I don’t know what to make of this guy, but I have been reading that Duterte is extremely popular in the Philippines. Maybe people have just had enough of the crime:
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned President Barack Obama on Monday not to question him about extrajudicial killings, or “son of a bitch I will swear at you” when they meet in Laos during a regional summit.
Duterte said before flying to Laos that he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people. He was answering a reporter’s question about how he intends to explain the extrajudicial killings to Obama. More than 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30.
In his typical foul-mouthed style, Duterte responded: “I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum,” he said, using the Tagalog phrase for son of a bitch. [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but Duterte blames the violence in the southern Philippines due to the American crackdown on the Moros over 100 years ago. However, the Moros were fighting outsiders long before the Americans ever showed up.
Since this is a Philippines issue, I should weigh in I guess but to tell you the truth I have no real answer for the reason why Duterte acts like he does. Beyond the fact that he was voted in by a poorly educated electorate who are tired of crime, drugs and lawlessness I just have no sense of why he says some of the things that he says. As the WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes intro music says, “He’s just a common man.” Perhaps this is the best way to describe Duterte.
ChickenHead
7 years ago
Maybe Duterte (like much of the world) just doesn’t want to get a lecture from Obama.
Maybe he is saying what many world leaders (and citizens) feel.
Maybe Philippine-style quick and cheap extermination of serious criminals is better than American-style claiming they look like your son while rewarding the family with a crazy amount of tax money for spawning a little thug.
Maybe Obama should get off the golf course and lead the nation away from Hands Up Don’t Shoot criminals instead of looking down on leaders truly trying to fix difficult problems.
Maybe Obama IS a bit of a putangina.
Note: Accepted extrajudicial killing is one slippery slope away from death squads checking off their Enemies List… so no advocacy from here… but it is understandable… unlike the American trend of championing the thug, rationalizing and excusing clearly criminal behavior, giving credibility to the shyt-stirrers, etc…
I agree that his methodology does seem to be effective, but really does lend itself to feuding rivals at the local level killing each other off while claiming each other to be involved in the drug trade.
Though I hope we never see a day when these tactics are used in the U.S., the Philippines is corrupt on a level most people wouldn’t ever believe to be possible and Duterte likely feels there is no other way to approach the issue and get any kind of meaningful results.
Well, except for maybe needing another Dale Carnegie seminar, this guy seems to have a lot in place already..
Duterte now regrets his Obama comments after his meeting with Obama was cancelled because of it:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippine-president-says-regrets-son-bitch-remark-044044357.html
That probably coincides with normal human post-Adrenalin reaction… 😉
Since this is a Philippines issue, I should weigh in I guess but to tell you the truth I have no real answer for the reason why Duterte acts like he does. Beyond the fact that he was voted in by a poorly educated electorate who are tired of crime, drugs and lawlessness I just have no sense of why he says some of the things that he says. As the WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes intro music says, “He’s just a common man.” Perhaps this is the best way to describe Duterte.
Maybe Duterte (like much of the world) just doesn’t want to get a lecture from Obama.
Maybe he is saying what many world leaders (and citizens) feel.
Maybe Philippine-style quick and cheap extermination of serious criminals is better than American-style claiming they look like your son while rewarding the family with a crazy amount of tax money for spawning a little thug.
Maybe Obama should get off the golf course and lead the nation away from Hands Up Don’t Shoot criminals instead of looking down on leaders truly trying to fix difficult problems.
Maybe Obama IS a bit of a putangina.
Note: Accepted extrajudicial killing is one slippery slope away from death squads checking off their Enemies List… so no advocacy from here… but it is understandable… unlike the American trend of championing the thug, rationalizing and excusing clearly criminal behavior, giving credibility to the shyt-stirrers, etc…
I agree that his methodology does seem to be effective, but really does lend itself to feuding rivals at the local level killing each other off while claiming each other to be involved in the drug trade.
Though I hope we never see a day when these tactics are used in the U.S., the Philippines is corrupt on a level most people wouldn’t ever believe to be possible and Duterte likely feels there is no other way to approach the issue and get any kind of meaningful results.