Dear Editor,

Reports of the leader of the free world using vile language when describing Haiti, El Salvador, and Africa seem plausible. Not surprising, his senior team members call his utterances merely “impassioned”and “tough” language.

Apparently opting for scatology over sagacity, the occupant of the Oval Office went to the pits for his reported unsavoury characterisation of the two countries and a continent as “places of excrement” — as a friend euphemistically calls it.

The fallout is immeasurable at this time, but will certainly complicate US foreign relations in the short run. At a minimum, allies and friends are caught off balance, detractors poised to exploit the situation, and recipients of the lingual lash temporarily confounded.

The US leader’s so-called impassioned characterisation, albeit profane, could be expected, given his earlier display of coarseness and social awkwardness. Contextually, this incident occurred as the Administration appears to be losing footing at home and abroad, ironically even with NATO member Norway, an industrious country that loves sauna and respects etiquette.

Threadbare-proffered distinction between style and substance will not suffice as an excuse for vulgarity that is perceptible and hurtful. Not only does this slapdash mouthing represent the nadir in international discourse, but it reveals the apparent disdain the US leader has for these countries.

In no way should sheep-like, spasmodic outbursts of verbal effluence from the White House be countenanced. A return to the civility exhibited by the previous office holder and spouse is badly needed. Grace and intelligence were their hallmarks. Figuratively, the noxious, whimsical remarks of the current occupant contaminate the air, impacting on climate change which he claims has no scientific basis.

What can we expect from the international community? In my years living in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa, I was impressed by the high premium placed on cleanliness, even in poverty-stricken areas. In contrast, odorous wafts of verbiage are now coming from resplendent abodes in the US that mirror those of Louis XVI of France.

So far, several African countries have summoned US ambassadors in their respective countries, presumably deploring the White House’s supercilious and crass reference to them. Speaking for its members, the Africa Union registered publicly its disgust. Caribbean scholars and diplomats have begun to provide edifying historical background on Haiti’s history and US mischievous involvement there.

While symptoms of potential chaos in the international system become more apparent, some emerging and “redefined” atavistic powers are already jockeying for advantage in what they perceive as an inevitable new world order in the making.

To say the least, that probability renders how inane it is for the US to insult at least a quarter of the world’s population that the UN forecasts to be in the billions in a couple decades.

The consequences of disrespect last longer than physical wounds. A reminder is Nigerian writer, the late Chinua Achebe’s observation, “Until lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

Earle Scarlett

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

pimpernells2004@yahoo.com