anybody researching on the Philippine-American War is bound to stumble upon this cartoon depicting the gruesome reprisals of the Americans for the Balangiga Massacre in Samar. (Sept. 28, 1901)
Here's the description courtesy of wikipedia.org:
"General Jacob H. Smith's infamous order "KILL EVERYONE OVER TEN" was the caption in the New York Journal cartoon on May 5, 1902. The Old Glory draped an American shield on which a vulture replaced the bald eagle. The bottom caption exclaimed, "Criminals Because They Were Born Ten Years Before We Took the Philippines." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balangiga_massacre"
All this time I keep hearing Ma'am Diokno's voice in my mind saying: "Historians should be objective!" hahaha But I can't help it -- any Filipino couldn't help but feel outraged when confronted with this image. Oh well, there's always a way out -- if you feel you cannot be objective in your historical writing, either stop writing your essay and move on to more "neutral" topics OR continue with the essay but make it clear to the reader where you're coming from (i.e. state from the beginning your bias but don't twist the evidence to support your assumptions -- historical objectivity with a caveat 'ika nga)
Anyway, it is only here in my blog that i'll be "subjective" and "emotional". In my report I will be presenting both sides of this sordid affair and hopefully come up with a more "sober" conclusion in the class discussion. But still...
I already finished finalizing my notes for my report on thursday. The finale will be a presentation of the photo above. (I can just imagine my classmates' reactions to this...) Wish me luck...
Stand Alone 1.25
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