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September 21, 2006
The Dysfunctional Thug from the Dysfunctional Country
"Hugo Chavez’s bizarre anti-American rant at the United Nations has got Americans asking, “What makes Chavez tick?”
"To understand him, stop thinking of oil-producing Venezuela as a Latin American country. Think of it as a dysfunctional Middle Eastern petro-state. Doing that is the key to understanding Chavez and Venezuela."
To read the rest of Seraphic Friend David Paulin's splendid analysis, please click here.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at September 21, 2006 07:59 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Excellent analogy! Chavez is a petro-fueled dictator just like so many of his Arab counterparts. Thus, he must bash America, Israel, and even Jews as much as possible to "look good" in front of the proletariat of his country so they will never ask: "Hey, we have the best customer in the world for our product in the U.S., so why are we so poor here?"
Chavez IS just like every Arab leader and cutting stooges like him off would be a great thing.
Posted by: Jake at September 21, 2006 10:35 AM
Clever, but there's really no need for it. Latin America has a long-standing tradition of its own of America-hating, dating back from long before Middle Eastern petro-states were invented.
Posted by: kishke at September 21, 2006 11:52 AM
True! Great line from "Bananas": "This protest against El Presidente began with the burning of the American embassy, a tradition that began with the Aztecs in the 13th century."
Posted by: Jake at September 21, 2006 11:55 AM
Kishke and Jake,
Thanks for those comments. Yes, I agree that Latin America has a long tradition of "Yankee Go Home," and even worse than that in fact. But I have always thought that there are certain little nuances of this anti-Americanism in Venezuela and elsewhere. It was Venezuela's nuances, and their similarities to the cultures of Middle Eastern petro-states, that fascinated me.
Posted by: David at September 22, 2006 02:41 AM