Fascistic right wing thinking is alive and well in world politics. There have been numerous pieces in the news in recent months to support this view.
The first piece of evidence I cite is the medieval bigotry, and violence allowed to prevail against LGBT activists in Russia by Vladimir Putin’s Government. I’m sure many readers saw the footage of police officers in Russia allowing gay rights activists to be beaten for a few minutes before stepping in to half-heartedly pull the vicious bigots off. Worse still are some of the stories of torture and murder emerging from the ‘proud orthodox nation’. One such case was a teenager who was tortured and murdered by his alleged friends after he ‘came out’ to them.
It seems that while in places in the Western world like Los Angeles where LGBT victories are consistently won and Holland where tolerance has prevailed for centuries, other parts of the world seem to be going backwards.
For example, the Supreme Court in India recently reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex that allows the jailing of homosexuals. A landmark ruling made in Delhi high court in 2009 which found that section 377 of the Indian penal code prohibiting “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” infringed the fundamental rights of Indians was struck down recently.
Head of the Supreme Court bench, GS Singhvi, seemingly eager to go out with a bang on the penultimate day of what I’m sure was an impeccable career, found the high court had overstepped its authority and that a law passed by the British in 1860 was still constitutionally valid. This is despite the fact that the same law was repealed in the rest of the United Kingdom long ago.
“It is up to Parliament to legislate on this issue,” said Singhvi.
Back to ‘Mother Russia’ for more evidence. Last Summer, Vladimir Putin’s government abruptly ceased all Ukrainian imports. The block was lifted a week later, but according to regional analysts Mr. Putin’s message to Kiev, and the European Union, was clear. All doubts were allayed with a subsequent threat to cut off Ukraine’s access to energy from Russia if it pursued the trade and political agreement it was negotiating with the EU. Like a parent cutting off pocket money because their child spoke to the ‘bold’ child from across the way despite being warned not to.
Moscow wants Kiev to join a “customs union” it is creating as an alternative to the EU, including Ukraine and two other former Soviet republics, Belarus and Kazakhstan. However despite this during his annual address recently Putin took a few veiled, ambiguous shots at the USA;
“We do not aspire to be called some kind of superpower, understanding that as a claim to world or regional hegemony,” Mr. Putin said. “We do not infringe on anyone’s interests. We do not force our patronage on anyone or try to teach anyone how to live.” Said Russia’s answer to Benito Mussolini (I refer to the propaganda photos of Putin riding horses topless, brandishing hunting knives also topless! Etc etc. Like Mussolini did with illustrated posters of the Italian army, fixed bayonets in hand and each of them has Benito’s smug, self satisfied face, or the man himself up on a roof, pick-axe in hand, doing his bit for Italy). Isn’t self obsession and a huge ego one of the marks of a textbook psychopath?
Another incident which, although occurred in North Korea as opposed to Russia, harkens back to the purges and show trials of Joseph Vissarionovich Dzughashvili AKA ‘Stalin’. Basically, Kim Jong Un, the current despot running North Korea, had his Uncle Jang Song-thaek murdered. They call it execution. His crime? Allegedly gambling and taking drugs.
So two years into his reign, in the midst of threats of missile strikes on the USA and his southern neighbours, and production of nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Un, had his aunts husband, who up to his death was the number 2 man in NK, put to death for partying too hard. These were the allegations, however, uncle-Jang had been the champion and main supporter of Chinese-style reforms in NK. So in true Hitler fashion (the man Stalin learned it from) implementing Fascist tactics in an allegedly Communist regime, Jung Un saw a potential threat to his power, and neutralised it. Jong Un took out Good Ole’ Uncle Jang in the same way Good Ole’ Uncle Joe (as Roosevelt called him) did Kamenev, Zinoviev and thousands of others (the remaining millions were killed in myriad other ways from starvation to exhaustion and use as cannon fodder).
All this considered, coupled with the spirit of the festive season, all I can say is;
“It’s a Wonderful Life”.