FIDDLER'S BLOG

Fiddler

Real Life Browncoats? A tale of civil war and Genocide...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

I know firefly was inspired by the civil war in the US, but there is another civil war, that makes the whole Browncoats saga more personal to me. I'm Nigerian, and Nigeria had a civil war in the late sixties called the Biafran war. A coup had just happened, and the group that ruled began to dominate and in some cases exterminate other groups, most notably mine, the Igbos. So the Igbos created the state of Biafra and attempted to seceed. They faught for almost 3 years, outgunned, outmanned, but holding their own, until the Feds backed by world powers blockaded the region and starved them into submission (not to mention being betrayed by their allies within the country, specifically one duplicitous and ass kissing ethnic group). For months after they surrendered they still maintained the blockade and hundreds of thousands starved to death, they then began weeding out the Igbos all over the counrty and systematically exterminating them. Emboldened by the fact that the world said nothing. Had it happened just 10 years later, they would have been condemned for their crimes against humanity, but even now, as it's being done quietly, no one says anything. We multiply with a vengeance. They kill a dozen people, an Igbo woman will go give birth to 12 children. Our population is actually outpacing the slaughter. Now the young ones who didn't live through the first war are starting to talk about a new war. Even I'm willing to go back and take up arms. But it boils down to the same odds. We are out gunned, out classed, and out supported. All we have is our honor, and our handsome faces. Lately I have found a lot of people from my region who had never heard of firefly and gotten them into it, and they all took an automatic liking to it. I think I may have inadvertently stoked the fires of revolution by making some kids believe they can emulate the browncoats, but the again... can't they?

COMMENTS

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 2:54 PM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER


Well...I certainly am glad you're spreading the word, though please forgive me if I feel troubled that the series and movie are being used a spark to reignite rebellion and revolution against a govt. Mainly cuz I don't want to see young people get slaughtered...even for a good cause like yours...when there could be other paths. Just wish I could suggest said other paths...

BEB

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 9:09 AM

MSG


wow good for you. Any time you can get kids involved and believing they can make a difference...that is good!


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