6 PM Wednesday 13th December 2012 Nunhead Heights
That poor Psy guy.
He’s on the ropes for singing some anti-American song in South Korea before he became all famous with his Gangnam Style video.
Now he’s trying to weasel out of it, I guess because there’s money to be made in the United States and he wants to meet the President.
I know the feeling. I wish I hadn’t trashed all the people I have trashed.
I owe the Comedy Store an apology as I realize I was wrong to blame them for killing live comedy and I would like to work there someday. More on this another time.
It feels good to trash people and countries – especially if they are far away in a distant land. Watch me do it here.
On the other hand, I have never, ever, met a Korean who hasn’t expressed some disdain toward the United States of America.
And if there is a country who should be kissing America’s butt, it is South Korea.
South Korea was created as part of the greatest experiment in the history of the world.
After World War Two, much of the world was divided up into two areas of control. Some countries went communist under the Soviet Union and the Red Chinese. Others were under America hegemony. And I have never, ever, written the word ‘hegemony’ before. I think it means control.
Romania went to the communists. Japan went to us. Poland went to them. Czechoslovakia went to them. Austria went to us. And so on.
Some nations were split in half.
Most of China went to the commies though a bit – Taiwan – went to the Americans. The northern half of Vietnam went to the Soviet commies, the southern half to us. The western half of Germany went to us and the eastern half to the communists.
The northern half of Korea went to the Soviet/Chinese and the southern half went to the American team.
Vietnam didn’t maintain the experiment, and went all commie in 1974. China switched teams after forty years and achieved much in the last 30 years. Some countries, after initially going communist, changed tack and adopted the American system – like Britain. That’s a joke but somewhat serious.
The results of this experiment are clear:
Countries under the guidance of the United States have developed into rich, stable and mostly democratic regimes.
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and West Germany, now just Germany, are the richest, most prosperous countries in the world.
Countries under the Soviet Union and the Chinese didn’t do that well: East Germany, North Korea, Bulgaria, and Russia and Red China, for that matter.
Psy is not alone among Koreans.
I have met many Koreans – South Koreans, that is. The northerners aren’t allowed to travel, don’t have the money to travel, or are trapped in prison camps, even if they were allowed to.
I like Koreans. They come to my show in Soho – Lewis Schaffer is Free until Famous – and they laugh as much as the next guy. That is more than I can say for Japanese people, for instance, who never, ever come to see my show. Screw the Japanese.
During my show I often ask Koreans to say ‘Thank you, America’.
It’s one of my comedy ‘businesses’ and something that makes me the Best Comic in Britain. It educates the audiences about global relationships, shows how much I know, and makes people uncomfortable, which is my mission.
The Times wrote “Where there is disorder, Lewis Schaffer creates chaos.” Actually, I wrote that. It’s true.
Do the Korean punters ever say ‘thank you’? I should say ‘Not’.
It is like they have never even been asked to consider thinking it. To the contrary. Every single South Korean expresses some bitterness toward the United States of America. If you’re Korean and you don’t have bitterness toward America, make a comment below.
Right now there are 30,000 American soldiers in harm’s way in Korea. Are they helping keep America safe? I don’t think so. Are they helping keep Korea safe so they can produce smart phones and cargo ships and who knows what else? Yes.
It would be nice, for once, to hear a loud ‘Thank you America” from the South Koreans. And sound like they mean it. Or at least stop being bitter.
That’s easy for me to say.
And no, I have NOT written this just because I am sick to death of hearing and seeing the Gangnam Style video.
Listen to Lewis Schaffer on the Radio Nunhead American Radio with Lewis Schaffer every Monday evening at 10:30PM on www.resonancefm.com and 104.4fm London. Or listen to the show’s podcasts at bit.ly/NunheadAmericanRadio
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