In response to an FT article by Ed Luce on 21st February 2016, entitled 'Trump’s hostile takeover gains pace'
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0b4195fe-d855-11e5-98fd-06d75973fe09.html#ixzz40o0SvzMk
An enjoyable article Mr. Luce - thanks.
You gave me a smile with your description of how C-Suites respond to hostile bids: "First there is denial. Then anger. Then bargaining. Eventually they succumb to depression". As you will probably know these are the first four stages of the grieving process, drawn from the work of psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and beautifully described in her book "On Death and Dying". Your observation raised the question for me: Who or what just died? My thought is that the sense of self-entitlement possessed by the 'establishment elite' is getting a thorough, and in my view, thoroughly well deserved kicking.
The sad old men and women who think they get to pick who runs the country on their behalf are not very good at learning. They are akin to CJ from 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"..."I didn't get where I am today by learning Reggie". One of his best 'I didn't get where I am today lines' was this classic:
"I didn't get where I am today by telling the truth to customers when they make complaints Reggie"
And that's the problem these sad old fools don't understand – the customers are not happy. People are sick to their back teeth with their lies, their false promises and their suffocating sense of arrogance and self-entitlement, which, at long last, is being seen for what it is...except by the establishment itself. As you rightly say Mr. Luce: 'The last to know are always those in charge'
They have been in denial, and now the anger is starting to surface - this will make them seem ever more ridiculous to those of us not impressed by tantrums. E.G.: Mr. Trump has stirred their ire with this:
“They lied when they said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none and they knew there were none.”
The reason this makes them angry, and makes me laugh is this: It’s true…and they don’t like being called on it. Clearly Mr. Trump didn’t get the memo.
The fifth stage of the grieving process you didn't mention is ‘acceptance’. One of Ms. Kübler-Ross' quotes from the book is this:
"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from"
Until they get they have absolutely no God given right to rule, that people are sick of their hubris, that the old game is over, they won’t learn anything.
Am I advocating Donald Trump? No, I’d as soon see a baboon in the White House. Do I want to see the back of these parasitic elites? Yes I do. Is there anyone else in the field I’d vote for? No. What am I sure of? A great nation like the US can do far better than the people currently running. What would I like to see? A person who can tell the ‘truth’, who doesn’t also happen to be a demented narcissist.
Anyway, a very stimulating piece Mr. Luce – thanks once again.