When to Use the World’s Oldest Language
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the only way to get your point across to some people is to throw a hard object at them.
Oh, now I see what you mean.
Recently, a Massimo Tartaglia appears to have put this principle into practice, when he, appropriately and accurately, nailed Silvio Berlusconi—everybody’s favorite billionaire media mogul and corrupt asshole politician—in his right-wing mouth with a plaster replica of the Duomo di Milano.
A lousy, overpriced souvenir finally comes in handy.
Frankly, I don’t like violence. But I recognize its important role throughout the history of human communication. I’ve always called violence “the ancient language of last resort.” In the overwhelming majority of cases you can make your point with other, more modern forms of speech (in ascending order: silence; calm, reasonable statements; firm, direct talking-to; screaming and cussing; etc). But occasionally, you have to resort to the oldest language. There are even times when someone may use it with you.
But like any experienced urban dweller will tell you, there are some people who only understand that language. One of those people, it seems, is Mr. Bloody Mouth.
For the longest time, people have been complaining about what it’s like to be heard in Berlusconi’s Italy. The guy almost exclusively owns and controls the media, an advantage he fully exploits to his political benefit. So, if you have an opposing view, you’re pretty much shit-out-of-luck; you’re not showing up on any of his television stations. Add to that his hard-right politics and (habitual) corruption, and you have a recipe for pissed off Italians. Even Berlusconi himself was quoted as having said, “[he] expected this to happen.”
The last time someone took aim at a monumental dick was a few months ago, when that guy threw his shoe at George W. Bush. For his efforts, people all over the world celebrated him as a hero. Women were offering him their daughters in marriage. People were offering him jobs, houses, and other extravagant gifts.
And, that asshole missed.
Posted in Europeans, News & Politics | 
Tags: Berlusconi Attack, George W. Bush, Italy, Shoe-Thrower, Silvio Berlusconi, Violence
I recently (last Thursday) found myself witness to such a confrontation. Sherman, set the way back machine to Friday morning at 2:00am… location, pizza parlor on the corner of Hollywood and Cahuenga. Loud mouth got a firm talking from a rather large ethnic gentleman who had heard quite enough and decided to use some sign language to get his message across. It mostly consisted of a fist pump action to the face. We all heard it loud and clear. Oh and the pizza was good too.
Sounds like another case of sloppy drunk. That’s why I try to avoid doing anything that impairs my ability to assess an escalation toward the beat down.
I’m totally with you, on both the non-violence and the understanding of violent recourse under certain circumstances. The only thing that pisses me off about is when I’m not bigger, stronger, or more skilled (or, of course, when it’s directed against me!
. I’m all for violence as long as it supports my cause or benefits but completely against it otherwise… 
)
Well, at least in my home country crazy people “get their point across” by throwing plaster replicas of churches, instead than by shooting bullets.
Enzo, I am so proud of your crazy people. As long as there are brave (crazy) shoe and church replica throwers around the world, right-wing Aholes like Bush and Berlusconi get what they deserve every now and then. May all the corrupted politicians live in constant fear of flying objects coming their way. Amen.
And yes, I too prefer the Italian old language of throwing little objects at corrupted politicians to the American new language of dropping bombs on innocent civilians.