Il Duce Returns

 

 

 

 

 

This photo of US president Donald Trump was in the newspaper today, alongside a story about how he is talking tough on Qatar. According to Donald, Qatar deserves the harsh treatment it’s currently getting from its Middle East neighbours.

From his upturned face, the tight set of his mouth and the steely squint of his eyes, you know he means what he says – even if he doesn’t really understand what it means.

I was struck by this pose. Although I find it ridiculous, as I do virtually everything about this man, it reminded me of someone. A similarly self-absorbed and overbearing “tough guy” type – Benito Mussolini. Il Duce!

Does anyone else find this resemblance somehow telling? Do either of these characters look like they have any doubt about their righteousness? And what about being open to the ideas of others? Nope.  They’re both autocratic morons. One a fascist dictator, the other a wannabe.

 

One thought on “Il Duce Returns”

  1. Oh, how history repeats itself.
    Recently, I was getting my daily dose of getting-lost-in-the-internet and I happened to watch a short video about a war vet who had been taken to see a new film – Dunkirk. In what was, I’m sure, meant to be a recap about how impressively realistic the film was, there was this man tearing up on screen – and I with him. He was, indeed, struck with how lifelike the film was, but more so with how we as a species never learn. How we just keep repeating the same mistakes.
    *sad face

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