“Some time ago I wrote a book about one of the great crimes of the last 150 years: the conquest and exploitation of the Congo by King Leopold II of Belgium. When King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa was published, I thought I had found all the major characters in that brutal patch of history. But a few weeks ago I realized that I had left one out: Tarzan. Let me explain. Although a documentary film based on my book did appear, I often imagined what Hollywood might do with such a story.”

That’s the source of the butt-hurt, isn’t it, Hochschild? Nobody paid you for using an historical event, did they? I purchased and read your book several years ago. Why? Because of Conrad, but also because of Drake’s “Than Curse the Darkness” and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

ERB was quite aware of the Belgian atrocities. The movie is not only “anachronistic” in regard to what happened in the Congo, but also in the timeline established by Burroughs. It was Tarzan’s father in Tarzan of the Apes who was going to investigate crimes in the African interior. Tarzan would later fight against exploitative Europeans and Americans. Of course, you don’t know that.

Before you drag your intersectional bullshit and narcissistic whining into the discussion, you might want to research a few things yourself.

The Black Man’s Burden

What a mean-spirited, ill-informed rant. As an American of mostly Irish descent, I was an Anglophobe for well over a decade. Then I started doing some deep research (and met a few Englishmen). Having left the shallow prejudices of my youth behind (and having studied the BREXIT/EU question), there is no doubt in my mind that the UK should leave if they want to keep their sovereignty and culture. For Margolis to praise the autocratic monstrosity that is the EU is the final straw that breaks the back of his credibility for me. I’ll be skipping in any further screeds from you, Eric, and will advise everyone else to do so as well.

PS: The USA would like the Brits to leave?!? I don’t think Obama showing up to brow-beat the Brits was a charade. The US elites love the EU. It’s what they aspire to. Immigrants pouring in for no discernible benefit (to the non-elite) and rule by fiat.

Go publish your twaddle on the Daily Kos, you bitter, old man.