[Sca-cooks] Fw: Response to Crusades and cannibalism

[Phlip]

More from Paul Buell, after I forwarded over Ana's response....

Phlip


> Also, you audience should be aware that cannibalism is a HUGE area of PC
> conflict in anthropology. See, as a starter, Marvin Harris, The Rise of
> Anthropological Theory. Part of the problem is that Philip II of Spain
> allowed Indians to be killed if they killed whitemen or ate people.
> Therefore conquistadors and others had a vested interest in showing that
the
> locals ate people. So some, believing in the myth of noble savages and
evil
> Spanish and other conquerors, have claimed that many reports of
cannibalism
> are just slander of the locals by people wanting to enslave them. However,
> the preponderance of the evidence right now is that New World Native
> Americans DID eat people. And the practice occurred from time to time
> elsewhere as well. The bottom line is that you are not going to get an
> honest, open discussion of the topic today because asserting that people
> eating was common will get you jumped on in a big way in academic circles,
> maybe fired, if you don't have tenure. Sad, but these are the times we
live
> in. Paul
>
> PS: Go ahead and post this too, if you want. I have followed the
controversy
> for years, so I am somewhat informed. Chinese sources, by the way too,
like
> to point out that enemies and bad guys eat people meat, minced human liver
> being a particular delicacy, if we believe the Zhuangzi (Robber Zhi).