"Penguin" politicians & drivers + (freebie) 1924 Pact of Locarno
In the mid-1920s appeared in France little penguin porcelain figurines (about two inches tall and displaying great craftsmanship) representing various political figures and high government officials of the day*, and Lord knows they have had their share of lousy politicos! (as any mature country has inevitably produced, probably because we, modern and self proclaimed "developed" humans, lose track of the importance of our involvement in our own democracy.)
The perceptive and inquiring minds among you will ask why the poor penguins, already saddled with probably the worst climate on earth, end up mixed up in French politics? Aren't they suffering enough? Not to mention that we are warming up their icepack with our SUVs, central A/C and heating, and other modern necessities, and then, there is also the case of our fake promises and ... hot air, precisely!
In France, "penguin" was an old-fashioned insult for a gauche and incompetent individual. The penguins' particular waddling gait and short, awkward, undeveloped anterior limbs make them perfect pictures of our politicians, to the sarcastically-minded. It would seem that the long tradition of French anarchistic, and at times self-deprecating, humor is in tune with the current American state of mind towards political leadership. But let's go back to our penguins, retournons a nos pingouins!
Despite their impeccable, highly official-looking tuxedoed appearance, penguins are also documented idiots; for instance, should the first one in the line, the alleged leader, accidentally stumble and fall, ALL followers (quite a long line, indeed the entire colony!) replicate that fall, obviously noting that, well, if the boss does it, I guess I must, too, and that's just the way it's done! In other terms, penguins are conformists through and through, repetitive, lacking in imagination or personality, in short,... perfect functionnaries! --and probably at all levels, high or low in the hierarchy or totem pole of civil and government service.
Then, of course, come in the aforementioned underdeveloped anterior limbs, i.e., "arms and hands" (nature's adaptation against the bitter cold--penguins can't afford to extend a hand as our politicians do to appear friendly and hope we'd vote for them; in Antarctica, you'd lose your hand if you had one--no BS in Antarctica, extend a hand and you lose it, not a bad system to prevent hypocrisy and fake friendliness, you might add--Maybe we could send our politicians to practice campaigning down there, at least they'd help warm up the poor penguins who, in fact, are a lot less detrimental to the environment.)
The old "pingouin" insult was frequently yelled from the car window to bad drivers of any motorized vehicle requiring manual dexterity or attention. This pretty mild insult was still in use as late as the 1960s; we have since graduated to much more direct, and much more comprehensive, all-inclusive evaluations of debatable drivers. Nevertheless, one can easily imagine that, should a penguin somehow end up at the wheel or handlebars of our modern vehicles, it would be difficult for this intellectually limited and dexterity-challenged animal to steer and manoeuver in today's traffic any better than many of our home-grown, alleged modern drivers...
That is the end of the blog du jour, but, today, you also get a little history lesson!
* One of the little penguin figurines holds a big brown book or envelope on which appears the word "Locarno," a reference to the October 1924 pact of Locarno, signed by France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany, by which the latter settles its borders to the West with France and Belgium (but not towards the East -- Czechoslovakia and Poland--some things never change!! or was it advanced preparation?) Obviously this is the representation of the French Foreign Affairs Minister at the time (whose name may appear here soon, if I can find it...)
The perceptive and inquiring minds among you will ask why the poor penguins, already saddled with probably the worst climate on earth, end up mixed up in French politics? Aren't they suffering enough? Not to mention that we are warming up their icepack with our SUVs, central A/C and heating, and other modern necessities, and then, there is also the case of our fake promises and ... hot air, precisely!
In France, "penguin" was an old-fashioned insult for a gauche and incompetent individual. The penguins' particular waddling gait and short, awkward, undeveloped anterior limbs make them perfect pictures of our politicians, to the sarcastically-minded. It would seem that the long tradition of French anarchistic, and at times self-deprecating, humor is in tune with the current American state of mind towards political leadership. But let's go back to our penguins, retournons a nos pingouins!
Despite their impeccable, highly official-looking tuxedoed appearance, penguins are also documented idiots; for instance, should the first one in the line, the alleged leader, accidentally stumble and fall, ALL followers (quite a long line, indeed the entire colony!) replicate that fall, obviously noting that, well, if the boss does it, I guess I must, too, and that's just the way it's done! In other terms, penguins are conformists through and through, repetitive, lacking in imagination or personality, in short,... perfect functionnaries! --and probably at all levels, high or low in the hierarchy or totem pole of civil and government service.
Then, of course, come in the aforementioned underdeveloped anterior limbs, i.e., "arms and hands" (nature's adaptation against the bitter cold--penguins can't afford to extend a hand as our politicians do to appear friendly and hope we'd vote for them; in Antarctica, you'd lose your hand if you had one--no BS in Antarctica, extend a hand and you lose it, not a bad system to prevent hypocrisy and fake friendliness, you might add--Maybe we could send our politicians to practice campaigning down there, at least they'd help warm up the poor penguins who, in fact, are a lot less detrimental to the environment.)
The old "pingouin" insult was frequently yelled from the car window to bad drivers of any motorized vehicle requiring manual dexterity or attention. This pretty mild insult was still in use as late as the 1960s; we have since graduated to much more direct, and much more comprehensive, all-inclusive evaluations of debatable drivers. Nevertheless, one can easily imagine that, should a penguin somehow end up at the wheel or handlebars of our modern vehicles, it would be difficult for this intellectually limited and dexterity-challenged animal to steer and manoeuver in today's traffic any better than many of our home-grown, alleged modern drivers...
That is the end of the blog du jour, but, today, you also get a little history lesson!
* One of the little penguin figurines holds a big brown book or envelope on which appears the word "Locarno," a reference to the October 1924 pact of Locarno, signed by France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany, by which the latter settles its borders to the West with France and Belgium (but not towards the East -- Czechoslovakia and Poland--some things never change!! or was it advanced preparation?) Obviously this is the representation of the French Foreign Affairs Minister at the time (whose name may appear here soon, if I can find it...)
Labels: French penguin insults, locarno pact
posted by kingba at 4:48 PM
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