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This is about the behaviors of a head of state.The people of the Philippines have elected their president and if guys like gambit here starts to call him classless, uneducated and what not, then they are insulting the leader of a sovereign country and its people. Now where is the class?
The people of the Philippines have elected their president and if guys like gambit here starts to call him classless, uneducated and what not, then they are insulting the leader of a sovereign country and its people. Now where is the class?
He should criticize the US intervention but not insult Obama personally. Those words really harmed the legitimacy of his deed. He is insisting the righteousness and justice by crackdown drug dealer, he is eradicating poisonous weed roots deeply in his country by any means necessary. But all his heroic toughness suddenly became tarnished by those immature and futile curses, a president really should not use dirty word.
This is about the behaviors of a head of state.
You and I are ordinary citizens, and yet, we have every right to expect our leaders to be above the pettiness of ordinary lives, precisely because our leaders have to deal with issues that are above and beyond ordinary lives. If anything matters, we MUST expect our leaders to be and act according to the finest virtues of what is a gentleman or lady. We laughed at Boris Yeltsin, when he was alive, for being a drunk and many called him unfit for duty as President of Russia. Your China downplayed, if not tried to hide, Mao's infidelities and penchant for young girls. Americans are largely embarrassed at Kennedy's and Clinton's sexual exploits.
So why is it unreasonable to expect Duterte to act with some measure of class ?
There is no contradiction here.Sorry but you are contradicting yourself. Since you expect your head of states to have class, embarrassments such as the Watergate, Kennedy's & Clinton's sex scandal, Hillary's Email gate, your recently US general sex scandal and plenty US high ranking military officers sex scandals would not have occurred. Don't tell me that US generals who are full filling very important tasks are exempted from moral behaviors just because they are not high ranking politicians.
This has nothing to do with that. This is about one head of state calling another head of state a name that is reserved for thugs. You disagree with state level politics, stay within that box. Leave the person's ancestry, race, and gender out of it. At worst, call the person ignorant or low intelligence. But 'son of a whore' ? Even you, a PDF Chinese, would instinctively know that is low class. You cheer Duterte on because he insulted US, but deep down inside, I know you are a sophisticated and educated enough of a person to know how a head of state should behave.You as an ordinary American citizen or any citizens from around the world can call Yeltsin a drunkard because he was not sober during public events. But to call Duterte uneducated or classless is a direct insult and attack of a foreign leader and insult to the Pinoys who elected him as their head of state. Duterte's remark is spot on because executing drug smugglers, killers, rapists are internal affairs. Obama crying about human rights should be the last one to speak when US has blood on its hands for killing millions of innocent people around the world including your Vietnam you idiot.
I think the most efficient way to defend his position and to resist the US intervention is earning as much international and domestic supports as he can, by resorting the intervention itself and US diplomacy, and further more stating out the necessity and validity of his policy. By insulting Obama personally he actually made it hard to support him, because no matter how great his crackdown is, he talks like a street thug. Suddenly all ppl suspect that as a thug, he may actually violating human rights, and refuse to support him openly, which gives the US bigger opportunity to drag him down, with all his previous efforts gone in vain.Strategically speaking, he gave US regime press a huge point to exploit to the bone, blanking the real context of his message, which is US intervention in PH's sovereign domestic affairs.
But, on the other hand, swearing at the leader of the US state may serve Duterte by misdirecting US regime mouthpieces concerted attack.
I think the most efficient way to defend his position and to resist the US intervention is earning as much international and domestic supports as he can, by resorting the intervention itself and US diplomacy, and further more stating out the necessity and validity of his policy. By insulting Obama personally he actually made it hard to support him, because no matter how great his crackdown is, he talks like a street thug. Suddenly all ppl suspect that as a thug, he may actually violating human rights, and refuse to support him openly, which gives the US bigger opportunity to drag him down, with all his previous efforts gone in vain.
This is what people on this forum do not understand...I think the most efficient way to defend his position and to resist the US intervention is earning as much international and domestic supports as he can, by resorting the intervention itself and US diplomacy, and further more stating out the necessity and validity of his policy. By insulting Obama personally he actually made it hard to support him, because no matter how great his crackdown is, he talks like a street thug. Suddenly all ppl suspect that as a thug, he may actually violating human rights, and refuse to support him openly, which gives the US bigger opportunity to drag him down, with all his previous efforts gone in vain.
Thats's not my point. What I mean is, a president must talk and act prudently to earn ppl's trust. No one wants to trust their country or interest to a reckless guy. Mr Duterte just harmed his prudent image, not because ppl in the US will defend their president's name but simply because his loose words may indicate to the PH ppl that he is a less careful or less thoughtful person. On the other hand, although we oppose US policy, it dosen't mean that Obama himself is a scum, you have your own interest, and we have ours, that's all. Common folks don't hate Obama that much, so personal insult won't bring too much resonace. If Mr Duterte chose to resort US criticize item by item, he would earn more support easily, becoz that(US diplomatic policy) is what oedinary ppl really resent for.This is what people on this forum do not understand...
There is a saying from the US: 'He may a bastard, but he is our bastard.' Or something to that effect.
The point here is that leaders should leave the personal insults to the citizenry, preferably the citizenry from the other country, and focus on rebuttals standing on policies, history, logic, ideology, philosophy, and so on. I may not like Obama, but he is my President, any foreigner who calls Obama a n-gger will earn worse insults from me. Likewise, YOU may not like Xi Jinping, but would you like it if any American calls Xi a 'ch!nk' ? Absolutely not.
The idea is that the citizenry knows their leader best, warts and all, and if they elected him/her, they naturally feel it is theirs, and theirs alone, to call that leader any names they wish, while they expect other countries' leaders to treat this person with respect accorded to the office.
Cheering on Duterte is simply wrong.
I think it's not about western public opinion, normally ppl don't want their president talk like that, his words may hurt his own images among his own ppl.I agree with most points, but, on the highlighted, I do not think Western public opinion represents all people.
I tend to see the swearing as a means, not an end by itself.
In my view, if it works for the stated end (PH gaining greater sovereignty from the US), it is a good thing. Duterte should continue with the verbal practice.
If it does not work to the end (PH becoming more sovereign), then, Duterte can start to employ a different means for stated ends.
What matters is the end, means are all justifiable. I do not believe in Western moral high horse riding or political correctness thing.
They are not sincere or moral at all.
="T-123456, post: 8657900, member: 143549"]What is his education level?
There is no contradiction here.
Americans of all political spectrum have called those people embroiled in those scandals 'classless' and assorted other names. Just because someone was elected or somehow got into positions of power and authority, that does not mean they cannot fall from grace from their behaviors.
This has nothing to do with that. This is about one head of state calling another head of state a name that is reserved for thugs. You disagree with state level politics, stay within that box. Leave the person's ancestry, race, and gender out of it. At worst, call the person ignorant or low intelligence. But 'son of a whore' ? Even you, a PDF Chinese, would instinctively know that is low class. You cheer Duterte on because he insulted US, but deep down inside, I know you are a sophisticated and educated enough of a person to know how a head of state should behave.