Intermission

Abstract

This chapter marks a break from the narrative that constitutes the book's argument. It examines silencing narratives or those versions of “what happened” that have endured over time despite evidence to the contrary and that work to foreclose other possible ways of constructing past incidents of violence. In discussing these narratives, the chapter highlights key moments during the research process that informed an understanding of the local context. Because all empirical data are only as trustworthy as the researcher's own methods, integrity, and reflexivity, these moments merit more than a quick footnote. The chapter views these encounters as instances of “accidental ethnography” that helps to reveal what was possible to see and not to see, to ask and not to ask, and to delve into more deeply or to overlook altogether.