In 2007, Kenya (Yeah, that one, the one where Rhymes With Chump and Mark Matthews said Barack Obama was born) held a presidential election. The candidate, Mwai Kibaki, who was supported by many minority tribes won (Source: The Nation magazine, Feb. 8-15, 2021).
They were warned by those who wouldn't prefer that president that there would be trouble if the "wrong" candidate won, instead of the one they wanted, Raila Odinga, far more a darling of international corporate interests. He lost, so there was. People were beaten, killed and raped. It was widespread.
Some of the assailants worked for Unilever, a British-based corporation known for such brands as Lipton Tea, Dove, and Knorr (which you might want to think about the next time you shop). Some of the victims claimed that Unilever's own staff participated in the assaults. Violence had been anticipated, and the company claimed it had ramped up security. It says the police acted too slowly. The assailed say company property was secured, but not the people who worked it. (Kind of like something that just happened?)
Since, Unilever has been big contributor to UN Women, which promoted gender equality and female economic empowerment. That has helped tamp down and dilute the accusations. Unilever's main corporate center in London has been sued, but a judge threw out the case. (Justice sought, but a court won't look at it. Hmmmm.)
People are scared that they will be punished if they speak out about the violence. Sounds familiar?
Kenya has been a republic since 1964. It's early for them. They're going to have some rocky spots, right?
Just the other day, the Myanmar government of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown by a military coup d'etat. It did so because it objected to the results of an election. (yawn)
The military's candidates won 33 out of the 476 seats in the parliament. Without evidence, it claimed that ballot boxes had been stuffed. (Echo! Echo!) An electoral commission disagreed.
There are other issues, especially those surrounding the Muslim minority there, the Rohingyas. (Fear of Muslims. Hmmmm.) To hang onto power, Suu Kyi sided with the military in its purging and persecution of the Rohingyas, which included murder and mass arrests. It was effective: Three-fourths of a million of them fled to neighboring Bangladesh (Forcing out a disliked minority. Hmmmm.), where most linger in squalid refugee camps.
In a great season for sour grapes, and despite Suu Kyi's concordance against the Rohingyas, the military took control just the other day. As is consistent with their earlier practices, they've ginned up a charge of importing ten walkie-talkies against her. She's getting three years for that, after which I assume they'll think of some other nefarious offense.
And we wring our hands about emoluments. Hey, if you think you can get anywhere with walkie-talkies, you've got a bigger problem than just a president who won't do what you want. But then, Myanmar's democratic government lasted only ten years. If you took that from the point at which the Constitution was adapted, that would bring you only to 1800.
But that would be the year that the United States amazed the world with a peaceful transference of power after Thomas Jefferson beat John Adams (granted, in overtime, in the first maddening confusion over the Electoral College). Having taken that for granted 220 years ago, we ran out of that goodwill on January 6. Now that that bar has been lowered, we are left to see what else will happen next time.
Recall as well that Rhymes With Chump wanted to call out the military to respond to the Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, DC, last May. He bamboozled the Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to accompany him on his way to a boarded-up church to display a bible--only as a prop, believe me; you really have to wonder how often, or if ever, he's opened one up. But Mark Milley backed away, saying he didn't completely grasp what the then-president had in mind--a display of military force with his tacit blessing--and later disavowed any thought that, although troops and National Guardsmen had been called out to maintain order, the military would get involved in domestic affairs.
That declaration, consistent with the true meaning of democracy (Thank you, General Milley), closed RWC's thoughts about a military coup: Believe me, he had them. He was trying, incrementally which is how he does it, to see how much he could get away with. He's crazy, but measuredly so; true evil carefully calculates.
He was left with stirring up paramilitary, wild-eyed crazies at the Capitol, his fallback position. He was partly successful without disturbing any of the hairs left on his head, without putting himself on the line in any way, in typical cowardice. But that, like most of the rest of his stunts, will be a one-time deal. We'd like to think we'll see him coming this time.
Unless, of course, he's elected again. When this impeachment show-trial is done (which is what it will be, like it or not, because the Republicans aren't interested in justice any longer; they're well immersed in mobocracy), he'll still have the right to run for a second, non-consecutive term. Even though an attempted murder charge might actually stick, because had the hoard managed to get to Nancy Pelosi, Mike Pence, and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (They were looking for her, too. She knew it and was in fear for her life.), it would have carried that out. Others have been convicted on less circumstantial evidence.
So I don't think we can say that this is a one-off, that this is an exception to the fine example we've set for the world. We've set another one, and nobody knows what to do about it. We can't make excuses anymore.
All kinds of disruption have continued, including weapons on the House floor. No, we have sunk to third-world status. We have lots of money, but act without class.
President Biden is said to be telling Myanmar, and Russia (which has jailed a major opposition leader, also for contrived issues) how displeased we are with undemocratic practices. I can hear them now: You should talk. We wear the emperor's clothes.
Be well. Be careful. Wear a mask. Vaccines have arrived. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.
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