History on Fire
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Episode 98: Machine Gun Blues
🕑 Added 2023-04-17 18:30:25 +0000 UTC“No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full.” Lucius Cornelius Sulla
“Around four o’clock on that Monday afternoon of the thirteenth, with a light rain falling, the bandits attacked. To the sound of a trumpet—for Lampiao did things in style—and the rumble of thunder in the cloudy sky, the outlaws entered the city, on foot and divided into groups.” Billy Jaynes Chandler
“The first step toward becoming a true outlaw is the refusal to be victimized.” Tom Robbins
This is the tale of the most famous outlaw operating in Brazil in the early 1900s. Much like the Old West in the 1800s in U.S., the backcountry of North-Eastern Brazil was a rough place where disputes were often settled with guns. Extreme wealth inequality, and a lack of opportunities to climb out of poverty, pushed many people toward criminality. Lampiao was the most legendary of them all. After turning to banditry in 1916, Lampiao led a gang that battled with rivals and with the police all the way until 1938. News of his feats reached around the globe, even making the pages of the NY Times. Some people considered him a popular hero. Others believed he was a blood-thirsty criminal. In this episode, we’ll explore his story.
Comments
History on Fire
I agree with your thoughts 100%
Scott
This element of human nature and psychology is an interesting one. Sometimes I think that the injustices of life get to be too much for people, and all those who feel that they are at the mercy of forces that are too big for them to confront (that are either predatory upon them, or simply indifferent to their existences) need some way to relieve that pressure. Power structures are daunting things, and no matter how virtuous they start out, or try to be, all of them end up trampling over a lot of people. I understand the appeal of somebody giving a middle finger to power structures in the currency of power. I understand the appeal of somebody proving that their reach is not all consuming, proving that the world is still mutable, regardless of what anyone says. I do sometimes find it concerning (or more than concerning) when true monsters are glorified simply because they're defiant. Still, there are many times when some truly terrible people win the favor of many simply because those terrible people are opposed to an order that those many feel aggrieved by. I suspect, that the more power structures (especially overtly unjust ones) come to define human lives, the more those feelings may surface among people. Sometimes, popular support of terrible people does little real harm, aside from making many uncomfortable. Perhaps sometimes though, it can lead to disastrous consequences in setting up a new power structure even worse than the old one. I understand the common human desire to try to find somebody who can wield power fairly and justly, yet with humanity, instead of the sterile emptiness of systems. I enjoyed this episode. I think it touches on an interesting line of thought.
History on Fire
Thank you, Trevor!
Trevor
Enjoy these ones from left field. Can sometimes feel like when you're into history you keep going over most of the same stuff, the big ticket items like Rome and so forth. You unearth some great gems that I'd otherwise never hear tell of. Many thanks
