I'M NOT CAMBODIAN

How would I feel if I were a Cambodian who read the latest biography of Pol Pot, in the which the author, a Brit, basically labels the Khmer race as lazy and lackluster workers, in addition to having the unfortunate luck of being stuck in a country that resembles a broken vase, ruled by a murderous thug, its future pale and uncertain?

I probably wouldn't be pleased. I would, most likely, be ticked off.

But I'm not Cambodian. I'm Canadian, which means I bring my own, western perspective to works of history and politics, culture and literature.

It's funny. I liked living in Japan, but I knew that I would never want to be Japanese; I enjoy Cambodia, too, but I can't imagine being a living and breather Khmer person, citizen, dude.

Is it even possible to think of ourselves as a race other than our own? Is it even relevant?

Yea to the first, nay to the second. Books on Japan by non-Japanese will always be from an outside perspective, one that may understand the culture, yes, but won't be of the culture.
This can be an asset; it can allow the author a distanced perspective that provides the possibility for clear-eyed, large-scale thinking, seeing the trends and patterns that natives of the country might miss.

There's a danger, however, in applying attitudes of certainty, no matter how well researched, to entire countries and races. I'm not saying the judgements shouldn't be made. (Maybe a definition of being human could be 'a creature that is able to judge others'.) They have to be viewed, however, with a certain discretion and skepticism.

So, by all means, if you're interested in a fascinating area of recent history that you might not know much about, pick up Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare by Philip Short. It's a very brisk, readable overview of the man and the era. I agree with most of what he says, and how he says it.

But as the author himself pointed out in a recent letter to the Phnom Penh Post, it's up to the Cambodian people themselves to judge his work -- it's their country, after all.

As I said, I agreed with Short's conclusions and general outlook on the country and its future.

But I'm not Cambodian.