BB is off to Barcelona for a break shortly. Are we worried? Nervous? Concerned? Nope, can’t wait. And we’ll particularly look forward to breathing the same air as a sane, humanitarian, motivated electorate. Hopefully, the numbers of Bush-voting American tourists will be down currently, so there won’t be any unpleasant farmyard smells around either.
According to Culture Smart: Spain, a little book we bought to avoid some of the embarrassments of our last visit (boy, that business with the bread and the tomatoes was shaming), the average Spaniard enjoys a good debate and, whatever vociferous disagreements may then flow, never takes an argument personally. We hope so, because it’s difficult to imagine that even the most placid Spaniard or Catalan could listen to a clueless American commentator lambasting them as “cowardly appeasers” for five seconds without launching themselves across the table, grabbing the insensitive clod in a headlock and holding their face in the nearest pile of dog caca until they stop that annoying breathing thing they do. It wasn’t so much a vote for al-Quaida as a vote against El Dubya (that’s right, George - if we’re not for you, we’re against you). To listen to them whining about the perceived shortcomings of Spanish democracy reminds us of the nationwide protests that occurred across the US when Bush was declared President based on his non-majority:
“Well uh, actually we united behind him…”
Oh right, we remember now. Tell us again how a democratic election works:
“Hell, we’ll show you! In Iraq!”
Rii-ight, thanks Clyde. The Spanish people will give you a call. When they get back from burying their dead.
Meanwhile, we note that Zapatero’s threat to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq without more UN support has led Bush to talk up the possibility of gaining a new resolution. From this, we infer that: 1. Threatening America over Iraq works; 2. Bush is also open to appeasement; 3. Christ, Blair really is a lapdog. But presumably the “pro-war” lobby feel that continuing as normal in Iraq, unquestioningly supporting someone else’s botched corporate takeover and coping the flak for their ignorant bullheadedness, is still the better policy.
Other bubbles
- Harry’s Best of the blogs on Spain
- Arrogance to the tenth power
- Thoughts on Spain from US expats
- Spanish appeasers?
- Al Qaeda Is The New Nader
- Spain got the point
- Dialogue in Spanish
- Unbelievable crap from Philip Greenspun (the comments show a distinct lack of listening skills too, so perhaps it’s not so surprising that anyone could be so badly informed, although the level of blundering insensitivity still amazes). We doubt that Europeans will call Philip Greenspun “sir” now either.