The Rope to Hang Them

by Escutcheon Blot


The recent furor over the intemperate, to say the least, speech of sulfuric-smelling Hugo Chavez at the UN and his fellow demagogue, Ahmadenijad's invitation to speak at the Counsel on Foreign Relations has dovetailed nicely (for me, if no one else in the free world) with the election on Sunday of the new Parliament in Angela Merkel's home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in which the NPD (National Partei Deutschlands--the neo-nazis) grabbed over 7 percent of the vote, and entered the state parliament...bringing the total of state parliaments here with neo-nazi representation to three. The other two states are both in the old East Germany; Brandenburg and Saxony. The neo-nazis also won a few council seats in Berlin.

At the so-called spitzenrunde, after the results were in, all the leaders of the successful parties (those who got more than 5% of the vote and got into parliament) were invited to a round-table discussion/interview/gloat-fest. The commentators, as is standard practice in Germany, were polite and respectful to the other four parties (the socialists, conservatives, free democrats, and the leftists--former communists--an almost purely Eastern German party). They were uniformly rude and confrontational with the little nazi, never letting him finish a sentence. This is also standard practice.

The NPD party leader, Udo Pastoers, never lost his temper under this treatment, although almost anyone else would have. He's a clever politician, and the intemperate and ill-advisedly shabby treatment of him by the press only served to make him seem to be the reasonable one. His manner also looks almost exactly like a young Hitler (no mustache) down to the hands behind the back, the smug, downward-looking half smile, and the shambling presence when surrounded by his followers, exuding pseudo-humility...an obviously and ominously studied imitation (the media publishes very few pictures of the nazis...this was the most representative I could find). But through the silly overreaction of the media, he looked good...for a nazi anyway.

Hugo Chavez's hallucinogenic tirade on the floor of the UN's General Assembly, and Ahmadenijad's wriggling conference at the CFR (2000 World Zionists?!--who has been counting in the secret meetings at Skull and Bones?) were both condemned by the only US TV news to which I have any access...CNN. I read much condemnation elsewhere on the web. They both had not only what they said (with justice--that was lunacy), but also their right to speak, attacked vociferously from both sides of the partisan aisle, including a ludicrously over-the-top reaction by Congressman Charley Rangel (D-NY).

What everyone seems to be missing in this rush to silence bad men is that fanatics rarely make sense in the long run. The best way to defeat a demagogue, to my way of thinking, is through ridicule. The most effective source of the ridiculous comes from the mouths of the demagogues themselves. Letting these nutcases fully speak their piece cannot but help their enemies (us--the free world--whatever). Neither Chavez or Ahmadenijad came off very well with their chief interlocutors--the MSM. The reaction reminded me of Kim Jong Il's "I'm so ronrey" scena in Team America. A few more speeches like those are exactly what is needed.

Incidentally, the fact that Hugo Chavez received the longest applause of the session, at four minutes, does not necessarily mean that it was the best applause. I've had a lot of experience with audiences and fans...and fanatical fans. Ten or fifteen dedicated clappers can make a lot of noise...and there where far more than that in the diplomatic delegations of Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan, and other obnoxious entities. And if the applause was the warmest for Chavez, then that very clearly illustrates the value of the UN itself.

Give 'em all enough rope to hang themselves with.

Yours, in an increasingly cool, dark, and autumnal northern Europe,

Escutcheon Blot