TRUMP, COMEDIANS ON SHIPS, RACISM AND MORE…

There might well be a connection between Donald Trump and comedians. Let me explain.

The world may now be a very different place with Trump as President of the world’s most powerful nation. When he first stood for candidacy, many of us thought this was some kind of sick bad joke. After all, he was a business man, enormously wealthy and successful albeit, but with absolutely no political experience. In the first month as President he has certainly done much to rock the boat. However, go back to the period when he was standing for the presidency and anyone with any common sense would have put their money on him NOT standing any chance of getting elected. After all, he had insulted, angered and alienated many groups of people whether they were women, disabled or an ethnic minority, he successfully managed to cause deep offence wherever, and with whom, he chose. His rhetoric claiming he would build a wall stopping Mexicans getting into the US, and also his desire to keep out ethnic groups from the US was all thought to be nonsense and that if, miraculously he were to become POTUS, all this talk would be forgotten.

Well, he is POTUS now and the talk has not gone away. The wall is still on the agenda. He announced a ban for 90 days on any Moslem coming into the US from seven countries with a Moslem majority. What I have heard him say over the past year or so, has really made me cringe and worry for what the world is fast becoming. There are similarities here to many dictators of the past.

So, to cruising. My wife and I have cruised extensively worldwide over the past say 27 years. We rarely, if ever, get the feeling of antisemitism. I know it exists all around me so I’m far from stupid but it takes on many forms and often, people around me do not realise that the comments they make, whilst to them might seem completely harmless and jocular are, infact, nothing less than clear antisemitic jibes. I do not get would up by all this. It’s a fact of life and clearly tells me that any ethnic minority, or physically challenged individual, is frequently the target of others.

Comedians thrive on the mother-in-law, the Irish, the jokes poking fun at any group. We need to sometimes take a step back and ask ourselves would we like it if we were the target.

What Trump says and the way he behaves, as POTUS, is crucial. If he takes shots at disabled people for example, his people believe it’s acceptable too. His behaviour towards ethnic minorities is dreadful, and leads to who knows what.

The connection to cruising. A client recently told me of their discomfort at attending a show onboard one of the well known cruise lines. The entertainment was a comedian. Apparently, and I only have this at present secondhand, the comedian’s material was particularly offensive and contained some blatant antisemitic content. That’s more astounding than you can imagine. This particular cruise line has a very large Jewish following and a number of its directors are Jewish. I can only assume that the content of this comedian had not been vetted before he was able to entertain.

I expect to hear an update to this story over the next month or so and will make mention in my blog if I feel something should be said further.

Again, speak to me on 0330 303 8397 when you’re planning your next cruise. You’ll be in good hands!!