Patrizio Nissirio

Journalist at ANSA, senior editor @ ANSAmed. Author. Rock 'n roller. RT doesn't mean endorsement. Views are personal.

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Presentazione del libro “Ad Atene con Markaris” https://t.co/3pi4rzS9sD

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

A British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”

-Nate White

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Alla domanda, qual è il miglior posto al mondo dove suonare? Risponde Stevie Van Zandt

[🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇦🕉Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 @StevieVanZandt]

San Siro Milan. And the foolish Italian Heritage Authority have okayed the WRECKING BALL to demolish it! So far Mayor Giuseppe Sala has fought to keep it alive. Hopefully until we play it at least one more time!

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

@LucaBizzarri Il fattore K

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

La deutsche vita: why is Germany so obsessed with 1980s Italo-pop? https://t.co/WdonWKKJff

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Politicians can always be voted out. And so could Brexit | William Keegan https://t.co/UeKV4iSh9A

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

From Springsteen to McCartney, ageing rockers are teaching us about something bigger than music | Jonathan Freedland https://t.co/e4VGhH3soc

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Tornano i dialoghi del Festival Giornalisti del Mediterraneo - Agenda - https://t.co/Tn8dngRcF4 https://t.co/DoDm9jWtje

[Hanif Kureishi @Hanifkureishi]

I will be returning to London after six months of hospitalization in Rome at the @SantaLuciaIRCCS. I have been treated with professionalism and kindness by all the personnel of the Neurorehabilitation Unit 1. I am grateful to Italy’s national healthcare system for providing free cure and rehabilitation for me and for all other patients.

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

@SayChrisLive 😆😆

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Rapporto Reuters, l'ANSA ancora prima per affidabilità - Politica - ANSA https://t.co/HVfjPabMqd

[Stephen Stills @Stephen__Stills]

"Playing fast is not necessarily best. It's what you play and when you play it. I'm basically a blues cat, and one well-placed blues lick can just rip your heart out. That's the theory I work on." Stephen Stills

[Julian Lennon @JulianLennon]

Indeed….

[Stephen Stills @Stephen__Stills]

"We were very young, and very high. None of us knew how to handle the instant success. We had a lot of money and a lot of ego. But we were in love with the music." David Crosby @thedavidcrosby #StephenStills @TheGrahamNash
@NeilYoungNYA
Photo by the great @henrydiltz

[Luca Bottura @bravimabasta]

Io lo so che voi estremisti di centro pretendete di insegnare a tutti come si sta al mondo e quindi ora ci date lezioni di garantismo. Ma la bomba in stazione è carne della nostra carne, è sangue del nostro sangue, è una storia nera di criminalità, servizi, massoneria. Nessuno vuole l'interdizione perpetua di Fioravanti, ci mancherebbe: la Costituzione chiede il recupero del reo. Ma qui non c'è pentimento, non c'è pietas per le vittime (che ha irriso anche di recente) e non c'è una parola di verità sui mandanti. È un cittadino libero. Ma se scrive sul giornale fondato da Gramsci (o sulla sua parodia) sporca la nostra Storia. Dunque lo mandiamo a fare in culo. Lui e chi lo ospita. Augurandogli una vita serena, naturalmente. Più serena di chi rimane a ricordare le 85 vite che lui e la Mambro hanno tolto a degli innocenti. Eccheccazzo.

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

@nilslofgren @azsweetheart013 Saw you guys in Ferrara and Rome. You rocked our world, once again.

[Francesco De Leo @fscodeleo]

Questa sera 19.30 su @RadioRadicale

🇨🇳La Cina contro i Paesi del G7
🇬🇷Grecia: vincono i Conservatori
🇹🇷Turchia: Vigilia del ballottaggio

Vi aspettiamo con @danilotaino, @PNissirio, @MarianoGiustino e @ee_guzeldere.

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Nissirio racconta 'Il sigaro' fra storia e personaggi - Libri - ANSA https://t.co/GwSjXkmx6R

[Patrizio Nissirio @PNissirio]

Locride, la Calabria che sorprende - Evasioni - https://t.co/Gzvx6wEuI9 https://t.co/hI2m6Xhbqh