Dangerous Spinal Gymnastics*

523

January 6, 2025

Published in Der Standard
(Austria) on 26 December 2024
by Manuel Escher (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Peter Carioca. Edited by Michelle Bisson.

Panama and Greenland can do little against Donald Trump, but civil society can. Their keeping quiet out of fear is even more dangerous than Trump's ideas alone.

Sometimes, sober headlines capture the whole grotesqueness. "Trump says he'll seek the death penalty for 'rapists, murderers, and monsters'" read one headline from Reuters on Christmas Eve. "Biden,Trump with different messages for Christmas," Reuters reported on Dec. 24. Also yes, you can say that, since Joe Biden invited "quiet reflection" in a saccharine-laden video message over the holiday, saying "we're truly blessed to live in this nation." On Truth Social, Donald Trump threatened annexation ideas for Panama, Canada and Greenland, a "Merry Christmas" to the "far-left crazy people" in his own country and the promise of more executions.

The reactions were very brief once again; that's just how Trump is. Furthermore, he has also just been reelected. Perhaps he means that we should work more closely with America's neighbors and respect the judgments of the judiciary. It's understandable that heads of government from small countries such as Panama and Greenland would react to Trump's threats with attempts at appeasement. But the ingratiation of numerous companies from the tech industry and their wealthy bosses, who demonstrably know better, is not. The fact that they are now practicing spinal gymnastics in advance out of fear of economic damage is embarrassing, and it is even more dangerous for U.S. democracy than Trump's ideas already are.

*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original language with a paid subscription.

Gefährliche Wirbelsäulengymnastik

Panama und Grönland können Trump wenig entgegensetzen. Die Zivilgesellschaft könnte es. Ihr Schweigen aus Angst ist noch gefährlicher als Trumps Ideen allein

Machmal fangen nüchterne Agenturschlagzeilen die ganze Groteske ein. "Trump am Heiligabend: Werde mich energisch für Umsetzung der Todesstrafe einsetzen" titelte die Agentur Reuters. "Biden und Trump mit unterschiedlichen Botschaften zu Weihnachten" berichtete am 24. Dezember die APA. Und ja, das kann man so sagen: Während Biden zu den Feiertagen in einer mit Saccharin versetzten Videobotschaft zur "stillen Reflexion" einlud und über die "Segnung, in diesem Land leben zu dürfen", sprach, drehte Trump auf Truth Social so richtig auf: Annexionsideen für Panama, Kanada und Grönland, ein "Merry Christmas" an die "linksradikalen Irren" im eigenen Land und das Versprechen, mehr Menschen exekutieren zu lassen.

Die Reaktionen fielen einmal mehr knapp aus. So ist er eben, und außerdem gerade neu gewählt. Und vielleicht meint er ja ohnehin nur, man solle stärker mit den US-Nachbarstaaten zusammenarbeiten und die Urteile der Justiz respektieren. Dass die Regierungschefs von kleinen Gebieten wie Panama und Grönland auf Trumps Drohungen mit Beschwichtigungsversuchen reagieren, ist verständlich. Die Anbiederung zahlreicher Unternehmen aus der Tech-Branche und ihrer schwerreichen Chefs, die es erwiesenermaßen besser wissen, ist es nicht. Dass sie sich aus Angst vor dem wirtschaftlichen Schaden nun gleich vorab in Wirbelsäulengymnastik üben, ist blamabel. Und es ist für die US-Demokratie noch gefährlicher, als Trumps Ideen es ohnehin sind.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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