The pond was surprised to discover that Killer was a Chamberlain style appeaser.
While not as fatuous and tone deaf as Boris comparing the war in Ukraine to Brexit, Killer's latest piece is an example of subtle white-anting and quisling fellow-traveling ... and yet back in the day Killer was exceptionally cavalier about masks and Covid and the Covid killing fields ...
These days he seems uncertain as to his status, as if living in a fairy tale ...
"Listen, my good friend," said the Shadow to the learned man. "I am now become as fortunate and as powerful as anyone can be, and now I will do something special for you. You shall always live with me in the palace, and drive out with me in my royal coach, and you shall have a hundred thousand rix-dollars a year. But you must allow yourself to be called a shadow by everyone, you must never say that you were at one time a man, and once a year, when I sit on the balcony in the sunshine and allow myself to be looked at, you must lie at my feet as a shadow ought to do. I may as well tell you that I am going to marry the Princess. The wedding is to take place this evening."
"No, no! That is really too much," said the learned man. "I won't allow it. I won't do it! It's deceiving the whole country and the Princess too. I shall tell the whole story—that I am the man and you are the shadow; you're only dressed up."
"Nobody will believe it," said the Shadow. "Do be reasonable, or I shall call the guard."
"I shall go straight to the Princess," said the learned man. "But I shall go first," said the Shadow, "and you'll go to prison." And there he had to go, for the sentries obeyed the one whom they knew the Princess was to marry.
"You are all in a tremble," said the Princess, when the Shadow came into her room. "Has anything happened? You mustn't be ill to-night; we're going to be married."
"I have had the most terrible experience that can occur to anyone," said the Shadow. "Only think of it—to be sure, a poor shadow's brain isn't equal to the strain—only think, my shadow has gone mad! He believes that he is the man and that I—just think of it—am his shadow!"
"That is awful," said the Princess; "I hope he is shut up?"
"Indeed he is. I'm afraid he'll never get the better of it."
"Poor shadow," said the Princess; "it's most unfortunate for him. It would really be a kindness to rid him of his little bit of life: indeed, when I come to think of it, I do believe it is essential that he should be quite quietly put out of the way."
"It's really very hard!" said the Shadow. "He was a faithful servant to me," and with that he seemed to sigh.
"You are a noble character," said the Princess.
That evening the whole town was illuminated, and the cannons went off "Boom!" And the soldiers presented arms. It _was_ a wedding, to be sure! The Princess and the Shadow went out on the balcony to show themselves and receive one last "Hurrah!"
The learned man heard nothing of all this, for he had already been executed.
Sorry, the pond should have given a spoiler alert, it's in full at Project Gutenberg, but it's a handy way to introduce a Killer scared of his own shadow ...
Of late it seems all he wants is peace, and if Vlad the impaler gets a piece of this and a piece of that as the price, why Killer is prepared to settle ...
You see? Killer's got the fear, almost down there with his fear of masks.
What is it with News Corp and their determination to pay respects to authoritarian autocrats? Not so long ago, they were full of bullying bluster and chest-thumping ...
And now all they can talk about is the fear, or perhaps even worse, do a full Tuckyo Carlson ...
Yes, the pond has curated a few Faux Noise cartoons just to spice up this Killer outing ...
Even the reptiles felt the need because just as Killer was paling in comparison, they stuck in a snap of the autocrat ...
It's more subtle than Killer's last outing, but the effect is the same ... sympathetic ears, sobering reminders, and such like ... to make sure the quivering like a jelly comes through, when really it's a form of worship for a tough guy with friends in the world ...
At this point, before the pond could summon up the enthusiasm to head to the last gobbet, why not a complete distraction?
Sure, it's been around as a meme, but the pond is always happy to be a purveyor of second hand memes ...
And so to show the workings in detail, which look a bit like the pond's maths tests at Tamworth High ...
Juvenile? Maybe, but when confronted with a fascist, why not tweak the nose if that's all you can do, as Chaplin did with his dictator outing ...
And now back to Killer for a final bout of quivering and quailing ... and note the subtle way that Killer introduces a billy goat butt into the first par.
There's no actual butting, but it's in the same form - "as right as", followed by a barely disguised butt in the form of "haven't" and then it's on with the appeasing and the fear mongering and the hand wringing.
All that's missing is the thought bubbling in Killer's mind - why not just give Vlad what he wants, so we can get back to peace, stability and economic growth autocrat style.
After all, it worked for the Chairman ... cf Harold Evans on that phone-hacking scandal way back when in the Graudian ...
How much Rupert Murdoch knew and when he knew it may not be pinned down because he exercises what the sociologist Max Weber defined as "charismatic authority" where policy derives from how the leader is perceived by others rather than by instructions or traditions. The concept of charismatic authority as applied to the Murdoch empire may be best understood – as a concept, I emphasise, and not a personal comparison – in the use made of Weber's definition by Sir Ian Kershaw, historian of the Third Reich. Kershaw argues that Hitler was not much absorbed by the day-to-day details of Nazi Germany's domestic policy, but was nonetheless a dominant dictator. Kershaw explains the paradox by adopting the phrase of a Prussian civil servant who said the bureaucrats were always "working towards the Fuhrer". They were forever attempting to win favour by guessing what the boss wanted or might applaud but might well not have asked for. Similarly, in all Murdoch's far-flung enterprises, the question is not whether this or that is a good idea, but "What will Rupert think?". He doesn't have to give direct orders. His executives act like courtiers, working towards what they perceive to be his wishes or might be construed as his wishes. A few examples from the Times follow. They act this way out of of fear, certainly, because executions are so brutal but the fear also reflects a more rational appreciation of the fact that his "wild" gambles so often turn out to be triumphs lesser mortals could not even imagine.
That reminder came in a Graudian story about Evgeny Lebedev, by Catherine Benntt, showing just how much Russian money had penetrated London, the Tories and Boris himself ...
As for Killer?
...Kershaw explains the paradox by adopting the phrase of a Prussian
civil servant who said the bureaucrats were always "working towards the
Fuhrer". They were forever attempting to win favour by guessing what the
boss wanted or might applaud but might well not have asked for.
Similarly, in all Vlad the impaler's s far-flung enterprises, the question for Killer is not
whether this or that is a good idea, but "What will Vlad think?".
And so back to that last gobbet of the quivering and the quailing and the caving in ...
Oh just harden the fuck up Killer, or better still, come out bold and brazen and join Tuckyo Rose in acknowledging all that bullshit about freedumb was just so much reptile hot air ...
Killer C's effort was somewhat shabbily written, I thought, but that's kind of the reptile way in these degenerate days, isn't it. Otherwise, DP, your analysis hasn't left much of anything else requiring to be thought or said.
ReplyDeleteThough the business about 'guessing what the great one wants but hasn't explicitly asked for' is germane. Is this something that people are conditioned to as part of family life ? Kids having to 'guess' what will please Dad, or even Mum, without them having been explicitly ordered ? After all, autocracy, like so many other things, begins at home doesn't it.