When they go low … he goes gutter

I had the absolute pleasure, last week, of watching the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago – a city I once knew and loved – and listening to President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, address the audience. I exulted in the dignity, the class, the couth on display … and I sighed at the absence of these attributes here, at home, in a country I know better and love more.

There stood a couple who – a decade after leaving the White House – still sparks inspiration, attracts admiration, and engenders respect among the working class, world leaders, and world beaters, alike.  We know him for exemplifying the audacity of hope; we know her for declaring and living, “When they go low, we go high.”

Our leaders? We know him for hurling insult, invective and intimidation; we know her for posing that deeply contemplative and intellectual question: “Dat ah bun you?” 

The contrast has become even more stark these couple  weeks in which we saw the country’s leader go after a born-yah citizen, a fellow parliamentarian, and a mother in a way that can be described only as feral.  Given the escalating viciousness and embarrassingly puerile  attacks, I couldn’t ’t help but wonder what really had triggered the leader’s descent into this type of madness.

Then, today, browsing his apparently favourite place – Facebook – I came upon an explanation for his particular affliction.  According to Wikipedia, “DARVO is an acronym for… Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender… . It describes a common defense mechanism and gaslighting strategy used by abusers, narcissists, or wrongdoers when they are confronted or held accountable for their behaviour.”

Voila! There you have it, Folks. This accounts for his pattern of knock dem; and when dey knock back, claim defamation and injury, and den sue dem.  Psychological manipulation and blame-shifting at their best.  I wonder if the psychology graduate recognizes the sequence … or is, in fact, a “Mean Girls” player, herself.

I wonder, more, how his colleagues feel about his scandalous radio utterances and his coarse social-media posts that demean the office he holds.  In particular, I imagine the distaste felt by his deputy, the attorney-general; because, say what you want about him – and much can be said – I believe he would consider such behaviour infra dig to his position and his profession. 

How does any decent person – parent, teacher, clergyman – reconcile such behaviour with the recent elevation of this man (can’t call him a statesman) to the chair of the OECS – albeit the position is rotational?  

We know how the United States feels, having already withdrawn from the Trade Winds security exercises; but how do the other people funding and organizing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting feel about the common and lowdown behaviour of their host?  And why would King Charles, the epitome of dignity, good breeding, and civility, even want to attend a meeting hosted by this intemperate and foul-mouthed feller?

I’ve heard the apologists say, “Well, the man is human and has feelings.”  To which I ask, “And his victims and their families are not and do not?” 

Can we raise the bar here?  

It is ironic that, just last week in Parliament, the prime minister was quite comfortable in berating the Treasury Department staff for their alleged discourteous behaviour to civil servants inquiring about back pay.  Well, “if the top slack,” should the middle and bottom be expected to be tight? 

I return to President Obama: a man who has been reviled for his race; had his nationality and religious faith disputed; and even seen his wife and himself caricatured as apes by the White House, itself.  And yet I’ve never seen or heard a response – when he deigned to offer one – in which he insulted his fellow Americans; whooshed the police on the people; nor put Michelle on display to prove or disprove anything that ought to be their private business.

To quote a local saying, “Class is class, and ass is ass.”  I just long for the braying here to stop.