I recently saw a funny T-shirt for sale online on a MAGA (Make America Great Again) website. It says, “Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of my freedom.”
It’s apparently a parody of “Sorry, but I can’t hear you about how awesome I am,” a more sinister internet meme often attributed to a now-defunct American mercenary group called Blackwater, which was infamous for murdering civilians during the illegal American occupation of Iraq.
When you listen to American officials, both current and retired, talk about Hong Kong – and indeed the rest of the world in general – you have to wonder if they hear anything other than the sound of their own great voices.
Take Gregory May, the US Consul General in Hong Kong. He has stated that he loves the city’s two-course rice meals, and even once took a photo on social media of himself buying boxes of them on the street.
“So tasty and affordable,” he posted on Facebook.
Well, I’m glad there’s at least one thing he likes about the city, although I seriously doubt he actually enjoyed eating it outside of posting it as a PR exercise. I can’t quite imagine him eating a two-dish rice box in his undoubtedly ornate office, and I’m sure the exclusive American Club in Central doesn’t allow outside food.