Thug times

People like to point to signs of the coming apocalypse. They look at floods, earthquakes, refugee crises and famine and say we’re approaching End Times.

I see something else. To me, it looks like we’re approaching Thug Times.

Thug Times is not some monthly publication for gangsta rappers, though it may as well be. Thug Times refers to an era when the world no longer believes in, trusts or values diplomacy and politics — which, I’ve heard, is the art of compromise — and instead puts its faith in leaders who are the loudest, the crudest and the most boorish.

Exhibit A: Vladimir Putin. Here’s a man who has singlehandedly extended his own rule, lined his own pockets with Russia’s wealth and holdings, and ensured his reelection at least until death, basically by brute force. The man is a thug, let’s face it. Surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards, he reportedly has a penchant for kleptomania. When New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft visited Putin in 2005 and showed him his Super Bowl ring, the leader of Russia reportedly said “I could kill people with this,” and pocketed the ring. Later, Putin claimed it had been “a gift.” Thug! He’s also known for imprisoning political enemies and emptying out their bank accounts (Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for one), keeping world leaders waiting for hours for no reason (John Kerry), and telling international airline authorities to back off while his men clean up evidence of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Steamrolling American relief food is only one of the more recent examples of gangsta-style posturing — as though to say to the starving Russian multitudes: “You think you’re taking a handout from those a-holes? Fuhgeddaboutit!” What’s next? A horse’s head in the United Nations’ bed?

Exhibit B: Donald Trump. This guy has gone further in the race than many would’ve imagined. How’d it happen? The Donald is a brand, pure and simple, and he knows how to ram that brand down people’s throats. Thugs are good at getting their message across. Sometimes that involves wrapping dead fish in newspapers, sometimes it involves press conferences in which you eject Mexican journalists. Unfortunately, Americans may have reached another pendulum-swing moment in national politics where the art of diplomacy just seems like more of the “same old, same old.” They want action, even if it reeks of loud, clashing ignorance.

Yes, there are a number of people who are tired of “political correctness,” and I’m one of them. But I always believed that regular folk have more leeway to “speak freely.” Not politicians. They have to remain nuanced. It goes back to that “art of compromise” thing. Donald Trump wants people to believe he doesn’t care about civil discourse. This is all about branding again. His branding.

The difficulty of being a loose-cannon leader like Trump is that people tend to follow your example. Case in point: two South Boston youths beat up a homeless Hispanic man just last week, saying they support Donald Trump’s vow to “get rid of illegals.” Trump’s response? “A lot of people who support me are very passionate about making America better.”

And guess who The Donald’s role model is? Vladimir Putin.

 Exhibit C: A lot of people want Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run for Philippine president in 2016. The reasons they give have to do with turning his city, which has 1/10th the population of Metro Manila, into what’s called the “safest, cleanest place” in the Philippines. They say it’s about his handling of the economy there, or traffic, or peace and order. This is code language for “a lot of undesirable people disappeared from sight while he was in charge.” This is code for Davao Death Squads.

Duterte, who says he won’t run, likes to say things like “If you are doing an illegal activity in my city, if you are a criminal or part of a syndicate that preys on the innocent people of the city, for as long as I am the mayor, you are a legitimate target of assassination”; or, while warning rice smugglers to cease and desist, “If you still do not stop your smuggling activities, I will kill you.” He also reportedly put a $120,000 bounty on a gang leader’s head, offering even more money if someone brings him the head on ice, “so it won’t smell so bad.” He also boasts if he’s elected president, he will execute 100,000 criminals. Shy, he is not.

Such statements, for many Filipinos, are merit badges: claims worthy of election. They say they want democracy and progress, but quite a lot of them are actually just nostalgic for Marcos. They talk glowingly of Lee Kuan Yew and his tough-line policy in transforming Singapore. Were people “disappeared” in the process? That’s for the history books, pare. Filipinos are nostalgic for a period when things made sense. Perhaps martial law — someone else telling you what makes sense — seems preferable to freedom at this point which has, let’s face it, resulted in quite a few civic messes, traffic included.

So in times like these, the thug seems like the best candidate. Murder Incorporated starts looking like a viable political ticket. True, thugs often do leave a more colorful impression on history. Unfortunately, that color is often red.

What was it Yeats said in “The Second Coming”? “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”?

Welcome to Thug Times.