[D]espicable human scum Jang, who was worse than a dog, perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party and the leader for him.Few things fascinate me more than how one crazy guy can dominate a society: the uneasy web of influence and privilege that keeps his henchmen in power over the populace, and the balancing act that keeps his henchmen from carving him up and serving him for dinner. The old guard can't much enjoy seeing the kid start picking off members of their own ranks. They probably have networks he can scarcely imagine, made up of people who must live in a perpetual state of crazed desperation.
Way harsh
A lot of the North Korean press release about the chief nutso's purged uncle didn't come through very well in translation, but this part is clear enough:
KCNA never disappoints.
ReplyDelete"Upon hearing the report on the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the service personnel and people throughout the country broke into angry shouts that a stern judgment of the revolution should be meted out to the anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional elements...."
"Every sentence of the decision served as sledge-hammer blow brought down by our angry service personnel and people on the head of Jang, an anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional element and despicable political careerist and trickster.
"The accused is a traitor to the nation for all ages who perpetrated anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts in a bid to overthrow the leadership of our party and state and the socialist system."
It is very disturbing how a tiny cabal can live in luxury while holding an entire impoverished nation hostage. I used to think any sensible despot would want a strong prosperous nation so as to leverage their power- but apparently a middle class is too much of a threat to them. And after a few brainwashed generations go by, the people don't even realize there is an alternative.
ReplyDeleteI forget where I read it recently about a visit to Cuba where the networks of government informers were presumed to be everywhere- "I never felt so alone". "Networks he can scarcely imagine..."? I sometimes find it hard to be open about my conservatism in Los Angeles- can you imagine the courage it would take to even hint obliquely at being against the regime to someone in a place like that? I'm not sure I can.
ReplyDeleteOh, but the networks of the powers behind the throne aren't the same as insurgencies. These guys have been running the country for a long time. The one Kim Jong Un killed was like a regent while he was too young to assume real command.
ReplyDeleteYes, understood, but still- do you really know who you can trust in those situations? Apparently not.
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