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Don’t Pee on The President
Monkey business.
It can be a risky business for a politician to step out in public. Many have been the targets of such missiles as eggs, shoes, bullets and buckets of water, all thrown as indications of disapproval. My favourite to date has been the egging of John Prescott (one time deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom). Eggs were propelled in his direction on a walk-about and, Mr Prescott evidencing the effects of over-nourishment, the missiles had no trouble finding their target. And the British all know what happened next. Instead of allowing himself to be escorted out of the area by members of his solicitous entourage, the rambunctious Mr Prescott landed two punches on the egg thrower knocking the wind out of him. Mr Prescott and his assailant both had to be restrained and the general feeling in the country was that of begrudging admiration for a not-too-popular politician who showed what he was made of.
George W Bush was shoe-ed at a press conference in Iraq and JFK was assailed by bullets, but more bizarre than all of these was what happened to the President of Zambia this week. At a press conference after being elected to office a monkey urinated on the hapless President Rupiah Banda, surely the ultimate indignity, but the good president recovered by shouting at the offending monkey that he would serve him up as dinner to the leader of the opposition who he had just defeated in the election.
And monkeys have meddled in politics before. A few years ago a monkey caused the deputy Mayor of Delhi, Mr Bajwa, to fall off a balcony to his death, and I’ve seen with my own eyes a family of baboons mooning at Philibert Tsiranana, one-time president of Madagascar on a state visit to Malawi in the 1970s.
Maybe it’s in politics that the link between monkeys and humans is strongest.
UPDATE 2 Sept 2009: The monkeys have been “relocated” from the grounds of State House where the incident took place to Munda Wanga Botanical Gardens, just to even the score.
http://www.socyberty.com/History/The-Presidents-Memorial-to-His-Glorious-Self.276221
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6 Comments
Excellent Post!!..Highly informative article..very interesting too..Thanx for sharing this great advices.
Those of us who subscribe to evolution may not be able to pinpoint the inception of soul, but we may be able to trace the lineage of politicism. lol. good read.
Great. Maybe the monkeys knew something people were too ashamed to say in public.
Delightful article! Situations such as those you describe are wonderful opportunities to see what a nation’s leader is really made of … When Reagan was shot in the early 1980’s, the first thing he said to his wife was, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” That endeared him all the more to a nation that was still reeling from devastating economic policies of the previous administration under Carter.
Sharp as ever
Well it goes to shouw that even monkeys can have a sense of humor
Great article