Thursday, January 06, 2022

A Little Less Cordial Than He Was Used To

Ah, the gentle art of diplomacy.

The good ol' days of polite ambassadors resolving disputes in a manner filled with decorum, formalities. and courtesy. 

Or, well,  not so much. 

Peter Capaldi's dramatic live reading of the Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan illustrates how diplomatic communication can be at times a tad less polite, and it is a must watch - before you read the letter at the Wiki link.

The Cossacks had defeated the Ottomans in a battle, and the Sultan then sent them a letter demanding their surrender, their fealty, and to stop any further attacks on the Ottomans.

Their reply has survived through the centuries as a lovely example of how to diplomatically and at length say "Oh, Hell, No". 

2 comments:

juvat said...

Love it!

I can think of a few people that would be worthy of send something similar to.

ProudHillbilly said...

Pelosi comes to mind...