Reagan as a Relic

Published in El Pais
(Spain) on 24 May 2012
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Eugenia Lucchelli. Edited by Audrey Agot.
An online auction house based in a tax haven on a British island has put a vial up for sale that allegedly contains Ronald Reagan's blood. According to the seller, this now dry sample was collected in a hospital on March 30, 1981,when the former U.S. president was attacked by an insane person (Reagan actually died in 2004). Understandably, the news has infuriated the Reagan family; they have denied the authenticity of the sample, on behalf of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the American Medical Association.

This isn't the first or last sale of political relics. As The Atlantic magazine points out, the U.S. lacks the remains of its historical figures, unlike Europe, as well as an official organization to celebrate such remains. As a result, they seek more recent memorabilia. For instance, the bloodstained sheets from former President Lincoln’s assassination, in addition to Jackie Kennedy’s bloodstained dress from the night of her husband’s murder have been preserved and stored.

Not even we Europeans are free from this craze for memorabilia: Napoleon Bonaparte's penis is still preserved and we even sold one of John Lennon's teeth.

The tube containing what is supposed to be Reagan's blood has been put up for sale by the son of a now deceased former employee at a George Washington University Hospital lab, where the president was operated on. He refused to donate the blood to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, who, according to the seller, threatened to alert the FBI.

“I was a real fan of Reaganomics and felt that President Reagan himself would rather see me sell it rather than donating it,” assured the seller on the auction web page in a comment that is attached to the vial. Incidentally, on May 23, the final bid was over €11,000, ($13,654) after an €1,800 starting price.

In the future, it may be useful to clone the president that embodied neoliberalism, but in the light of current circumstances, that would not be wise.


Una casa de subastas por la Red basada en un paraíso fiscal en una isla británica del canal de la Mancha ha sacado a la venta un vial con, supuestamente, sangre de Ronald Reagan. Según el vendedor, esta muestra, ahora seca, fue tomada el 30 de marzo de 1981 en el hospital cuando el entonces presidente de EE UU sufrió un atentado en Washington a manos de un perturbado. Comprensiblemente, la noticia ha enfurecido a la familia Reagan —que niega la autenticidad de la muestra—, a su fundación y a la profesión médica estadounidense.

No es la primera vez, ni será la última, que se ponen a la venta reliquias civiles. Como apunta la revista The Atlantic, Estados Unidos carece de esos santos de los que se han guardado supuestos restos a lo largo de siglos en Europa, y de una Iglesia oficial que los ampare. Para su fetichismo han de optar por restos más recientes. Se conservan sábanas manchadas de sangre del asesinado presidente Lincoln o el vestido salpicado que llevaba Jackie Kennedy cuando mataron a su marido en Dallas.

Tampoco los europeos estamos libres de estas manías, no ya por las reliquias de los santos, sino porque aún se conserva el pene de Napoleón Bonaparte y se llegó a vender bien un diente de John Lennon.

El tubito con la supuesta sangre seca de Reagan (fallecido en 2004) ha sido puesto a la venta por el hijo de una empleada, ya muerta, de un laboratorio que trabajaba para el hospital George Washington, donde fue intervenido el presidente. No quiso donar el frasquito con la sangre a la Fundación Presidencial Ronald Reagan, que, según el vendedor, amenazó con alertar al FBI.

"Era un verdadero fan de la reaganeconomía y pensé que el presidente Reagan hubiera preferido que lo vendiera en vez de donarlo”, asegura el vendedor en la página web de la subasta en un texto que acompaña a la fotografía del tubo de cristal. De hecho, ayer, la puja en la subasta que se cierra hoy había subido a más de 11.000 euros, tras una salida a 1.800.

Quizá podría servir en un futuro para clonar al presidente que encarnó el neoliberalismo. A la luz de lo que está ocurriendo, sería una mala idea.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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