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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   1172 thread views

Transnational Thursday for January 23, 2025

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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The President of Columbia seems to be having a meltdown on twitter over Trump sending people back to Columbia: https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1883624818811236502

Trump, I don't really like travelling to the US, it's a bit boring, but I confess that there are some commendable things. I like going to the black neighbourhoods of Washington, where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades, which seemed like nonsense to me, because they should join together.

I don't like your oil, Trump, you're going to wipe out the human species because of greed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey, which I accept, despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but it's difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I'm not, nor is any Colombian.

You will kill me, but I will survive in my people, which is before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea and of freedom.

Colombia now stops looking north, looks at the world, our blood comes from the blood of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the civilization of that time, of the Roman Latins of the Mediterranean, the civilization of that time, who founded the republic, democracy in Athens; our blood has the black resistance fighters turned into slaves by you. In Colombia is the first free territory of America, before Washington, of all America, there I take refuge in its African songs.

There's not really much point quoting individual parts, it's all just the most deranged stuff I've ever seen from a serious politician. No, I don't think Columbia can claim heritage from Ancient Egypt. I really don't understand why these small weak countries make such a big fuss on the world stage. "We are peoples of the winds and mountains" isn't so great compared to the peoples of the armies, markets and missiles.

There's probably more that can be unearthed from the implications of 'blacks and Latinos should be working together... in fights in the US capital' comment too, you get a glimpse into the minds of these people.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombias-petro-will-not-allow-us-planes-return-migrants-2025-01-26/

Trump is also playing the cringe-diplomacy game:

"These measures are just the beginning," he wrote. "We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!"

He later posted a picture of himself on Truth Social in a pinstripe suit and a fedora in front of a sign reading FAFO, a common slang acronym for "Fuck Around and Find Out".

How many years until presidents are tweeting soyjaks at eachother?

Edit: Trump victory: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/26/politics/colombia-tariffs-trump-deportation-flights/index.html

The egypt thing according to twitter's translate is

My land is made up of goldsmiths who worked in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and of the first artists in the world in Chiribiquete.

which appears to be a reference to the Quimbaya goldsmiths whose artifacts date back to ~500 BC. Beautiful work and the pharaohs ruled until Cleopatra, so he's correct. Were the Chiribiquete natives the first artists? Probably not, but their rock paintings were pre-history so close enough.

where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades

What the hell is he referring to here? The Floyd riots?

Deranged ranting on Twitter can make you a whole-ass US president, so presumably it will be adopted as a strategy by politicians all around the world (possibly adjusting for other social medias according to local popularity).

Deranged ranting on Twitter can make you a whole-ass US president

Deranged ranting can make you a national leader generally.

Trump looked a lot less cringe to me. The Colombian president looks deranged, in denial about the massive differences in wealth between Colombia and the United States (it's a bit boring -- really? Is that the takeaway?), and obsessed with applying the racial dynamics of his country to a country it's clear he barely understands. He's trying to be serious, and lobbing all the rhetorical force he has at Trump.

Meanwhile Trump posts a silly picture of himself and restates his position. The point is that Trump thinks the Colombians' posture isn't even worth seriously responding to; he's posting a soyjack in response to a passionate claim of blood and soil. Per internet rules, the one who cares the least wins.

I agree that Trump behaved much better. But I want to go back to the days when diplomacy was conducted by professionals and genuine experts (not whatever neocon idiot can grease enough palms). Leaders should maintain dignity and decorum, internet rules shouldn't apply.

But I want to go back to the days when diplomacy was conducted by professionals and genuine experts (not whatever neocon idiot can grease enough palms).

Was there ever such a period, and did it ever produce better results than what we see now?

Kennan used to have some influence in US foreign policy and he got almost everything right, only he wasn't really listened to except for one time. It's like economics, there are some schools of thought that are just better than others. Austrians aren't perfect but they're better than Maoists. In foreign policy, realists are the most accurate analysts but are usually unpopular and uncharismatic compared to liberals and constructivists. They were the ones behind all these spreading-democracy and regime-change wars that realists usually opposed from day 1.

To add on to what Campfire said, we are arguably at this point because the dignity and decorum of old was practiced by professionals who were those exact same palm-greasing neocon fools you complain about. The modern mean-tweeting style simply exposes the rot that was always under the surface.

If people have become disaffected from dignity and decorum, there's probably a reason why. It might not be a great reason, but it's worth pondering.

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