Fanons Three Stages Related To The Indigenous People Of Chiapas :: essays research papers

Fanons Three Stages Related to the Indigenous People of Chiapas     The passage Shadows of Tender Fury by Subcom humansder Marcos of theZapatista Army explains that the mass of Chiapas are currently facing a periodof revolution. The Zapatista army (consisting of Chiapian campesinos) has risento combat the intolerant system of oppression by the Mexican government and has seek to create a better lifestyle for the campesinos of Chiapas. FrantzFanons three acts to national culture assimilation, self discovery, andrevolution, relate to the struggle of the campesinos of Chiapas. In the last500 years, the indigenous mess of Chiapas have faced all three of Fanansstages during their struggle for the development of a national culture.     Five-hundred years ago when the first Europeans came in contact with theMayan Indians, the first stage of Fanons theory, assimilation, beganformalizing. Throughout history the colonisers of Mexico were moretechnolo gically advanced than the natives. The Europeans had guns, cannons andmassive ships. Not only did these possessions enable them to have greater bruteforce, but it took the white man to the level of the gods in the eyes of thenatives. The colonizers could easily take advantage of this reverence. Fanonstates "The effect consciously sought by colonialism was to drive into thenatives heads the idea that if the settlers were to leave, they would at once number back into barbarism, degradation, and bestiality."(Fanon 211) Thecolonizers, believing the natives were savages that needed enlightenment, forcedEuropean culture upon them. The Europeans believed that to assimilate thenatives to European culture was to help them progress. Therefore, to return tothe old ways would have been regressing. When the natives objected to theforced assimilation, the colonizers smothered the rebellious efforts withstronger, more lethal weapons. Fanon compares the colonizer to a mother whorestrains h er "perverse" child so that he will not commit suicide.(Fanon 211)The relation implies that the colonized must be protected (by the colonizer) fromself-destruction. In the minds of the European colonizers, this idea ofprotection justified forcing assimulation onto the natives.Although the native campesinos (the poor people of Chiapas) haventfully assimulated, they have follow particular aspects of European and presentday Mexican culture. The campesinos have learned the Spanish language andjoined the catholic religion. An example of Fanons first phase is when thecolonizer tries to calm the angry, poor and exploited colonized people bypromising social reform.(Fanon 207) These reforms promise things such asemployment, welfare and education. According to Fanon, the government rarelyfollows through with pledged social reform. They find it easier to simply