00advivors, and where it was uncer\u00adtain that enough men had fled into the for\u00adest, some were spared on pur\u00adpose. That was part of the pol\u00adi\u00adcy. You can\u2019t spread ter\u00adror unless every\u00adone knows. There was also a sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adic pro\u00adgram of scorched earth. Crops were burned, roads to mar\u00adkets sealed, all food con\u00adtrolled. Those who sub\u00admit\u00adted meek\u00adly, and hand\u00aded over their youth for brain\u00adwash\u00ading in the mili\u00adtias, might get the hand\u00adful of dried beans nec\u00ades\u00adsary to avoid star\u00adva\u00adtion. \u201cFri\u00adjoles y fusiles\u201d<\/em> R\u00edos Montt called it.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the doc\u00adtrine of Operaci\u00f3n Ceniza<\/em>, deter\u00admined not in Guata\u00admala, but by those who had trained the sol\u00addiers and death squads in spe\u00adcial camps in the Unit\u00aded States, who paid for every\u00adthing, and who had planned and orga\u00adnized every step of the oper\u00ada\u00adtion: the Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion of Ronald Rea\u00adgan. Rea\u00adgan per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly overode Con\u00adgress in order to dis\u00adpatch mil\u00adlions of dol\u00adlars worth of heli\u00adcopters, arms, and amu\u00adni\u00adtion to R\u00edos Montt. Many mil\u00adlions more were hand\u00aded over in secret. Vis\u00adit\u00ading the dic\u00adta\u00adtor in 1982, Rea\u00adgan anounced that the mass-mur\u00adder\u00ader was \u201ca man of great per\u00adson\u00adal integri\u00adty and com\u00admit\u00adment.\u201d And R\u00edos Montt was only one of a long list<\/em> of mass-mur\u00adder\u00ading mon\u00adsters that Rea\u00adgan cul\u00adti\u00advat\u00aded, financed, pub\u00adlicly praised, and loved to be seen with socially.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this hor\u00adror was com\u00adplet\u00aded by the time the Repub\u00adli\u00adcan Nation\u00adal Con\u00adven\u00adtion ush\u00adered in Rea\u00adgan\u2019s sec\u00adond term. The Rea\u00adgan Rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion was tri\u00adumphant in the Unit\u00aded States, and even his strongest polit\u00adi\u00adcal oppo\u00adnents bab\u00adbled inane\u00adly about what a gosh-darn love\u00adable fel\u00adlow he was. Nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless, the Rea\u00adgan Rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u2019s march\u00ading men required the ser\u00advices of a vast num\u00adber of pros\u00adti\u00adtutes, hus\u00adtlers and drug deal\u00aders to keep up their morale. That\u2019s when I got to know quite a few Repub\u00adli\u00adcan Par\u00adty offi\u00adcials, some of them fair\u00adly high up the lad\u00adder. In the strip joints and bars, they were not par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly secre\u00adtive about their views, and about what they knew. \u201cFam\u00adi\u00adly Val\u00adues\u201d Repub\u00adli\u00adcans were noto\u00adri\u00adous among the hook\u00aders and hus\u00adtlers. \u201cSome of them are real sick\u00ados,\u201d one lad told me, \u201cI mean, not just guys out for some fun, I mean real dis\u00adgust\u00ading per\u00adverts.\u201d When\u00adev\u00ader I talked to some of these exem\u00adplars of Repub\u00adli\u00adcan Fam\u00adi\u00adly Val\u00adues, the self-styled \u201crev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adar\u00adies\u201d of the Con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive move\u00adment, the same pat\u00adtern repeat\u00aded itself: after drink #1, absolute denial that any attroc\u00adi\u00adties had occurred in Guata\u00admala, it was all just lies told by \u201cpinkos\u201d and \u201cleft\u00adists\u201d and \u201cdirty hip\u00adpies\u201d; by drink #4, yeah, nudge-nudge wink-wink, sure of course there were attroc\u00adi\u00adties, can\u2019t be helped if some of \u201cour friends\u201d get car\u00adried away; after drink #6 it was a dif\u00adfer\u00adent sto\u00adry. Killing women and chil\u00addren was a jol\u00adly good thing. \u201cBest thing in the world. Exter\u00admi\u00adnate the lit\u00adtle nig\u00adgers,\u201d was how one coke-snort\u00ading slob put it.<\/span><\/p>\n

That taught me every\u00adthing I need\u00aded to know about the Con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive move\u00adment, just as inten\u00adsive study of the past, read\u00ading all of Karl Marx\u2019s dis\u00adgust\u00ading racist and geno\u00adci\u00addal writ\u00adings, and some ter\u00adri\u00adfy\u00ading expe\u00adri\u00adences in Africa had taught me what I need\u00aded to know about the Com\u00admu\u00adnist move\u00adment. Among oth\u00ader things, that they were the same thing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u00adnot smell juniper with\u00adout think\u00ading of small bones. I have very strong smell mem\u00ado\u00adries, some\u00adtimes stronger than visu\u00adal mem\u00ado\u00adries. I can still call up in my mind the smell of the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the myriad \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,949],"tags":[1167,1019,1160,1166,1173,1170,1172,1164,1162,1169,1171,1161,1168,1174,1165,1163],"class_list":["post-6307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog","category-ak-blog-2016","tag-church-of-the-word","tag-dictators","tag-edgar-pangborn","tag-efrain-rios-montt","tag-family-values","tag-frijoles-y-fusiles","tag-genocide","tag-guatamala","tag-hofdi","tag-huehuetengo","tag-mass-murder","tag-mirror-for-observers","tag-operacion-ceniza","tag-republican-party","tag-rios-montt","tag-ronald-reagan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6307"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7416,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6307\/revisions\/7416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}