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Pictured: an allegory for 21st century
international relations...evidently. |
There's this scene in the Goonies where the kids come across a framed old map among Mikey and Brand's Dad's artifacts. They decide to take it with them, but doing so would involve removing it from the frame. So rather than violate Dad's "don't touch my artifacts edict," Mikey, Sean Astin's character, hands it off to Chunk played by Jeff Cohen. Chunk, whose role in the movie is essentially that of the lovable klutz, immediately drops it, thus giving the other Goonies plausible deniability.
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Because American Presidents have
a great history with forced relocations... |
Yesterday, Benjamin Netanyahu met with--and typing this will never get easier--President Trump in the White House. This coming on the cusp of further talks to extend the cease fire that has brought a temporary halt to over a year of brutal warfare the former has been waging on the Palestinian people. After the meeting, the US President held a press conference in which he suggested that the Palestinians in Gaza be relocated. You know, somewhere else. He wasn't terribly clear on that point, and something tells me he doesn't so much care.
The UN of course was quick to point out that forcible transfer or deportation of people is a violation of international law, but you know, he ran a campaign on promises of forcible transfer and deportation of people, so...oh, and also the US would take over the Gaza Strip.
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| Because foreign intrusion into the region has, historically, worked out so well. |
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It's a little like seeing OJ Simpson in the
Naked Gun movies...but way, way worse. |
Which, ok, to be clear, this is a real-estate developer turned gameshow host turned President turned felon turned, absurdly, President again. Also, he was in Home Alone 2, but that's not really relevant beyond my point that he's not exactly versed in international diplomacy. Or good at business. And did I mention that he's a convicted felon? So in many ways we probably shouldn't be surprised that in the midst of these delicate times he did and said something profoundly dumb and dangerous.
And with all respect to Jeff Cohen and Sean Astin, I can't help but feel that the Israeli leader is, in this analogy Mikey to Trump's Chunk.
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Of course, instead of this moment being the inciting incident to an
adventure, it's probably the inciting indecent to a global war. |
