The silent war on Africa

It is not Richburg only. Actress Whoopi said a same thing that she was happy not to be African even if she has African ancestry.
As an African living currently in USA I am happy people like Whoopi and Richburgh are not Africans. They combined their arrogance and ignorance to insult almost one billion people. People living in Africa owe them nothing and do not depend on them.
Zimbabwe was booming with its wealth in the hands of a minority. During slavery the USA was booming too. I wonder if the ancestors of whoopi and richburgh were happy with that boom.
There is no secret most of Africa is in deep crisis. Happy are the people that never experienced crisis. There are people who after seing homeless people in USA, babaric capitalism... are happy not to be Americans but do not transform that into their motto.
It is funny that after benefiting from affirmative action Richburg is turning against people that happen to be struggling to get out of a mess that has many inside and outside causes.

Once again someone tries to resurrect old, dead arguemnts that might have once had a figment of truth thirty years ago, but no longer hold true now that the last colony in africa is Western Sahara and occupied by another african country.
Once again, its all the (white) west's fault of big companies, and no Black person ever told a lie, took a bribe, or embezzled the aid budget, and all liberation war veterans are hero's everlasting, no matter how many poor blacks they kill to stay in power until their nurse is mopping up the last dribble from their senile ramblings.
And of course the British Anti-apartheid movement never existed and everybody forgets, conveniently, what colour Joe Slovo was, or that the Europeans are also the old Warsaw Pact countries that supported the Guerrillas with money arms and training. (Which is now apparently a sin, considering how much the ANC wanted arms a couple of decades ago.)
If Africa would stop having wars to allow robber barons to fleece its resources (which is all due to western companies, since Taylor had no choice about who he sold diamonds to, nor how he went about getting them in Libera, Sierra Leone and Gambia, since all black dicators are mindless zombies with no free will controlled by (white) market forces), stop having a "Unity" protest everytime some donor attempts to prevent a (usually Black) thief stealing the aids orphans budget and actually notice economies are more than some farmer sitting on a farm playing "boss Man" now the colonialists left, you might actually be getting somewhere.
Until then you will have to keep refusing to take responsibility, backdating everyhing thirty years to blame a White colonialist for it as you play an invereted race card and protect Black thieves because of the colour of their skin, and continue to wonder where all the money goes as you are fleeced in front of your eyes by your "comrades".
And making yourselves look very stupid to the Latin Americans and SE Asians who can see both sides of the argument and look at you wonderingly when you wonder why Afica has a lot less progress compared to what they managed to achieve with their ex-colonies and with their pressure from Western business.
If you dont like the west, then why dont you go ask the Japanese how to beat them at their own game, or were you unaware they got nuked, occupied, de-imperialised and then became the powerhouse of the Pacific, then world finance.
And if you checked, you might start noticing how many of the world's top financial institutions are Japanese, or Singaporean, or Malaysian, and check who owns what business the next time your slaggin off "the West", or are you so totally ignorant that you are unaware that the HSBC which is on almost every highstreet in the UK is the "HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION."?????
You might actually like to start stop living in "Liberation war cloud cuckoo land" and might actually start checking who owns the fishing boats fleecing African fishing grounds and start asking why there's no records of where the permit money went, nor why none of the peasants got their development loans to buy a bigger boat.
And stop blaming the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

When will Africa ever wake up and take responsibility for their actions and stop trying to get "even" with the previous generation of the British Empire?
I fail to understand how killing and starving your own people makes it better.
Do you see you president and ministers suffering like you do? or do they get the healthcare and luxuries any ordinary person can only dream of?
Maybe your own current government is more to blame than a generation of people in a foreign country you don’t even know.
Ferenheit

This article is a poor excuse for Africa's lousy leaders. Of course the colonialists were here to pillage and exploit. That's why we call them colonialists. Of course the west has double standards. They are just normal, selfish human beings like we all are. The Saudis, the Pakitanis, the Egyptians, etc are all moddy coddled bad excuses for anything that is remotely democratic, we know this, and know why. Of course the west has used Africa as a battle ground for its proxy wars; who does not know that Mobutu, Barre, Amin, Moi, Bokassa etc started off as blue eyed boys of the west during the cold war. But why may I ask are we still playing victims? Why do we have so much wealth yet so much poverty and misery? Why does anyone with a modicum of talent pack up and leave Africa? Why 40 plus years after independence are we still begging for assistance? Why have the Asians, equally colonised wisened up, and now the emerging center of gravity of political and economic power? The West is not waging war; its doing life. We are our own worst enemy.

A rage against the West I endorse: pigs one and all.
And of course in their eyes it is everyone else's fault meaning, in the flavour of the month, Mugabe's---very convenient to blame a man driven mad by one's own sins. Then of course Mbeki is a fall-back to heap scorn on when in truth he is the only fellow who has his fingers on the pulse. Lovely to see a black African intellectual leave the West behind.
I repeat the greatest extant pig of all is the hugely porcine GW Bush who in this respect presently makes Mugabe into a Guinea, and yet he is granted Heathrow as his personal facility when he comes to England while Mugabe is scorned.
I scorn the West. It is reduced to an absurd.

Britain has revelled in double standards for centuries, as illustrated by the way they raped, looted and pillaged across the world during the time of empire. These double standards persist today - in the way they treat refugees and exploit immigrants, and in the their dubious relationship with two of the most oppressive counties in the world - Saudi Arabia and China. Greed drives it. The trade potential of these two countries is huge, but a good number of us in Britain are concerned about the way Labour is ready to do special deals with despots - to the extent of closing down a major fraud investigation into the doings of BAE to suit the alleged recipient of a £1 billion pound kickback, Prince Bandar. The ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are also of concern, with many of us in the UK believing that our involvement is illegal.

This notwithstanding, African governments are not beyond reproach. The ANC elite seems to have been more than willing to accept fat kickbacks from BAE and other arms dealers themselves, as the ongoing mutterings about the Arms Deal in SA indicates. Furthermore, Mugabe's treatment of his own people is something he and he alone is responsible for.

I take your point that many of Africa's problems are closely tied to its colonial history and that European countries need to try to look at these from an African perspective. But when push come to shove, African governments are responsible for good government in Africa. My view after spending the greater part of my life in Africa is that the double standards of the British government are common amongst Africa governments as well. Those in power across Africa seem more interested in enriching themselves that in delivering justice and services to their people. Polokwane would seem to indicate this.

Perhaps we need to look at the issue from a power abuse standpoint rather than by pointing fingers at one other across the equator. Citizens in both the developed and developing world need to hold their governments more accountable. In the UK, individual rights are being stripped from us at a frightening rate as Labour attempts to fob us off with the need for special security measures to combat terrorism. It also holds for Zimbabwe where naked power has turned a once rational politician into a tyrant and a vibrant economy into a wasteland. Perhaps expensive loans helped this process. But... who took out these loans? And for what purpose? Were these spend to the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe? Or were they trousered by a power crazy dictator?

Somalia has no proven oil reserves, and only 200 billion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.

Check facts before writing, John.

As a born and bred fifth generation South African, still residing here, I feel compelled to comment on John Pilger's utterances.

It is common cause that John Pilger is a controversal and outspoken critic of the American, and indeed, most other Western governments. His conspiracy theories border on being ludicrous. Some of the articles/theories he posted on the 9/11 tragedy are prime examples
of insane, sensation seeking journalism.

His comments contained in the above article are extrodinary, and display a complete lack of knowledge of Africa, (indeed, a typical innocent "lamb being led to the slaughter" approach to the African situation prevails),as well as a good helping of his legendary spin doctoring abilities.

In a nutshell, the essence of this article portrays the "bad colonials" as being the sole cause of Africa's problems to-day, and accuses the ex colonial powers of continuing to undermine Africa by "remote control" long after they have left.

However, when the colonials left Africa, they left behind (in the majority of African countries) solid working infrastructures. Telecommunication networks, roads, railways, harbours, industry, commerce, agriculture, etc.

Conversely, when the colonials arrived in Africa with their advanced civilisation, they were confronted with a primitive people literally living in the stone age. There was no written language, no wheel, no infrastructure whatsoever.

A similar experience awaited the colonials when they arrived in other former colonies like Australia and New Zealand, for example. The aforementioned infrastructures were put in place by the colonials, and had the colonials never arrived, these infrastructures would not exist today.

Mr Pilger need only look at the current situations prevailing in these other former colonies, and compare them to the mess that is to day's Africa, to know the answer. Zimbabwe is the latest example, and sadly, South Africa appears to be next in line.

Both these African countries were taken over by the indigenous black population after the colonials left,(handed over) and both worked pretty well for a few years. Then the rot set in. The huge wealth in the coffers of the exchequer was just too much of a temptation to resist. Corruption, fraud, theft and nepotism became the order of the day as the respective ruling parties plundered the national purse.

The arms deal in South Africa did not take place at the behest of Britian, America, Germany or any other Western nation. It took place because arms deals come with big bribes and kickbacks to those in power. In other words, it was a way to plunder the national purse on a grand scale in a short space of time. It was a God sent opportunity, created by the inner circle of the ruling party for the sole benefit of the inner circle.

This country should never have spent those billions on arms we don't need. We needed to spend the money on schools, housing, hospitals, social services, job creation, law enforcement and POWER STATIONS. Unfortunately though, these mundane areas of expenditure don't come with massive and instant armsdeal type kickbacks.

The result is there for all to see. Rolling power failures. The mining industry shut down for a solid week. (un-precedented in the history of this country). Major projects put on hold. Capital flight and investor pull outs. Massive ongoing emigration of skilled South Africans, (black, white, coloured and indian). Social unrest and riots because of lack of service delivery, and the rise of the populist faction headed by Jacob Zuma.

The money spent on the arms deal was enough to provide every South African with a roof over his head, a hospital bed, food in his stomach and a desk at school.

In conclusion, it is interesting to note that Mr. Pilger makes no reference whatsoever to the creeping re-colonisation of Africa by the Chinese. It is common knowledge south of the Sahara that Mugabe has hocked his country (Zimbabwe) and his soul to the Chinese for massive soft loans in return for serious access to Zimbabwe's natural resources. Access which he or his successor will probably never be able to reverse.

But then, how would Mr Pilger know this, as he is not an African and has never lived in Africa, and, Mr. Pilger, visiting Africa occasionaly as opposed to spending your whole life living in Africa are two entirely different kettles of fish.

This article is the usual load of nonsensical crap! When does the white man/colonials statute of limitations run out!!...everyone gets the blame except the entire continents despots...all 54 of them...what oil in Somalia..pea brain, do you insult the 'intelligence' of the south africans that the Brits hoodwinked them into buying jets.....its called bad, horrific governance, blame the west all you like, this sad drivel does not cut it anymore!!

It is interesting to look at the percentage of people who have commented "pessimistacally" to John's article.It says a lot.

Pilger's stuck forever in a time-warp in which Castro, Guevara et al are bound to emerge as winners. Well, Pilger, the USSR is no more, the Berlin Wall has fallen, capitalism is taking over in Red China and your side has lost. Might as well get used to it, Pilger. The dream is dead.

John, in the age if the internet not doing your research is a pretty poor excuse. There are a number of academic studies in the South African land question, that are far more impartial than that done by the ANC. This very newspaper, the Mail and Guardian, published some of them. Try Googeling 'Change course on land or face grave consequences' and have a read. You'll find that simplistic arguments and reductive reasoning just don't cut it.

It would be hard to win a war against the colonial despots with the continental despots marching side by side with them. If the people of Africa cannot see through the smoke and mirrors deployed by their leaders to stay in power, then smoke and mirrors will be their lot. The racial/xenophobic ingredient is just one of these useful tools to keep the continent divided and dancing to a revolutionary tune.
So don't blame the neo-colonialists, blame your leaders, they are supposed to be the first line of defence against rape and pillage, not those holding you down to be raped and pillaged.
Des Currie

The only thing possibly worse than a white full of racist imperialist hubris is a white full of post imperialist guilt. Both are always full of it (the stuff that hits fans), and John Pilger is no exception.

Colonialism and imperialism have a lot to answer for. However its been almost 50 years since most of Africa became free and over 15 years since the end of apartheid. Past European behaviour cannot be held solely responsible for the ills of Africa any more than slavery can be blamed today for all the ills affecting Afro-American society.

The root of most of Africa's problems stem from the colonial era borders, which were drawn to serve European, not African interests. As long as Africa continues to abide by the bankrupt policy of regarding the colonial borders as sacrosanct, it will continue to be plagued by the existence of countries that are inherently unstable and ungovernable, as they do not, in any way authentically represent or reflect the societies that inhabit them. Sudan, DRC, Nigeria are the worst examples, however recent events in Kenya show just how much latent instability exists even in one of Afica's supposed success stories. No one has forced Africa to continue living with artificial political borders inherently incompatible with its history and social evolution, its leaders willingly made, and continue to abide by that choice.

African societies are no less real than European ones. Just as no one in their right mind would ever suggest that the French, German, Dutch and Polish societies be artificially merged into one country, so no one should expect a Sudan or a DRC to viably function, just because ignorant and arrogant Europeans drew lines on maps.

Africa will only realize her potential when she takes her fate into her own hands, by ceasing to allow itself to be crippled and handicapped by the political mutilations inflicted upon it in the form of artificial political borders and systems. Africa can make that choice, nothing is stopping her from doing so, other than her own timidity and lack of leadership.

Summoning the guts and willpower to rid itself of a Mugabe would be a step in the right direction for Africa, for if it can't find the moral fortitude (the military means are there) to rid itself of this maniacal, genocidal tin pot dictator, where is it ever going to find the guts and will power to fix itself.

Nothing is stopping us, except our own weakness and timidity. We could march into Harare tomorrow and rid our neighborhood of the abomination called Mugabe. We have the ability to make our own choices, and only we, as Africans are blame when we either shirk from making them, or make bad ones.

Dear Mike Bruised African,
You are fully justified in asking the question Why still now? Firstly you are an African and self-criticism is admirable. Such as Alisdair Budd quite obviously must read this and look into the mirror. Secondly there is an answer: the Africans made the mistake of trusting the colonisers.
This is exemplified in their adoption of the Muslim and Christian faiths. The Easterners quite rightly saw these faiths as inadequate to the degree that Christ, Allah and YHWH are welcome in the Taoist temples and are only absent because Christianity, Islam and Judaism would take offence. The result is that the core understanding of Ubuntu is a concept that is poorly asserted while Face and the Eastern understanding of wealth are held, albeit kindly, beyond the average Western and Middle Eastern mind.
Africa must turn away from the West, which has befuddled the continent with sentiments such as Jesus and monotheism and reduced the concept of kind to something superiors hold over inferiors. The East has no sentiment, but manages to be kind; even to superiors.

I found John Pilger's article enlightening, insightful and well researched. His position is not a popular one, but then again, the naked truth never is. Many of Africa's problems stem from its inability to overcome the legacy of its past, which have included some of the most painful experiences endured by humanity - slavery, colonialism, assassinations of some of its most brave and farsighted post independence leaders who were concerned with the genuine development and advancement of Africa - Patric Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral -, despotic post independence rulers (often with the covert and overt support of the Cold War powers) - Idi Amin, Teodoro Obiang Nguema -, structural adjustment programs of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund - which have only further added to the poverty in Africa because of their policy directives siphoning money away from social welfare programs such as public health care spending and education to service debts to western governments, and now the "good governance" conditionalities attached to loans from western aid organizations. One cannot help but be cynical about the "good governance" agenda of these agencies. Essentially what is called for is a weakening of the State (when they themselves admit that so many African states are 'failed' or 'failing'), and adoption of free market (laissez faire) policies. What Africa needs is not less government, but more of it - to heed the call to weaken African states even further is tantamount to suicide. Africa needs strong states that are able to intervene on behalf of its people when negotiating the "free" markets of the world. However, this is not to say that Africa doesn't suffer from bad governance - and some of the reasons for this is enumerated above, added to that is the short-sighted, selfish, avaricious and morally corrupt leadership which exists in much of Africa at present. The challenges that lie before us as African people, is to find our own voices, to not become victims to complacency, to stand up and refuse to be humiliated, abused and exploited, by others outside Africa and those within, and to remain vigilant of these dangers. And with the same determination, we must refuse to humiliate, abuse and exploit others. Africa must begin to define herself on her own terms. We must not just talk,we must act!

Deliwe, nobody is forcing African states to borrow money from the WB/IMF and to sign up to the conditions attached to these loans. African leaders do so of their own free will. And, if you make a promise in order to get their money, you really have to keep your word or else they won't ever lend you their money again.

There are two sides of the coin that everybody should not overlook.
1. It is true that western imperialism has continued in the guise of
democracy.
2. At the same time, African leaders should learn to be accountable to their own people.

Point #1.
Western countries have continued to milk African resources through trade liberalization policies that have left Africa helpless. They have been discouraging government control over the prices of certain resources. Africa is buying the same product that it has produced at at a price that is almost 5 times higher than it should be after being processed in the west.

Point # 2.
Our own leaders should learn to be accountable. They should live by example. If a brother kills a brother then it means there is a crisis. Let's not make the West a scapegoat for our own wrongs against our own people. Most African leaders continue to live luxurious lives at the expense of their own people. In Zimbabwe for example, the government has been blaming the west for Zim problems and yet the ministers' kids are living comfortable lives in western countries, the same chefs have bulging bank accounts secured in western countries. Students at the Univ of Zimbabwe have constantly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment only because the police doesn't care since there are no ministers' kids on the campus.
If u love Africa... then respect african blood, don't spill it!

Double standards!

Africans have realy voiced out their concerns, and i trully agree that why do want their money nor help if we donot want them. G8 must go ahead with its suctions and AU have to save Zimbabwe without any help of the west, JUST TO PROVE THAT WE CAN DO IT ON OUR OWN. AND AFTER SAVING ZIMBABWE. WE (AFRICANS)MUST THEN HELP ALL OTHER AFRICAN STATES IN DESTITUTE. But our corrupt ,nepotisctic, creedy leaders will not do that, just watch. as for SOUTH AFRICA since the end of apartheid we never have built a single town. we are only improving what the apartheid legacy has left, changing street names horonary to the apartheid legends. i say we should leave old towns as they are and build new ones with new names.

Let’s analyse Pilger’s article blow by blow, concentrating on the facts with which he backs up his arguments.

Pilger contends that Somalia is a failed state because of Western intrigue and exploitation.
– The US supported the brutal regime of dictator Siad Barre with arms for over a decade.
Pilger SCORES.

Pilger says that the West loves to condemn certain African failures (where it has no vital interests) while ignoring useful despots.
– Self-evidently true. Think Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and a host of others.
Pilger SCORES.

Pilger says that African under-development is a consequence of crippling foreign debt, unfair trading rules, ruthless exploitation of African resources (think of the consequences for people in Nigeria and the DRC of oil exploitation and mining, not least by SA companies), the withholding of wealth looted by African despots (true), colonial interventions (who knows that France regularly undertakes wars in central Africa in support of French mining interests?), and a devastating arms trade (to take just one example, the UK sold weapons worth half a million pounds to Sudan — anyone heard of Darfur? — between 2001-3).
Pilger SCORES.

Pilger says the Mbeki government has ‘been suckered’ by British arms companies into buying the most expensive option for fighter jets, and supports his contention by quoting the British *themselves* acknowledging this.
Pilger SCORES.

Pilger says Europe is demanding trade deals that will badly damage African econonies.
“[The EU is] turning the screws on the African countries, and pushing them into agreements that will hurt poor farmers and undermine future industrial development,” says Oxfam.
Pilger SCORES.

Pilger says the rural masses in South Africa have been treated worse under democracy than under apartheid. He’s quoting an independent report. The facts he reveals are as uncomfortable as the Mbeki government’s failures to reduce economic inequality, its HIV denialism and xenophobia, amongst others.
Pilger SCORES.

Pilger implies that many black South Africans supported Mugabe long past his sell-by date because they approved of his land policies and his “fuck you” attitude to the West. This is opinion, but certainly is consistent with my experience. Fair to say, now, though, that South Africans without distinction abhor Mugabe.
Pilger PROBABLY CORRECT.

I’m not sure, though, that his explanation is convincing when applied to Mbeki, our contrarian wrapped in an enigma inside an exhausting and prolix exegesis.
Pilger on SHAKY GROUND.

But does his central argument, that of a silent war on Africa, hold water? Obviously. I can assure you, as one who has recently attended a couple of ‘development’ conferences, that many non-Africans remain as patronising and imminently exploitative towards Africa as ever.

Those of you who protest indignantly that we should be honest, and admit that Africa’s flaws are its own, are missing the point. People can’t take kickbacks unless they are offered. Elites have not piled up mineral wealth without the happy assistance of Western companies.

Our flaws have been horribly compounded by exploitation and colonialism and apartheid, systems which continue under new guises - colonialism by patronage of elites, by economic manipulation, by conditional aid, by outright but underreported military action.

We badly underestimate the effects of the lost legacies of social bonds and ties, of indigenous knowledge, of cultural confidence.

Every time one mode of exploitation becomes embarrassing, another is invented. And now that food and fuel crises are upon us, the West is positively tumbling over itself to exploit Africa’s potential for industrial agriculture and biofuel production. If you watch the right kind of news sources, you can see it building like a slow but inevitable tide.

None of this excuses indigenous African exploitation and brutality. But then, neither does Pilger.

Has the editor of the M & G not made a very good case of debunking Pilger in an article titled, 'Apartheid did not die'? (PS: Can you please tell your tech team to allow carriage returns because its very hard to read the text without paragraphs. You can delete this bit)

A common accusation here is that Pilger's article is nonsensical or uninformed. In fact, the basic tenants of this argument - declining terms of trade leading to debt, co-opting of African leaders to act as agents for big money - are orthodoxy among academics. The "Africa is a mess because Africans don't know what they're doing" is far more mythical. And yet it is constantly implied in the media - especially in the salivatory frenzy around Mugabe.

I'm a white South African. I hate that my country is not living up to the promise of the "Rainbow Nation." But it's fall into incapacity and corruption is being heavily aided by money interests both within and without the country. Let's not celebrate Mbeki for not condemning Mugabe. Let's remember that a few paragraphs earlier he was overseeing corrupt arms purchases from huge European companies who's governments turned a blind eye to support them. He too has been corrupted.

And not just by European companies. South African mining revenues would pay for basic houses, sanitation, electricity, health care and high-quality education for every South African. After all, we're only 48 million. Kerala, India, did this for its 35 million on a miniscule fraction of this money.

But Mbeki's laissez-faire capitalism is attuned to the demands, not of the penniless, diseased, and uneducated masses of South Africa, but to the needs of the Anglo-American corporation - that so recently invested millions in a new Platinum mine in Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

Africans must bear responsibility for allowing their leaders to become pawns. But how are they, struggling for survival, cut off from the media, and woefully uneducated, meant to fight the corrupting influence of big international business on leaders that wooed them with socialist rhetoric?

When I read John Pilger's tosh it makes me recognize the kind of pandering mental attitudes which have prevented a strong line being taken on the moral turpitude of Africa's leaders. The idea that the British should apologize and adopt a supine pose because they had an empire is a ridiculous and expecting the Egyptians to apologize for the slaves used in building the pyramids. Yes Africa was responsible for its slavery then or will we now argue that the Pharaonic empire was not African? Incidentally, the next usual theme of colonial exploitation of African resources was also mirrored in ancient Egypt, where the gold was mined in Nubia and Ashanti Ghana, do we really believe that Nubian gold was paid for in "fair trade"? Rubbish, thats where most egyptian slaves came from-about as dark as Africa can get. While Presidents all over Africa abrogate their countries resources for themselves to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars per annum, Gabon, Angola, Congo, Zimbabwe etc. No money, not a cent of aid should be given to Africa, until African leaders show leadership, compassion, and justice, then perhaps some kind of structured aid should be worked out by the UN. In the meantime a balance sheet for resources exported from and paid for on the world markets should be drawn up and publicized to get over the idea once and for all that the British, French or anyone else should grovel for their past. Africa should be ashamed of its present and the simpering spinelessness of the AU. It is wrong to expect Europeans to apologize for following the examples set for them by Africans, slavery exploitation , as for colonialisation, what pray explains the demographics of Fulani , or Bantu spread in Africa. Pilger should go and pick some scabs off his Australian society and get his facts straight about Africa. The slave trade? Just who was selling slaves to the Arabs BEFORE the Europeans got to Africa, yup you got it The Africans!

Robson wrote rubbish. The alliteration is structured well not on the r's but the simple reality that those who can need to be held responsible while it is absurd to hold those who can't so. One of the distinguishing signs of those who can is their incessant blame for the mess they make on those who can't. This is a mark of the current absurdity of Western behaviour and of course of the subject of the ode above.
And, drear fellow, of course it has happened before. Yawn!