We can do worse than the worst over there!

My article titled above is a play on the famous song belted out by Betty Hutton in Annie get your Gun – ‘Anything you can do I can do better’. Cass discerns the truth of this vis-a vis our mobs, politicians and terrorists with the change of ‘better’ to ‘worse’.

The entire world was abuzz with the assault on the Capitol after Trump’s call in his speech at a Republican rally instigating action must be taken. So white supremacists stormed the Capitol targeting the US Congress and House of Representatives. Cass’ reaction was: Oh, we Sri Lankans can do better and surpass those beefy guys who scaled the walls of the seat of American government; smashed windows, crawled, crept and swept into rooms. Trump’s call for sedition was to disrupt the votes being taken within that, would seal the coffin of his departure from office; his coffin in actuality. Though disrupted, the Senate did convene later through the night and passed all electoral college votes to confirm Biden’s bid for Presidency, and Harris for VP.

Here was true democracy within the government in sharp contrast to the anarchy without, instigated by a megalomaniac. He seems to be assured his true dessert – impeachment and even a judicial case against him as instigator of a coup. But will he do worse in the few days left to the 21st and the inauguration of the new President? You never know with a psychopath.

The war cry over there was: Trump did not lose the elections; it was rigged and fraudulent. Thus, the American whites have to grab power by whatever means. Many of the rioters have been apprehended; some in positions of power who encouraged the riot including two Republican Senators. Five have died, one being the pitiable police officer who was shown on TV as suffocating, wedged in a too small space by the rioters and screaming for help. Most of the beefy ones who rioted are lower down types – mostly ill-educated Republicans.

How did we fare over here and do worse, as I contend? SWRD Bandaranaike, soon after he won the Premiership with forming his own party, introduced the Pancha Maha Bala Vegaya as the backbone of the country. Thus, a motley group of farmers, ayurveda practitioners, Buddhist monks, teachers and workers were invited to roam around the Parliament – then by Galle Face Green. Their exhilaration was so great, one sat on the Speaker’s chair – truly sacrosanct then. SWRD for sure is guilty of dragging members of the peasantry to a false sense of power which they overrode.

His Sinhala Only Act paralleled Trump’s incitement to the mob, but with a difference. Though, Trump gloated for a short while, maybe four hours, and the wrong was quickly righted, the violence incited by the Sinhala Only Ac, at first with no concession to either Tamil or English, continued down the decades and though modified to be more accommodating, is still a sharp thorn in the flesh of Sri Lankans. A 28-year civil war resulted with thousands killed. Trump will get his due punishment; SWRD was shot by a Buddhist monk instigated by another.

To parallel the assault on the Capitol was the uproar within the Sri Lankan Parliament in September 2018. The major difference is that while mostly white thugs stormed the Capitol, our Members of Parliament, Sri Lanka’s premier legislators turned rioters and ruffians flouted outrageously the protocols and rules of Parliament. The Americans went in with bull strength. Many may have had firearms but did not whip them out. They used hastily gathered ‘weapons’ like legs torn off chairs. Our rioting MPs went berserk too and were better armed with bound Holy Bibles, torn off equipment, chairs, and deadly chilli powder. We can equal Trump’s role of inciter to the leader of the Party gone berserk, who sat quietly watching. The facilitator was the Prez at the time: Sirisena. No one can deny we did not do worse than the Americans. (‘better than’ as in the song Cass mentioned). Cass looked out for women in the Washington DC melee. Just a very few; unrecognisable in their winter coats. We went better: we had two screaming women cheerleaders in our August House, leading on the Johnstons and Gammanpilas. Yes, Pavithradevi, now of Peni and Mutti fame, and Dr Sudarshini, currently mercifully earning respect as State Minister in charge of C19 prevention. House of Reps Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was on hand and took the lead to get business done, though it was late night. Our parallel: sage saviour, again of high repute, who braved the gang of uncouth MPs and their missiles and restored the House to order: – Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

‘Black Lives Matter’ and all that occurs often in the States. In the latest two incidents, two black men were attacked and killed by white policemen. The entire country: Blacks, Whites, Hispanics rose up as one to protest and got laws changed and criminals duly punished.

Oh, goodness, one clash with Tamils (1983) condemned us in the eyes of the entire world; caused a 28-year civil war; saw the rise of the worst terrorist of all times and climes: Prabhakaran and his ‘gift’ to the world – the most horrendous suicide bomber. Wounds of the 1983 riot against Tamils have yet suppurating wounds exposed unjustifiably by the Tamil diaspora. Later, rampages against Muslims and them retaliating had the worst massacre – merciless killing of churchgoers and five-star hotel guests at breakfast by radicalised Muslims.

Thus hasn’t Cass justified fully the statement – we can do worse than even the American mindless thugs.

Continuing Covid 19

Neil Ferguson. epidemiologist of Imperial College UK, interviewed by Stephen Sackur on the BBC HARDtalk programme on Saturday 9 January, admitted that often politicians and the scientific community did not see eye to eye, particularly during the Covid pandemic. Politicians watched economic indices sink low and thus their hopes of re-election later and present popularity, while scientists from virologists across the spectrum to doctors in the forefront of attending to Covid-19 patients had the target of reducing deaths and containing infection with all its attendant corollaries. He said that this pandemic was not going to leave the world for very long. Asked the percentage that should be vaccinated so infection rates are reduced, he did not trot out a definite statistic like 70% but said if over 50s and frontline health workers are immunised, the situation would improve fast. Sackur enquired whether poorer countries and Third Worlders would be ruled out as vaccines roll out. Ferguson disagreed because he said India and Brazil are manufacturing vaccines, even the Oxford one, in bulk and therefore obtainable to poorer countries closer at hand and at less cost.

Cambodia and Vietnam, along with richer Australasia and South Korea were able to contain the spread of infection well since strictures were followed closely, lockdowns were ordered and contact tracing and quarantine efficiently carried out. We, tiny Sri Lanka, would have been in this praiseworthy category if not for resting on laurels after the first success and concentrating on passing the 20A, opening up, and not only disregarding health advice of specialists but even encouraging dissidence among scientists and the medical profession.

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And then of course came the Ukrainians, made to be detestable by an admirer of theirs, a sponsor of sorts, an arranger of their leisure and R&R, of scantily dressed, holidaying gals with others overflowing our holiday resorts and tourists sites – the former selected to benefit only some hoteliers, it is rumoured. The Ukrainians – a pilot – introduced the influx of the second wave of greater virulence (no denying this at all) and a promoter of tourism – outside the tourism sector – but living grand with address: Temple Trees, Colombo 3, is continuing the risk we face for weeks on end with thousands of Ukrainians flying here – all in a test run, protective bubbles or whatever only imagined. You know Cass remembered her maternal grandmother, four feet something, but in nature a red hot chilli. Deiya saakki was the neatest expression of disgust and annoyance in seven villages surrounding hers; and her curse: Hena hathak gahapan with a spat out nodaking. Cass echoes the lady now as she dreads the announcement of a high rise of C19 in the areas flooded across by the Ukrainian holiday makers. They have even been taken to the Dalada Maligawa, always full of devotees. Were the two Mahanayakes not informed?

An experiment, she thought, is a one-off until test results are obtained and measured and deductions made. So, if the first batch of Ukrainian tourists was a test run, bringing in the second contingent should have been suspended until the situ here was assessed. Two weeks at least to ascertain whether fresh cases of infection were reported from people involved and sites visited. No. This was NOT done and not criticized by anyone with political clout. The JVP has shouted against the move; others have come out strong. Not a squeak from the Presidential Task Force for the prevention of Covid 19 spread. We admired them so much earlier, to the point of veneration. Did Jasinghe’s kick to an alien field from the medical where he rendered yeoman service debilitate the Task Force though led by no less a smart person than the Army Commander?

We wait fearfully studying the sure rise of the second wave of infection which should have been well on the wane, but for the Ukrainians.