11 feet tall, 25 feet wide, an old-time painted panorama in Paris for a peep show there, pornography to raise money to relieve victims of war. About damn time.
On April 26, 1937, fascists bombed the town of Guernica to bits then fire-bombed the pieces and machine-gunned the women and children as they ran. Picasso began painting in May and exhibited the work from July on.
When I learned of the painting and the raid as a child around Christmas, 1972 I was told that the world was horrified at this first news of an aerial bombing of a civilian target. Better late than never.
In the Name of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” tells what happened to those of Indochine who rose up in February, 1930 for private property, the rights of assembly, and petition by rule of law under the democracy of France. Take a gander at that first paragraph.
“French planes also bombed the village of Cổ-Am in Hải-Dương province.” A Guernica 7 years avant la lettre, Cổ-Am was the site of just 1 of a good half-dozen frightful reprisals that month.
Back home, France deported those who demonstrated in Paris to call attention to the undefended air raid on a civilian target. Government explained to elected Socialists and Communists the policy of their democracy, to terrorize foreign rebels without risking troops related to voters.
It was the way of the world well before Guernica and remains the order of the day. Now we don’t even risk one pilot.
And so in Indochine the representative government of the French saw to it that no such government of the Vietnamese would ever cooperate with them in commonwealth. They killed the leader of the liberals, humiliated his movement, and pissed off the people.
Could be a bad thing, could be a good thing, might not matter one way or the other. Hy Van Luong continues Nguyễn Đắc Bằng’s tale of Sơn-Dương where the same families have remained in charge through tradition, revolution, and market economy.
This is the fifth Viet Nam letter of 5 so far on Tradition, Revolution, and Market Economy in a North Vietnamese Village, 1925-2006 by Hy Van Luong. The first had posted on April 6, 2022, the second on May 7, 2022, the third on June 8, 2022, and the fourth on July 25, 2022.
Viet Nam letters respects the property of others under paragraph 107 of United States Code Title 17. If we asked for permission it wouldn’t be criticism. We explain our fair use at length in the letter of September 12, 2022.
The colophon, directly above, of these Viet Nam letters shows the janitor speaking with poet David A. Willson on a Veterans Day.
