Disrespect - Thug Life

 

 I woke up to the ding of a WhatsApp message at around 3 AM, only to find a YouTube link sent by a friend in Russia—a former proponent of a laissez-faire economy, a citizen of another country, but now a fervent, born-again Putinist.
It was barely a couple of hours after the White House fiasco involving Trump and Zelensky when I discovered that all of Russia was in the throes of an orgiastic frenzy, rivaling porcine orgasms in duration.

I won’t delve into global politics or take sides here but will focus on two key elements: Zelensky’s two big mistakes and the keyword—“disrespect.”
It is apparent that the American side had set the stage earlier to create a media circus, though not at Zelensky’s expense. Possibly taking a cue from his Indian friend who blames Nehru for all the world’s ills, “Do-lund Trumph” and his team sought to use the opportunity for some crass Biden-bashing aimed at domestic audiences.

Here was Zelensky’s first mistake: he should have known better than to interfere when Trump and Pence were engaging in their thug talk on domestic politics. He should have simply stayed silent. But call it the stress of his job or the habit of lecturing the world for the past three years on how Ukraine wasn’t getting enough support—Zelensky seemed to have lost the ability to keep quiet.

His second mistake? In an attempt to appeal to the western masses and possibly endear himself to his sponsors, he spoke in English—a language in which he can barely structure a sentence correctly. As a result, he failed to understand when a conversation wasn’t meant for him to respond to and ended up getting bullied by two boorish individuals for whom English (or their version of it) is a first language. Incidentally a regular American trait, never saw or heard of a Britisher engaging in such behaviour.

Lastly, the word “disrespect”—a term that still triggers me, taking me back to my childhood and teenage years in Assam. There, getting picked on by elders—be it older teenagers, adults, or teachers—was a part of life. Any time you stood your ground against bullying or mistreatment, the statute of “disrespect” was invariably thrown at you. You were disrespectful to those older than you, and that was the final verdict—they were the judge, jury, and executioners. It’s plain thug talk, used whenever someone wants to pick a fight. Corporate managers use it for intimidation, street hoodlums use it, gang members use it, and prison inmates use it. A one-sided, irrefutable declaration—regardless of whether the accused actually did anything to warrant it or not.

J.D.Wance, the self-styled hillbilly thug, and Trump, the maverick, just put on a TV show at the White House—representing the U.S. exactly as most of the world sees them. Well, with the possible exception of legal and illegal Indian and Latin American migrants, along with those aspiring to join their ranks.