There’s been nothing more mindless than the fashion this year of politicians having a weirdo gesticulating and face-pulling alongside them when addressing the television cameras. This absurdity supposedly caters for the tiny handful of stone-deaf people whom I’m damn sure would prefer captions.
Several points arise.
First, if it’s such a good idea why have politicians never done it before? Obviously, someone as screamingly wet as Canada’s Trudeau would have, probably with two, one gesticulating in French and the other in English, but God help us all if he becomes a standard setter.
The answer of course is fashion. Fashion by definition is fickle and certainly never rational. Furthermore, the politicians are stupid because it’s a huge distraction from them and their message.
Secondly; why are these spastic performers so bloody ugly and in many cases, positively gargoylish? People like me who have had a massive head start in life by being so outstandingly good-looking can only imagine the answer.
I suspect there’s a government agency catering for unemployable ugly buggers, training them for this hugely unneeded task instead of say becoming shepherds or night watchmen out of everyone’s sight. Filling the latter role would certainly be a huge deterrence to burglars.
I mentioned this puzzle to Wellington poet John Boyd who said the Italian Prime Minister has an ex-beauty queen putting on this writhing performance. That’s even dumber as she’d draw all of the attention.
So credit to Trump who seemingly alone among politicians has not succumbed to this nonsense. Cynics would say that’s because he wants to hog viewers attention, which if so, shows he’s smarter than the others.
However, I don’t agree. Trump is an outrage, breaking every political norm, and certainly never a fashion follower. It may well be it’s for precisely that reason his support base remains so solid.