Shut Up, Chavez!
Two weeks ago at a Chilean summit, Spanish King Juan Carlos I interrupted a verbose Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by saying "Por que no te callas?", i.e. "Why don't you shut up?"
Chavez had repeatedly called the former Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, a fascist and when he was asked to be more diplomatic and show respect for other leaders, Chavez began to retaliate - but before he could, Juan Carlos leaned over and asked Chavez to shut his mouth.
Carlos' comment has spurred a lucrative industry. Many were so amused/fascinated by his words - commentary arguably many would like to say to Chavez - that technophiles turned the retort into a ringtone. According to Time Magazine more than 1/2 a million people have downloaded the ringtone, generating more than $2 million in profits. The ringtone is not only a hit with the Spanish, but some Venezuelan students are downloading it as a form of protest against Chavez. Also, the industry is moving beyond ringtones, and now encompasses t-shirts
"The king said what Venezuelans have wanted to say to Chavez's face for a long time," said Jenny Romero, 21, a student sporting one of the T-shirts in Caracas. "I'm wearing this T-shirt to protest everything bad that has happened in the country." (CNN)
I find the whole episode refreshing and hilarious. Sometimes you need to tell people to put a sock in it. Forget about being PC - if someone is obnoxiously blabbering on and on, why tolerate all of it, just ask 'em to stop...but do it King Carlos style! Way to go Carlos!
For more on the spat, see:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/11/19/spain.shutup.ap/index.html
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