Ammosexuals failed, and thankfully the end is near

So much to think about today (and yesterday, and before).

Norma Lewis holds a flower while forming a “Wall of Moms” during a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Ore., on July 20, 2020. 

(Noah Berger / Associated Press) from https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-07-23/worldwide-mothers-protests-against-sensed-injustice

The Ammosexuals continue to demonstrate that freedom is only worth marching for fully-armed if it is the loss of freedom to go unmasked to cheap restaurants in sleazy malls. And of that was worth marching onto and attempting to occupy State Capital buildings. When real tyranny appears in the form of federal agents in military uniforms arresting people off the streets and stuffing them into unmarked vans; when one or two people out of a thousand throw a bottle or push a fence (and very possibly agent provocateurs) then it is a “Riot” and all can be attacked; when Moms form a line to protest police (federal agents now) brutality and are shot in the head; where are the 2^nd Amendment Ammosexuals? If these events are not worthy of armed white men (and women) marching to protect the first amendment or the rest of the constitution, when what will be?

Arbys, Mcdonalds, nail salons?

We need to label the Ammosexuals for what they are; spoilt cowards with access to instruments of intimidation and death. Cowards and bullies.

If Biden wins and the Democrats have both houses(from my lips to God's ear), there must be a redefinition of the Second Amendment and a banning of all assault rifle style weapons, mandatory training, mandatory liability insurance, mandatory licensing. If not that, then how about a blanket ban. A "well-regulated militia". What part of a "well-regulated militia" needs Concealed Carry Licenses?

“You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead, fingers”. What bullshit. Ammosexuals have proven that when there is a real ‘fight’ and real tyranny they stay home. They are cowards, and they will refuse to hand in their guns, but they will not wage war to keep them.

Make the fines for retaining the unlicenced guns in the hands of untrained people without liability insurance so punitive that they will ruin a family’s financial stability for a decade. The first few times that people lose houses due to fines for continued un-"well-regulated" gun ownership, that they lose their truck and their jobs and are labelled felons (oh, and take away their right to vote also?) then we will see their wives and mothers lining their men-child-folk up to get licenses, lining up for mandatory training, and displaying their insurance cards along with their NRA membership card. If the NRA continues to exist (investigate them for collusion with Russian in the attempted destruction of the US).

The Ammosexuals had their chance, and they blew it. They could have stood up for freedom and for the Constitution, they didn’t.

Which moves us to the next thing I was thinking about yesterday and this morning; how does this end? Or, more accurately, how do we see that this is turning and the end is in sight?

I’m looking for a specific event.

I’m looking for the video (to come I hope) that shows a Federal Agent stopping, clearly thinking about what they are doing, and stepping out of line and walking across to the protesters' side. I want to see what result that has.

History is made from those moments. Sometimes they lead to complete change while other times they simply highlight the wrongness of what is happening and the bravery of individuals in the face of oppression, and the unwillingness of some oppressors to continue.

The individual guard(s) on the Berlin Wall who suddenly stepped aside and demonstrated that they would do nothing to stop the hammering and beating of the wall.

“Tank man” in Beijing.

Rosa Parks.

As the “Federal Agents” come to understand that what they are doing is wrong, morally and legally, and that Trump probably will not be re-elected and their behaviour will be under scrutiny, and that they may be charged with criminal offences, then they will begin to waver. It takes one, two, five of them with enough morality or enough intellect to see a grim future for them and the country, and this will be over. They will walk off the line, take a knee, hug a protester. And it will be over.

That is one way that this ends.

The other is Kent State. 50 years ago this year, the National Guard fired on anti-war protesters at Kent State University in Ohio. 4 dead and 9 injured, and one President’s war policy demolished. From that point on, there was no realistic prospect of the US remaining in Vietnam. Tet was big and turned American against the war. But Kent State turned America against the government that sanctioned the war and sanctioned violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations.

Will Portland have a Kent State moment?

I’m hoping that one night soon we will see a wave of “Federal Agents” walk across to the protesters' side, or at least put their weapons down and refuse orders to fire on the protesters, with rubber coated bullets or even tear gas.

I’m hoping that there is not a Kent State moment in which some of those agents decide that they have had enough and start shooting to kill, and do kill protesters. That will not end well. Mr Law and Order will face a real uprising.

And if there is any good news out of all of this, it is that we now know that the chickenshit Ammosexuals will stand and bully, but that at the first sign of a “Wall of Moms” and a “Wall of Vets” that they will waver, and then they too will flee.

The end is near, and it as with all culminating points in time, it could go either way. But history is on the side of the protesters.

And the Ammosexuals will sit this one out, demonstrating the frauds that they are and have been all along.

Market Doom Delayed?

Why haven't the (equity) markets crashed yet, and will they?  After being convinced that we are on the edge of the precipice for the markets, I no longer think that. I think the markets have probably six or more months of happy days ahead. 

From Worldometer.org 23/7/2020

Cases around the world are surging. Yesterday’s was the biggest jump in cases globally to date, with something like 280,000 new cases, up from 240,000 the day before. The global death rate is increasing again, after its earlier peak in April. The seven-day trend lines are not looking good. The US of Amerika continues to lead the world (“USA, #1, USA, #1” I can almost hear them chanting) with over 70,000 new cases, again. Not a record for the US, but still a strong showing. This from the country that was listed as the top, best, first in the world, ready to deal with a pandemic. I think it is time to acknowledge that decades of self-delusion about Amerika’s standing in the world rankings of almost anything other than money and bombs has been a fiction.

Still, back to the pandemic for a moment. Cases are surging, and the US count of 4 million cases, as horrible as that may be, is still ‘only’ ~1+% of the population. And if the numbers are “10x higher” as some are projecting, then that is still only ~10+%, out of a “herd immunity” requirement in the 60% - 70% minimum. So we are looking at a 6x in cases and deaths before the US reaches “herd immunity” (if this is even possible based on the potential weakening of antibody loads after a few months).

Now, the case mortality rate as measured by the ratio of deaths to resolved cases is falling, at least in the developed world, and that is a very good thing. It tells me two things; that there is better identification of cases, many of which will be ‘mild’, and that therapeutics and medical responses are improving as the virus is better understood. That’s the good news.

The UK is an interesting counterpoint to the US of Amerika. The total cases count is at about .3% of the population, officially based on testing. And the number of people tested is running at almost 20% of the population. So I suspect that we can rule out a 10x infected rate because it should have shown up pretty clearly by now.

Conversely, the US of Amerika, where Trump continues to say that “if there were fewer tests, there would be fewer cases”, the percentage of people tested is actually lower than in the UK. This suggests that the US infection rate is higher than the UK (a former #1 shit-show in the Covid stakes) regardless of the number of tests.

And if we accept the premise that case mortality rates are declining due to earlier identification and treatment, then any delays through lower testing rates will actually directly lead to higher mortality rates. Trump is saying that he would rather have more dead people and a lower number of identified cases.

Meanwhile, the US markets continue to coast along and even edge upward, defying fundamentals and any expectation that markets are actually engaging in meaningful ‘price discovery’.

In the past month, I have completely changed my mind. I no longer think there will be the market crash that I’ve (and not me alone by any stretch of the imagination) been predicting. Every morning I look at the markets from yesterday and look at the futures for the coming day. Nothing seems to hurt these markets.

So in changing my mind completely, I’m becoming more convinced and confident in my thinking that the markets will not go down. Certainly, there will be blips, but I think the Covid-Crash is behind us, and that markets will now continue to hover for some time to come.

The Amerikan, and therefore world, markets are bifurcated. There are the equity markets (and luxury goods and property), and there are the corner shop and coffee shop markets.

The equity markets are the place that the Fed induced inflation is happening, with too much money chasing too few goods and services (equities and luxury goods and property). The money that the Fed has created to purchase corporate bonds is not stimulating the economy, it is propping up share prices and balance sheets, most of which are sham constructs waiting for reality to arrive, however slowly.

Government unemployment benefits are propping up the ‘real’ economy and ensuring that rent can be paid (and even then the amount of unpaid rent is staggering), groceries and coffee bought, and the flow of consumer goods and services can continue. That stimulus is keeping enough new money in the system to avoid deflation due to too little money chasing too many goods and services. Supply and demand still rules, and when the stimulus ends, the supply of money in the ‘real’ economy will fall like a stone, and the bottom of the economy will see real price deflation.

But at the top of the economy, the ‘market’ economy, there will still be bucket-loads of money with no purpose and nothing to purchase. So inflation will continue at that end of the market. So as people begin to starve, the markets will stay high, and the Wall Street and Executive Suite bonuses will continue to flow – for some time anyway.

And the Fed will keep pumping. It has little choice. It has limited tools, and cannot tell companies to take the money and spend it on the ‘real’ economy; only the Federal Government can do that. And patience at the Federal Government level is wearing thin. So even if the stimulus continues, it will be at a reduced level, and that will start the process of deflation in the ‘real’ economy.

The rest, well, I’m guessing that the ‘market’ economy will do just fine. For another six months or so? Forever? Who knows? But I’m not betting on it falling any time soon.

Trump's strategy; childishly inane or cunningly evil?

I do not know what Trump’s strategy is, but it is either very childishly inane or cunningly evil. As he is surrounded by smart (but unethical) people, I’m worried about the cunningly evil option. Is the pivot to White Supremacism an intentional mechanism to retain a disillusioned base who would otherwise stay home? Is White Supremacy the natural backstop belief system for those who originally voted for (and still support) Trump with his "drain the swamp" message to the otherwise left behind?

When a belief system is undermined, it is natural to fall back on another. Why not capitalise on that, especially if it keeps the base voting?

The people around Trump are cynical enough to implement such a program. People like Kelly-Anne Conway, who is a very smart person, but seems devoid of any motivation that does not include self-aggrandisement and accumulation of power and through that a modicum of wealth.

She knows that she is lying and spinning half-truths, and she does it directly and with purpose. She knows very well that what she says will lead to people dying, but she does not care as long as it cements Trump’s hold on power. And through his hold on power, she continues to be in the public eye and retains or increases her access to power. Once Trump is ejected, something she certainly does not want but is ready for, she will pivot to making money as a pundit and former insider. She might even write a book.

If she does not write a book, she certainly will have positioned herself as indispensable to whoever dreams next of taking the White House (from the Republicans or the Extreme Right). Her ability to pick up the phone and ring anyone with money will make her a valued asset, and that will fill her bank account nicely. And who knows, maybe she will back another winner and be back on the White House lawn telling lies for someone else.

And that’s the way it works, for almost all of them. A few, a very few, believe that they are serving the best interests of the nation as they define those interests (that strangely always also seem to fit nicely with their own interests).

Across the rest of Amerika, schools are asking if and how they can open in the face of a pandemic that will not only endanger their students, it will endanger the teachers, and ultimately the virus will be taken home to un-infected families.

Another wonderful example is Kayleigh McEnany, Trump’s spokesperson since the end of April 2020. She quite openly and without the least hint of irony, told her first lie as spokesperson when in her first briefing, she said “I will never lie to you, you have my word on that” and then promptly started to do exactly that. This is the woman who, in July 2020 said “Science should not stand in the way of" opening schools. (Yes, she really said it. No, she wasn't taken out of context.)

So the White House has now said that even if scientists and epidemiologists are saying this is a bad idea, it should be done regardless. And in that one statement we have a summary of the entire Amerikan response to Covid-19; one ‘faction’ saying follow the science, and another saying that they do not care about the science, because this is a political decision and a political argument.

It is as if gravity was a political issue and not a scientific issue. We don’t believe that gravity holds us down, and if you believe that, then you must be supportive of abortion also. The linkages are extreme and pointless. Science is. Belief is different, and relies on a rejection (in some cases) of science.

Of course, this is an argument that humans have been having for millennia; probably as long as there has been any creature we can ‘human’. The earliest authorities were those who could convince others that the spirits spoke through them, or that they understood the will of the spirits. “Do as I command or you will be putting yourself against the God(s)”. And said with conviction, enough of the people will either believe, or will see an opportunity for themselves in supporting the spirit-speakers.

And throughout history, there has been a tug-of-war between the shamans and charlatans and those who look at the sky and see stars and not gods, and who let the trees talk to them instead of listening to what the shamans and charlatans say for the trees.

Science progress though, and with each passing century more was learned, more investigated and explores, and with the written word, more was passed from generation to generation. Eventually scientific ‘facts’ catch up with the shamans, whose continued defence of non-science becomes untenable.

In the case of Galileo, it took the Roman Catholic Church only 359 years to admit that he was right, and their suppression of these ideas was the suppression of scientific fact. In 1992 the Church finally admitted that he was right.

In 1633, the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church forced Galileo Galilei, one of the founders of modern science, to recant his theory that the Earth moves around the Sun. Under threat of torture, Galileo – seen facing his inquisitors – recanted. But as he left the courtroom, he is said to have muttered, ‘all the same, it moves’. (The New Scientist, 7 November 1992; https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13618460-600-vatican-admits-galileo-was-right/)

In the case of the charlatans in the White House, it takes all of a few days or even a few minutes to know that they are telling lies, and that their attacks on science are baseless and political.

But these attacks were and are greeted approvingly by 35% of the Amerikan people; Trump’s loyal base. Even when they know that it is lies, they would rather support the liar than have to accept that there are other choices. It is taking an overwhelming level of deceit and duplicity by Trump and his apostles to eventually drive people away, even at the margins.

His 35% needs something to believe in. Before the pandemic, they needed to believe that there was someone “anti-Washington” and “anti-New York Finance” in charge, looking out for them. They needed to believe that they were not left behind. We can discuss all day if they were left behind, or if they took the easy path and left themselves behind, but that is a different discussion. What is clear is that they believed that Hilary and the Democrats were responsible for their being left behind, and nothing can shake that belief.

Mixed with that is the belief (for they must believe or there is nothing left for them) that Trump, for all his bling and worship of wealth, is actually looking after their interests in the swamp of Washington.

To actively un-believe is a difficult thing to do, especially when surrounded by those who, at least out loud, continue to believe. To un-believe requires reflection and acceptance that you were wrong. And in this case, it requires an acceptance that you supported a conman, and that you were conned. This is not easy. In fact is it probably one of the most difficult things that any of the un-believers will have had to go through; to accept that not only were they wrong, but that they and those they love and share common ideal with are also wrong, and that they too have been conned.

Anger and depression are probably the most common reactions, with anger taking the fore.

And much of that anger then spills over into a lashing out in a final attempt to prove that they were right all along, that they were not conned, and that their ideal and beliefs are indeed correct. That anger feeds off the anger of others like them, and it boils over.

Eventually, acceptance and reflection might happen. But only might.

More likely there will be retreating into a backup belief system, one that may be even more radical than the previous. White Supremacy is a good example. Take away the belief that Trump is actually representing the needs and wants of those left behind, and for many the next backup belief system is one of that supports their victimhood while affirming their individual worth.

So it is reasonable and logical that Trump is now all-but overtly supporting White Supremacy today. It is the logical refuge for his base who are un-believing in the “drain the swamp” narrative.

And here is the "cunning plan" part of the Trump program. If he (and his people) can see that one of the primary fall-back belief systems combines that victimhood of being left behind by Washington and the Democrats, and victimhood of a racial suppression (theirs, not other racial groups) then what better way to ensure that base remains engaged? Cater to their need for inclusion and to be 'heard', without too overtly supporting a philosophy of oppression; dog-whistle loudly and continually.

Confederate generals and monuments serve the purpose of confirming that Trump is indeed the protector of their alternative beliefs. Confederate symbols have little to do with the underlying values of actual of the confederate states. They are symbols now not of slave ownership and oppression, but symbols of a dis-association with the concept of Amerika. Therefore, promises to protect those symbols are equally a promise to uphold the cause of the rejected and the left behind.

He is never going to convert voters to his cause, so he needs to ensure that his existing base continues to be engaged. It really may be his only chance. 

And so all that we see and hear is about engaging that base, whatever it takes. It is a cunningly evil plan. 

Trumpists come in 3 types

It is becoming more and more difficult to remain detached in any way, so of course this morning I fought with Trumpists on the Panama Expats group on FB. I enjoy it because it is so easy. And honestly, it is fun. 

After all, not all Amerikans are now locked inside the Plague States of Amerika. Some became expats many years ago. Now the sit in countries that took them in, and they insult their host countries and praise Trump.

Watching Trumpists online, before I could be ill, I posted:

Continued support for Trump today is a sign of one of three things:

1. Wealth - he's great for you if you are rich,
2. You do not have the attention span to actually read what is happening, so you don't care that you've been conned.
3. Stupidity - you failed your IQ test, and he's conned you,

To see which applies, first check your wallet and bank account, then read something, and if you cannot or will not, then number three applies.

Those three options are how I actually feel about those who still support Trump. They've had plenty of time to see what he actually is and what he is actually doing. If they still support him, I can only put it down to one of those three.


I keep saying that I’m done with Trumpists, or at least done being nice to them. The level of delusion and demonstrated disregard for other humans is difficult to comprehend, unless there is a national psychosis of some kind. For so many years they have been taught that Amerika is the greatest, in everything. People Want to some to Amerika, because Amerika is the land for Freedom. They pledge allegiance to the Flag as if it is an icon in a church, all the while spouting rubbish about how Amerika is a “Christian” country. If Amerika is Christian, then it most certainly is not the Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles. 

I knew people who supported Trump at the beginning of his presidency. Good people, I think, who firmly believed that he was different, and that the office of president would bring out the best (or better) in him. That his no-nonsense style would result in international agreements (especially with North Korea; remember how that turned out). I understand that, the desire to believe in something, and to believe that in the good that Amerika can be (and has been).

The Shining City on the Hill. 

But that was not to be, and Trump has turned everything he touched to mud or shit. He has destroyed Amerikan prestige in the world while he seeks to destroy Amerikan virtues at home, and is actively working to destroy hard-won gains in improving the environment.

And through all of that, there has been a core of believers who cannot and will not change their minds, no matter what he does. No matter what happens, only the greatness of Amerika remains in their vision. As it all turns to shit around them, as the death toll climbed to 50,000, and then to 100,000 ("a good result", yes, he said that) and when it reaches 150,000 sometime next week or the week after, they will still support this conman. 

As those that are in the US are locked into the country, because their arrogance would not allow them to be locked in their cities, let alone their homes for the good of all of them, each other, they still believe him. They still support him.

I can only hope that some of the Trumpists that unfriended me have changed their views, giving me some residual hope that they are the good people I thought I knew. 

But the Trumpists simple will not learn, and the only option is to tell them like it is, and I’m no longer worried or sorry to upset them. They are racists and ignorant. And yet, the “rich” ones do not care about anyone or anything else. 

I especially like being called a "Marxist". Or, if I accept that Amerika is not the Greatest and Trump the Greatest President Ever, then either I am a Marxist or have been indoctrinated by them. 

They do not care, they do not read, and they think that everything that has gone well for them was because of their personal greatness and hard work and because Jesus loves them. Everything that has gone wrong for anyone else is their own fault.

They live in Panama, they can see the starving children, the slums, and the poverty and pollution. They can see with their own eyes. But they protect themselves by falling back on the "its all their own fault" excuse. Maybe they (the Panamains) didn't work hard enough. Or maybe they don't love Jesus enough. Or maybe even worse, Jesus doesn't love them as much as Jesus Loves Amerika. 

This arrogance is why Amerika has the highest outbreak, and why Amerikans are now the laughing stock (when we are not looking on in horror) of the world. The arrogance of Amerikans (not all, of course not, but enough to tarnish the image of an entire country) is simply beyond the understanding of the rest of the world. I served in the US military, I “paid my debt” for growing up with an American passport. I support their, and everyone’s, right to say anything they want to. And yes, I think that is and should be a universal right, even though many countries do not see things that way. 

But I cannot and will not support Trump or any longer give refuge to Trumpists.

They are a blight on Amerika, and a festering sore on the world.

Gringos and Pandemic - not a good mix

Latin America as we know it today is the product of the Conquista and the conquistadors. In 1532 Pizarro and his band of conquistadors, with support from European diseases, destroyed the Incan Empire and imposed their rule, even though they represented but a tiny fraction of the population. In most of Latin America, it is just history, and today most of the "locals" actually have conquistador or subsequent Spanish (and lately Italian and other European) immigrant or slave blood. It is ancient history. 

But in Panama, there is a new conquistador, one that was (revisionist history) thrown out and national sovereignty regained with the 'return' of the Canal and the Zone to Panamanian control. Yet the new conquistadors continue to arrive, ever after most were thrown out (or more accurately, departed when the jobs for Gringos disappeared).

Panama, which seemed to do quite well early on in its fight against Covid-19, now seems to be ‘losing the plot’ with the number of cases jumping by close to 1000 daily, and hospitals becoming overloaded. I am so glad that we got Francoise out of there and home. While I did think it would be a reasonably ‘safe place’, that was predicated on a couple of factors, including her location in the countryside, and on the reactions of the community to the virus and Gringo/Panamanian relations. The second has negated any advantage from the first, and I fear that the entire Gringo community in the greater Mariato area and that coast will be in danger is this gets much worse. 

The “pitchforks and torches” may be a real threat down there, especially with the apparent history of the wealthy landowners being less than happy with the influx of Gringos who provide alternative employment for people who should be kept stupid and working manual labour on and for the rice plantations. About the only other endorsed employment (it seems, from the perspective of the landowners) being fishing and smallholdings farming for the local communities, and turning a blind eye to the drug runners who cruise the coast. 

The ‘word on the street’ is that wealthy families do not support more Gringos because they create competition. That increases the costs for the wealthy families and reduces their feudal authority. And when they lose the mayor that they bought/rented, then they need to either wait-out a less corrupt mayor, or find a way to corrupt the new mayor. Access to relative wealth and acceptance as a local authority is sometimes enough, especially if they can line their own pockets with the cash that drops off the central government trucks that should otherwise be building roads, bridges, schools, etc. 

Into this environment comes a mixed bag of Gringos, many with libertarian ideas of escape from authority and the ability to buy anything they want, including ‘freedom’ to do anything they want, including ignoring the local government and people, unless those local people are building their houses and providing incidental manual labour – cleaning, gardening, minor construction and repairs for example. 

These Gringos are truly foreigners, as there are very few Gringo on that side of the Azuero Peninsula who are married to Panamanians, and especially to countryside Panamanians. The nearest historical comparison that I can think of are the conquistadors in Peru in the 1530s, who grabbed large tracks of land and set up their haciendas, and lorded over the (in their view) frail, stupid, and exploitable Inca. Now I need to be clear, these Gringos did not conquer the land, nor defeat the indigenous people, the vast majority of whom are descended from European Spaniards intermixed with Native Mayans and their cousins. Nor are they an occupying army that has burned and raped its way through the country. That was done centuries ago by the Spanish.

The Panamanians, of course, have forgotten that ancient history, and the local propaganda machines now are making sure that everyone knows just who the invaders are; the Gringos from America who stole their land and canal, which only the hard-fought protests and deaths of martyrs reclaimed for the nation. The Canal Museum in Panama City drips with the struggle, and in rejection of the invader who stole the sovereign solid of beloved Panama, all the displays information is in Spanish only. The American invasion in 1989 didn't help.

Unfortunately though, some new Gringos ('new' in the past couple of decades, after the handover of the Canal and dismantling of the Zone) seem to share some of the conquistador attitudes.  "This is our land, we acquired it fairly and we can do what we want with it". We do not need to share with you, as you are inferior and lazy. And we will do what we want as a community within but excluding the surrounding community. We will even eat of Gringo owned establishments, even if they are slightly more expensive than local establishments, with food and service that is no better than what if produces and service by the local community.

An elite cannot remain forever in such a position without creating hostility, even if in good (or even moderate) economic times there is mutual acceptance of the boundaries. But as the situation deteriorates, the underlying animosity within the local communities can grow. Poor locals see people much like themselves, but rich and, in their eyes, just as lazy as they are, but with money and power. Where did this authority and money come from, and why is it not being shared. After all, these people (Gringos) are no different from us, as we see every day. Yet they are here, they are rich, and they deserve what they have no more than we deserve the benefits of wealth. And if they are the same as us, then why can we not have what they have?

In a land where income is defined literally by how hard physically a person works, the idea of intellectual capital or 'knowledge working' resulting in 'wealth' is simply incomprehensible. Manual labour pays $15/day (with the Gringos distorting the market at $20/day) while "brick work" (the local equivalent of a tradesman) goes for as much as $30 - $40/day, when they can find work. The amount you work and the amount you sweat defines how much you earn and what you are worth.

Covid-19 is a disease that impacts the poor disproportionally. They have less access to medicine and doctors, their underlying health is weaker (due to a number of factors, almost all economic), they live in tighter quarters without adequate ventilation, they must work or they will not eat and their families will not eat, and the lack of adequate education reduces their understanding of the impact of hygiene as a factor in combating disease. 

But they know that this disease did not spread from the poor to the poor and from the rich to the poor. They know very well that the rich brought this disease into their country, their city, then their region and town. They know that the rich travelled to Spain and Italy on holiday, something impossible for them, and brought this back with them. Now the rich blame the poor for inadequate hygiene and failing to “social distance” and quarantine. 

"Se imaginan a cuántas personas habrá contagiado?  Todos estos familiares a su vez tuvieron contacto con sus familias, amigos, compañeros de trabajo y de estudios!!😱" (Can you imagine how many people it will have infected? All these relatives in turn had contact with their families, friends, colleagues and students !! 😱)

This picture is from Ecuador, but the scenario is the same across Latin American, and certainly the same in Panama. One woman returns from Spain, and there is a large family gathering and party to welcome her home. She carries the Covid-19 virus in her. Soon the virus is running rampant. Servants catch the disease, and as servants rarely live in the employers home any longer, they take the virus back into their communities. 

It was the "rich" that brought the disease in from outside the country. 

And on the “Dark Side” as a friend calls the Mariato side of the Azuero Peninsula, they know that the rich Gringos around them will be taken care of if they get sick. But if you are poor, you might get some treatment in the local Saludo, and who knows, they might even take you to the big city to a real hospital to treat you, or you family member, who by the time they are taken to the city, will already have infected everyone else in the family, and probably other local families.

Meanwhile Gringos were surfing when all outdoor activity was banned. And when they were told to stop, they complained. They are special and not like Panamanians, and they own their beaches. They are different and the rules should not apply to them. 

There is too much opportunity for anger, and that will not end well. Especially when there is a wealthy elite who have a vested interest in limiting the impact of the Gringo influx into their area of the country.

I am worried.

Finishing the conquistador comparison – the Inca revolted and slaughtered the isolated conquistadors in their new haciendas, and marched on Cuzco. The revolt eventually was put down, though it did take a year, and required a re-conquest of the Inca territories. A revolt against Gringos would be put down, but it might take some time, and the isolated Gringo properties will be at risk for quite some time. 

It needs to be remembered that the Panamanians (some, not all) view the Gringos not fundamentally different from the Conquistadors, in that the Gringos occupied the Zone and for decades extracted the wealth of the country through control of the Canal and the revenues of the Canal. While there is a huge amount of nuance required in this, such as the rationale for the Zone, Panama’s acceptance of the ‘deal’ in exchange for independence from Bogata, and a US Congressional mandate that the Canal be run at break-even, there is in Panama today a nationalistic streak that is using the Canal as a prop in a revisionist history that centres around a betrayal of Panama. That revisionist history is used to explain why Panama is still poor and why it is someone else’s fault that they were occupied and exploited. 

That nationalism carries over to label Gringos invaders, who while they provide jobs (some, temporarily) and incomes to some, are still not of and never will be Panamanian. They will always be an elite that has imposed themselves. Foreigners are not welcome in Panama, no matter what is said and what you might see. They are foreigners. They are to be exploited for all that can be extracted before they realise that they are being robbed - then move on to the next Gringo if you can.

It is that revisionism, coupled I must say with the treatment of Panamanians as inferior by some Gringos, and of course with the introduction of Covid-19 by the rich, that will contribute to what may happen.

Oh, and one other minor historical note: the Incan conquest and subsequent revolt took place within the context of a multi-year pandemic that killed half or more of the Incan population.