Can any of my transpontine readers explain why Mr Trump wears a Brigade of Guards tie? Is it his die-hard Anglophilia? Can we expect him to drop the usual "Mah fellow Americans" and begin his speeches with "Mah fellow Grenadiers"? Did he leave the G7 early in order to parade incognito in yesterday's Trooping of the Colour on the Monarch's Official Birthday?
In the jolly old English phrase, he is clearly a man of many parts, not all of them public. Is it true that he is planning to bring out an improved edition of How to make friends and influence people?
I do not know why, at this point, with the disintegration of Western culture and nations, why people would not recognize a friend, perhaps our last best friend, in the personage of President Donald Trump. Least of all do I understand why clerics would not. Have people heard his Poland speech? In it he makes an impassioned defense of Christendom, and the West, and makes it clear he is all in for defending it. Why do we push away the hand that is extended to help us?
ReplyDeleteBut then we see that President Donald Trump once made a crude remark about a woman, to a man he supposed was a man and with honor, but as it turns out that man had no honor and sold him out at the first opportunity, and so what should have been private became public, and now, we paragons must look down our noses at President Donald J. Trump, whose behavior has scandalized us, those of the highest moral values. Besides, all the cool kids do it.
This president's words and actions, since he has been elected, have been decidedly pro-God and pro-Christ and pro-life and pro-West. Besides him there are a few leaders in Poland and Hungary who are willing to stand in the gap against the Mongols, but not many, and probably not enough. However, signs of some tiny hope. President Trump, is catching on. Europe is taking a page from his manly book and seeing that only boldness and manly courage will get us out of this one, and he has been an underlined and bold example of both. The West is about to be swallowed up entire. We'd do better if more men would take the lead of this very human but very incredible, natural born leader, who for some unbelievable reason decided he wanted to take on the miserable job of taking on the monstrous global elites.
Here in the erstwhile colonies we have little awareness of the soldierly association of particular combinations of tie colors.
ReplyDeleteIn our 'egalitarian' minds we believe anyone may have any combination of colors in his tie - without being associated with an old boy network (are there 'old-girl' networks?).
Now as to the length of the President's ties, that is another matter. Let's posit that he is not a 'slave to fashion or convention'.
How to make friends and influence people?
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't write, he performs , and his performances are directed at influencing voters to hate those whom he hates - the media; I.e. political activists with a byline - and internationalist politicians.
The media hates normal men and normal men have a man who loves going to war with the media. His trolling of them is very effective because his actions cause them to wildly overreact which delights those who voted for Trump. Sure, the delight may take the form of an intensified hatred of the media but because our genius politicians decided to change America into Yugoslavia, ritualised hatred is preferable to the ineluctable violent war that is coming to America.
America is Neo-Yugoslavia with a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-religious, multi-language conglomeration of various interest groups and as the popular observation has it; Diversity + Proximity = War.
How many Americans (The answer is nine) are aware that since 1965, America has been the destination for the largest mass immigration in the history of the world?
Trump will win the next election in a huge landslide and watching the election night results with a bottle of quality cabernet will be even funnier than the election night results episode on The Monty Python Show: ...,Ole Biscuit Barrel, the very silly party
oh, I see what you're getting at...
ReplyDeleteRed and Blue have been taken as emblematic of the US for, well, a fairly long time now... in the US, anyways; somewhat more recently, they've also been appropriated as separately emblematic of the parts of the Partisan Duopoly; as the President is appearing at G7 (or departing it) on behalf of all the US, he wants his tie not to appear to favour one side or the other. Meanwhile, a tie of Red and White and Blue... would be a bit much, not to mention the risk of getting badly rendered on television.
To your second question: Trump sees his charter as 'Making America Great Again', not as 'Kissing the Nether-Regions of European and Canadian "leaders."'
ReplyDeleteHe has earned the friendship of a large majority of his fellow US citizens. To the others, he offers friendship, but not one more drop of US money.
Short answer on the tie: he wears it ignorantly because almost no Americans know one regimental tie from another. We don't really have them in our military: even the "service ties" here typically have the service's seal or logo or name on them and are thus very obvious.
ReplyDeleteI would carefully avoid them in the UK, but that's only because I know that it would give even more offence than I usually do.
He seems to wear the trademark red tie on occasions when he is on the warpath at rallies, and blue ones on more conciliatory occasions. Of course Republicans are from red states and Democrats from blue, based on an election return map originally printed in the newspaper USA Today. Red and Blue together are the colors of his Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, to which he has extended an affection that perhaps has not been returned in equal measure by its administration.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the photograph on which your comment is based, but if it is a tie sold in the US, the diagonal stripes will point to the right shoulder rather than to the left shoulder as in a proper UK regimental tie. It's an intentional difference to avoid confusion with ties intended to announce membership in a group.
ReplyDeleteVarious interesting suggestions have been offered to explain why the stripes on American ties go the opposite way to those on English striped ties.
ReplyDeleteI asked a friend of mine who had spent a large part of his childhood in the US what his tie was. I commented that it appeared to be a mirror image of a Guards tie. He replied "Ah, but you see, this is a Virginia Ramblers tie."
@kathleen: Please reread Fr Hunwicke's post and tell me where he has criticized Mr Trump unfairly. Why is it that his fans defend him so fiercely, even when it is just a questionable sartorial choice?
ReplyDeleteAlso, that man has been married three times. This alone would let me question his seriousness as a Christian.
I too am ignorant of the regimental associations of the tie colors. Will I get in trouble if I wear my red and blue tie in Ireland on a visit this Summer?
ReplyDeleteIf you have an interest in ties, you may be interested in this site http://www.bondsuits.com/qs-history-through-ties/
ReplyDeleteKathleen1031 has it exactly right. I am sure that Mr. Trump knows nothing about British military ties. As for influencing people, I would almost feel sorry for Mr. Kim if he weren't such a schmuck and deserving of whatever Mr. Trump has in store for him. He is about to be influenced to give up his nukes and accept peace and prosperity for his people or go home to face worse economic sanctions.
ReplyDeleteMy American relatives, faithful Catholics, ex Evangelicals, voted for Trump not because they admire him but because the baby killing, gender bending Clinton alternative had to be kept out of office. How hilarious that the media should rail against Trump and his shaky morals. when in Big Bill we saw a rampant lech with a desperate wife covering up for him at every point! No mention of his treatment of women!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Father - why he should have chosen that, rather than the gloriously fitting MCC tie, we shall never know.
ReplyDeleteAmerican readers may wonder why Englishmen are not very warm towards Mr. Trump. Their attitude is seldom that of their liberal masters, who despise his policies. It probably owes more to their uncertainty whether he holds them sincerely; since a single insincere champion can do more harm than a great host of enemies. How many Brutuses does it take to outweigh a Cassius, if he should prove to be one? But we perhaps understand that you were not given much of a choice.
Nevertheless, Fr. Hunwicke's snobbery is misplaced. Clearly Mr. Trump is turning gentleman - notice how he never gives offence unintentionally. In fact, I'm certain he would be mortified to realize that he had done so, and thus failed to enjoy the opportunity to the full. He has that sway over the people and that anitpathy towards his own class which the more "political" aristocrats have shared from the time of the Gracchi to that of Tony Benn. I would recommend he seek immediate diagnosis of his condition, perhaps under Obamacare, since I hear it is eminently treatable.
Transpontini, do also take note that the English, including Father Hunwicke, never refer to anyone they like as "Mr." (except perhaps for schoolmasters, who refer to all their pupils this way).
As several commenters have noted, many of the President's voters were less enthusiastic about him getting in as Mrs. Clinton staying out. I was one of them, using the metaphor that I preferred a random number generator to loaded dice (particularly since they were loaded against me).
ReplyDeleteI still dislike his manner and his trade policy, but I have warmed to him on other policy and personnel grounds somewhat.
There's a wonderful photogtsph on the front page of the Stuttgarter Nachrichten. It might be in other newspapers as well but I happen to be in Stuttgart at the moment. President Trump is sitting down with his arms folded. Angela Merkel is standing up glaring at Trump with all her might. The expression on Trump's looks as though he is politely telling Frau Merkel to seek the services of a taxidermist. His expression is of total disinterest in whatever she had to say.
ReplyDeleteThe allegory of the greatest American novel ---- Moby-Dick ---- has finally found its referent.
ReplyDeleteThis vast, ancient creature circles the world, singing songs to himself which humans don't understand, while they obsess about him continuously.
He sends out sonar "pings", seemingly at random, and gets back information about his environment. (This being the biological function of Trump's "tweets".)
And his enemies come off in worse and worse shape at every encounter.
Trump really is not much like a Huey Long, or other famous American demogogues. He is more in the tradition of eccentric American businessmen/philanthropists.
ReplyDeleteHe strongly recalls Patterson of NCR, who made workers' jobs secure but constantly hired and fired executives. (His theory was that executives were beneficial go-getters in the first year or so, but afterwards should go work someplace else unless they continually came up with new stuff.) He had both wacky and shrewd theories, implemented some on his employees, but paid them big bucks and incentives to be part of his social and business experiments. People had a lot of fun working for an eccentric, but they also got to own nice houses and get good night school educations, vacations on the company, and free movies for kids. Sadly, when crazy Patterson-style innovation stopped, NCR lost its prominence as a company.
The hilarious part is how Trump has managed to leverage the traditional at-home rant tradition of U.S. Dads railing hyperbolically while reading their newspapers or listening to the TV news. Except he does it in Twitter, and leverages it to get goats or dismay those he is preparing to negotiate with.
I voted for him because he was my party's candidate, and because anybody was better than Hillary. Since then, Trump's shrewd actions have convinced me that we the people made a good hiring decision. (Meanwhile, his words have been funny at worst, and inspiring at best.)
People have jobs again. I see a lot of newly bought cars in the road, and a lot of spiffed-up houses and yards. There are fewer regulations every month, and abortion support by the federal government has been pushed back in several ways. The disastrous foreign policy of the Obama administration is being repaired, albeit in unorthodox ways, and things are being done in some regions that even the likes of Reagan could not do.
So I hope that UK people feel free to have fun with us and our unpredictable president. The tie thing cracks me up, because one always hears about regimental ties in novels. I had no idea that they looked just like the ordinary ties in every dad's closet. (Yes, I needed to consult the Internet before this....)
Holy cow, Father! I have now looked at regimental ties. And truly, English mystery novels have misled me. I thought they must all be in quiet muted colors and tasteful patterns. But no! They are showy male plumage! (Deservedly so, given the deeds of some of those regiments.)
ReplyDeleteA very fun piece of new knowledge for me! Thank you.
The song that became a fixture at his pre-election rallies is another British import: "You Can't Always Get What You Want (But if you try sometimes, you just might find -- you get what you need)".
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump is a loose cannon, a vulgarian, frequently imprecise with facts and loose in speech. I don't care. If he knows anything at all about regimental or school ties, he may consider that those institutions have abandoned their traditions and identities to a degree that renders faintly ridiculous any charges of misappropriation.
President Trump's imperfections trouble me about as much as those of Constantine or Clovis or Vladimir the Great, other rough customers who proved themselves well-suited to their rough times, whose lack of personal sanctity didn't inhibit their determination to maintain civil order and a committed sponsorship of the Christian faith.
With a gaeidhilgeoir mother from Lewis, I would have expected the Seaforth Highlanders, which is an even better Red White and Blue beauty to remind people of Old Glory.
ReplyDeleteI was not going to comment, but in view of some of the comments made here I feel that I must. Donald Trump is a disaster for the USA, Europe, Middle East, Far East, etc. His childish actions will soon destroy any good will the United States may have in the world. In fact, I believe he may be responsible for a financial world collapse. He has already added $1.5 TRILLION to our debt with his financial give away to the wealthy in taxes. I shall stop here rather than sinning if I continue.
ReplyDeleteDear Bill. the average American does not give a fig about the rest of the world nor does the average American care what any foreign country thinks about America.
ReplyDeleteFor scores of years America has wrecked the world in various ways and now the rest of the world will just have to put on its political pants one leg at a time and get about the business of wrecking its own self.
To be fair, the rest of the world has already wrecked its own self in impressive fashion.
The debt will be repudiated. It is ineluctable.
All this Trump hating is enough to make a person sick.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, were these people embarrassed by the murderous antics of Hilary Clinton or Barrack Obama?
Were they impressed by the cowardice of the previous administration, which allowed Russia to seize the Crimea?
Are they offended by the massive protectionist policies of Canada and the EU? Or is it just President Trump's retaliation that offends them?
Donald J. Trump is not embarrassing. If you think that he is, it says more about you than it does him.
Bill, do you have some specific measure you can quote that demonstrates Mr. Trump has been a "disaster"? None of the economic measures would show that.
ReplyDeleteAs for the deficit, it increased by over 9 Trillion under Mr. Obama, yet all of a sudden it is an issue only now. Yes it may lead to a financial collapse someday when the national credit card reaches its limit, but there will be lots of blame to go around if and when that happens, going all the way back to the Great Society and maybe before that.
I am more concerned about the impending social collapse. Trump may not be able to stop that but at least the actions he is taking are slowing the slide towards Gomorrah.
That photo of Donald Trump and Angela Merkel can also be found on the website of 'Spiked'. It is accompanied by a very interesting article on how "Trump is exposing the irrelevance of Cold War institutions like the G7".
ReplyDeleteSomeone above wrote: "For scores of years America has wrecked the world in various ways..."
ReplyDeleteYou Brits would do well to thank the Colonies for rescuing you in WW I, WW II and the Cold War. Grab some humility and gratitude instead of hyperventilating at the beauty of your new adulteress princess, the only import from America on which you would not impose a tariff.
Sprouting Thomas – in all my years as a schoolmaster (in a similar institution to that in which Fr Hunwicke laboured) I never addressed any of my pupils as 'Mr'. The form for addressing schoolboys was by surname only (“Stop talking, Jones”), as this was how one addressed one's social equals. 'Mr' tended to be used for people who were not one's social equals but who commanded a certain respect – the head gardener, for instance, or the registrar – and to English ears would sound facetious if addressed to a schoolboy. The beaks, of course, were always addressed as 'Sir'.
ReplyDeleteThe great Giacomo Puccini, when visiting England, would buy club and regimental ties (and wear them), quite oblivious to their connections.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 1970s there was a cartoon (it may have been in Punch) showing an elderly Japanese gent in a London outfitters being told by the sales assistant: 'I'm sorry, Sir, but we don't have much demand for Kamikaze ties.'
LQC - I concur with you about the Cold War and WW II, but the Americans arrived too late in the First World War to make much difference. The (colonial) Australians had a greater impact. The joke over here is that the only war the Americans arrived on time for was the Civil War.
Trump is a decent sort with some big sins in his past but he’s much sharper than most give him credit for, ask Kim if you doubt me. He’s the most pro-life President yet; he’s likely avoided a nuke fest in NK; he’s human as opposed to Hilary, who never saw an abortion she didn’t swoon over. America has many faults; being hated by much of the world isn’t one of them.
ReplyDelete