The Swiss surprised me this week with their humanity. A referendum on proposed legislation to ban suicide tourists was very heavily defeated. "Rest of the world - you are still welcome to come to Switzerland... and kill yourself!" Some of the federation's anti-foreign elements have carped "They come over here, they take all our bodybags, they leave." but 80% voted to let them/us in anyway.
Of course you could argue that encouraging foreigners to visit your country in order to be immediately killed is actually anti-foreigner. "How do we get rid of those pesky foreigners who keep nagging us to reveal the bank accounts of African dictators and corpoprate embezzlers and go on and on about Nazi gold this and Nazi gold that... ? Invite them round and leave them in a room with a plastic bag,a rubber band, paracetemol and whale music."
Don't get me wrong, I support the inalienable right to take one's own life and ask for assistance if needed. If one is not permitted ownership of one's own body then truly we are all dispossessed. But when it comes to opening borders, the Swiss are less likely to invite in refugees and more lilkely, the terminally ill. The latter, I suppose rarely overstay their visas.
Maybe next year the Swiss entry in the Eurovision Song Contest (Pavla loves it even though I told her the East Europeans always spoil it by voting along old Warsaw Pact lines) could be themed around their key cultural icons: chocolate, clocks, racism (traditionally expressed by their footballers spitting at Steven Gerrard, but you can go to Manchester for that) and topping yourself. All in the lovely music capital that is Azerbaijan's Baku (just don't mention the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. It's like celebrating Mass in Latin on an Orange parade).
And while on matters, European, I hear the IMF's elegant French boss, Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been placed on suicide watch at New York's Riker Prison. Perhaps his lawyer can organize a ticket to Switzerland?
Less morbid thoughts next week.
Finally, good luck to AFC Wimbledon in the gambleyourselfintochronicdebtandmarriagebreakdown.com Play Off Final and bad luck to Milton Keynes Dons in theirs. Never mind Ali-Frazier, Pacquiao-Mayweather, Ovett-Coe, Nadal-Federer, Bolt-Gay, Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant, Palmer-Nicklaus, Woods-Mrs Woods, the "real" Dons versus Millioniare Pete's Body-snatching Usurper Cheats show-down could be a mere season and a bit away!
FC Naylor
Twitter @FCNaylor
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Wednesday, 18 May 2011
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Slightly chirpy today FC.Is this because Uncle Colin's team haven't had any points taken away,so you're free to see QPR get hammered every week next season?
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of cheaper ways to commit suicide.Just enter a Liverpool pub and shout at the bartender "Sorry mate,I've only got £50s on me"
Wander round Burslem in a red and white striped football shirt.
Become a Liberal Democrat.
but as you pointed out jacks they were all in red and white between 1898-1902 before the Doppelganger Evil Twin LookeyLikey Stokeys stole our armour our soul One Pit One Pot One Fuhrer! Dive five dive You can't understand what it was like man You Weren't there! Eat pies ride on omnibuseses we had the experience but we missed the meaning.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the point of making any sense, who cares?
if the 2 dons play each other it could create a matter/anti matter singularity which sucks in the entire footballing universe and shoves it up Jim gannons arse
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