You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Today I see that the Russian prime minister has likened Americans to parasites.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States Monday of living beyond its means "like a parasite" on the global economy and said dollar dominance was a threat to the financial markets.
"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Putin told the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi while touring its lakeside summer camp some five hours drive north of Moscow.
I think we all would agree that we're living beyond our means. "Parasite," however, is a word with a particular resonance in history, and I am sure Mr. Putin knows it well:
The decree issued by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on May 4, 1961 entitled "On Strengthening the Struggle with Persons Avoiding Socially Useful Work and Leading an Anti-Social, Parasitic Way of Life" seems to represent a volte face. Its provision for banishment of such individuals "to specially designated places for a term of from two to five years" certainly was anything but liberal. Yet, like the people's volunteer detachments (druzhiny) established throughout the USSR by a decree of March 2, 1959 as well as the statute of July 3, 1961 that re-instituted comrades' courts within the RSFSR, the "anti-parasite" decree was couched in terms of popularizing the administration of justice. For along with the people's courts, sentences banishing "parasites" could be "issued by a group of toilers working together in a factory, shop, office, organization, collective farm and collective-farm brigade."
And it is, of course, an insult redolent of anti-Semitism--as in, for example, the Nazi propaganda pamphlet Der Jude als Weltparasit.
The Nature of the Parasite
1. What is a parasite?This section outlines the evils of parasites in nature.
2. The Jew is the Parasite of Humanity
The so-called educated classes mocked and scorned the NSDAP as it began its struggle, particularly when the Führer repeatedly said that the Jew was a parasite. They rejected the Führer’s statement that all of decent humanity suffers today under Jewish parasitism. At best, they laughed about such “fanatics.” Of course, one had often had bitter experiences with the business practices of individual Jews, but people did not realize that Jewry concealed itself as a religious community. Their own religious sentiments prevented them from drawing the logical conclusion. They did not want to recognize the true nature of this so-called religious community.
Reuters describes Putin's audience, Nashi, as a "pro-Kremlin youth group." Bravo for your commitment to providing your readers with the context they need to understand the news, Reuters. This is Nashi:
Activists from the 'Nashi' youth group drew up a list of eight commandments meant to inspire young Russians to greater patriotic heights, a Kremlin priority.
Anti-Kremlin activists however spotted that the text was a lightly edited version of an infamous list of commandments that Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda, composed to steer National Socialists in the right ideological direction.
“The enemies of Russia are your enemies,” they wrote mimicking Goebbels’ phrase “Germany’s enemies are your enemies; hate them with all your heart.” ...
Nashi, which means ‘One of Us,’ enjoys support from the Kremlin. It has courted controversy in the past, however, by mounting an aggressive campaign of harassment against the former British ambassador to Russia and, more recently, by displaying the heads of its ‘enemies’ hewn from papier-mache on spikes donning Nazi caps.
Mr. Putin, Americans are indeed indebted, self-indulgent and myopic. The truth hurts.
But the truth is nowhere near as ugly as the truth about you.
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Comments :
Oct '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Sure glad we hit that “reset” button with Prince Vladimir and Company . . . a brilliant success for the Barrack-Hillary foreign policy team.
Dec '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Hey Claire, way off topic (sorry) but have you read and do you have any comments about this piece by Walter Russel Mead concerning Turkey and the evolving Middle East?
Mar '11
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Yes, I was gonna ask Claire the same question yesterday, but couldn't find the piece - thanks for the link.
As for Mr Putin - I am a great admirer of the much-hated W, but his claim about looking into Mr Putin's eyes was maybe his most bizarre statement, and showed a terrible lack of judgement.
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
I just read it. It's so shallow as to be almost meaningless.
Mar '11
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Thankfully we can look back to the sterling moral example of the USSR to guide us to a policy of living within our means.
May '11
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Sadly Mr. Putin's point about the US is basically correct. If the US dollar were not the world reserve currency, there is no possible way we'd have been able to borrow as much as we have. With the Euro falling apart, I suspect we will be able to go on borrowing silly amounts of money for another few years. As Mark Steyn says, we are the brokest nation in history.
May '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
This is like saying, "You are a crook, Michael Corleone." The thugocracy in Russia continues.
Sep '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Claire Berlinski: Mr. Putin, Americans are indeed indebted, self-indulgent and myopic.
It's kind of like saying that heart surgeons are arrogant and demanding—good thing too!
Jun '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Russia: Isn't that the country where men drink themselves to death and the fertility rate is so low it is already in a demographic death spiral? No confidence in the future and few little apple-cheeked Russian kids are seen anywhere. Talk about a country on the ropes.
Sep '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
You do know that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia, right?
Jun '10
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
Putin: a carbuncle on humanity, every time he opens his mouth he drains pus.
Re: You are Disgusting, Vladimir Putin
I'm a fervent
anti-communist