Kneel before Zod is one of the most memorable lines from the DCEU in Man of Steel when the alien Kryptonian demands of Earth as he sees us as puny and unworthy of discourse or a fight and demands a quick submission. In a similar manner the United States and its imperialistic ambitions are like Zod to us when it comes to what they perceive can be done within their much-termed playground aka the Caribbean.
The removal of Nicolas Maduro from his presidential perch in Caracas has illustrated that like Reagan with Manuel Noriega in Panama this current president is not afraid of flexing his military muscles. Despite the tongue twisters of peace and “no new wars” he flattered his base with that American hegemony and imperialism is to be defended at all costs. When the noise began over secret deals and alleged non-binding deals and MOUs over potentially accepting third party deportees or refugees it was undeniable that we were up next. A similar effort by the Tories under Rishi Sunak and Rwanda ended up being ruled unconstitutional by the British Supreme Court
So when the Prime Minister coyly announced that we were in a similar situation like St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda the beating of drums got louder. Many were quick to jump to his defense to bolster the non-binding line and then reference Chastanet’s holding of BVI prisoners after Hurricane Irma, but that is disingenuous on the face of it all. Rescuing persons from an environmental disaster and this current situation are vastly different.
But let’s be quite honest with ourselves, persons deeply affiliated with parties often lack veracity as a value worth holding.
This is just the first step to accepting third party deportees. The threat of visitor and immigrant visas, being held over the heads of our various Foreign and Prime Ministers is often the carrot before the stick comes out. The resulting mess may not be anything as alarming as some have claimed with planeloads of refugees, many of whose homes have been made unsafe by American actions and activities, but perhaps on the level of Palau. The small Pacific island nation agreed to take 75 deportees for a fee of 7.5 million, low risk , non-criminal deportees who filled in a labour shortage. Perhaps that can be our fate despite the many alarmist bells ringing out there for no reason but to create fear and distrust or to propagate left-right politics by an America that often subverts these ideas to suit their own capitalist agendas.
And now with news of immigrant visas being suspended many have of course further perpetuated disinformation and fear by hanging the veiled threat of visitor visas being banned as well. Now in a world where we puny humans bow before mighty Kryptonians, such a progression is not an unfair leap to take, if done with discretion and caution. But it seems many are quick to perpetuate their own agendas and political desires to gain some foothold in the political discourse or be perceived as right when many others were wrong. So, to prevent the ire of the US from falling too keenly on our 238-square mile rock, Philip may need to kneel before Zod.