Defeated despots tend to get short shrift from the people they previously lorded it over. Mussolini and his wife mistress were shot out of hand by partisans then hung upside down on meat hooks so people could spit on the corpses, Ceausescu was murdered by the Romanian military, while Saddam Hussein was judicially lynched. Those who die peacefully in their sleep don't get it much better - Franco's tomb was bombed in 1999, while Pinochet was buried in secret to prevent people from desecrating his remains. Serbia's former dictator, Slobodan Milosevic, is probably wishing he had done the latter; last week one of his enemies went to his grave and drove a three foot stake through his heart - just to make sure he stays dead. Since he hasn't risen from the grave to lead his undead legions, I think we can say that the staking was successful.
(Hat tip: Larvatus Prodeo)
5 comments:
It was Mussolini and his mistress, not his wife.
Your wretched word verification doesn't seem to work in firefox.
Posted by Anonymous : 3/12/2007 05:56:00 PM
Ceausescu had a trial. It was short but fair. His atrocities were a matter of no contest, so the only real issue was to validate his identity.
I disagree with the death penalty for anyone, but trying someone and immediately killing them is for me more humane than the US process of keeping them in jail for years while the appeal process is exhausted, then killing them.
Posted by Rich : 3/12/2007 06:07:00 PM
Incidentally, was that an example of "stakeholder democracy"?
Posted by Rich : 3/12/2007 06:09:00 PM
groan - Rich - that was soo bad (or, in other words, very good)
:)
Posted by Terence : 3/12/2007 09:06:00 PM
I wonder what fate awaits Mugabe...
M'lud
Posted by Anonymous : 3/13/2007 10:48:00 AM
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