One of the things that you can give right wing populist
great credit for is the fact that they have the ability to inspire you. If I
look at the stuff that I’ve written in the last two-years, I realise a lot of
it has been inspired by the current Occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Whenever
I needed inspiration to write about something, I merely had to search the news
on Donald Trump and I’d inevitably have something to write about. There’s
nothing like an incredibly powerful figure saying and doing stupid things to inspire
the creative juices.
America’s comedians have never had it so good. The Donald
provides them with material that writes itself and, in a way, American comedy
has become a valuable source of social commentary. They’re saying the same thing
that conventional news is saying but in a way that makes it, well, funny.
You got to admit that we are living in the world of black
comedy. You got to admit that there’s something very funny about the way Trump
and his supporters are managing Covid-19. There’s something strangely addictive
about watching Trump talk about what a great job he’s doing and how China is
awful and how states need to open up and relax their social distancing and stay
at home orders, while America’s infection and fatality figures shoot up. At the
time of writing, America has lost more people to Covid-19 in five months than
they did in the 14-years of the Vietnam War. It won’t be long before the
fatalities outstrip that of World War I.
Trump isn’t the only clown making a mockery of leadership
concepts. There’s an improved second act of stupidity further south – Jair Bolsonaro.
If there is anyone who can Trump the Trump, Jair Bolsonaro is it. The USA’s
federal system, has in a strange way saved it in as much as Trump’s stupidity
is counteracted by semi-intelligent state governors, whom the Trump cannot
sack. Bolsonaro has actually sacked his health minister for doing his job and
trying to save Brazilian lives.
While Brazil’s figures are still far behind the USA’s, it
should come as no surprise that South America’s largest economy and the “B” in
the “BRICS” has been surging up the infection rate table. When I first blogged
about Bolsonaro on 4 May 2020, Brazil had 102 thousand cases with seven
thousand fatalities. Within the space on two weeks, that figure now stands at 241,080
cases and 16 thousand fatalities. More can be found at:
Like the Trump, Bolsonaro does not feel that he’s got to pretend
to be seen to be taking precautions. A week ago, he was happily attending a barbeque
without a mask as was reported by the Guardian:
While there’s a morbidly funny quality of watching Trump and
his Tropical Counterpart revel in their disregard for something that has killed
by the thousands, one has to ask why people still hang onto the belief that
these leaders refuse to do the right thing?
What is it about people who don’t want to listen to the
facts? The facts are very clear, this is a very infectious virus that spreads incredibly
easily. The perfectly healthy person you were chatting to on the bus could be a
carrier and capable of infecting you. That person wouldn’t even know it if he
or she did it. We’ve seen the fact that keeping people away from crowds has
worked. The countries that enacted social distancing measures early on, like
New Zealand, Taiwan and Vietnam have been able to “control” the infection
rates.
Countries that have shown courage to shut down vital
economic lifelines have saved people. Think of Macao, for example, shut down
its casinos, which are pretty much the only economic activity in Macao. At the
time of writing Macao has had 45 infections. Let’s remember, Macao is part of China,
the place where it all started.
Then there’s Saudi Arabia, which under the Crown Prince,
Mohammad Bin Salman (“MBS”), does not have a reputation for being well run.
Yet, to his credit, the Crown Prince moved to suspend Umrah, the minor pilgrimage
as is reported by the Jakarta Post:
In early April 2020 of this year, the Saudi Government went
as far as to ask Muslims to postpone the Haj as is reported by the BBC:
The Haj and Umrah pilgrimages are not just economic boons
for the Saudi Government (pilgrimages being the largest source of revenue after
oil) but a source of political legitimacy. The Saudi King’s claim to legitimacy
is based on the title “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque.” Suspending the pilgrimages
is not just economically risky but politically risky for the Saudi Government.
Yet, they’ve done it and the Ungodly at of putting two million people around
the world at risk has been averted.
Seriously, if MBS is willing to take political and economic
risk to keep the world safe, why do the Trump and Bolsonaro refuse to see the
obvious and take the responsibility that their respective offices require of
them? Come on, it’s time that the American and Brazilian voters did their part
and voted real men into power.
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