A small ray of North Korean hope

Some photographs presented on the BBC’s news website documenting the recent mass spectacle in Pyongyang have compelled me anew to comment on the utter madness of the North Korean state, which, I hasten to add, begins just a few miles north of where I write these words.

I suppose living so close to possibly the most dysfunctionally functional state in the world is a sobering experience. Basically, it helps me remember that humanity is far weirder than I can imagine.

One picture especially caught my eye. The picture above. And now look at this detail::

I wonder if this is an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ picture. Note the little girl staring at the camera. What is she thinking? is it too much to hope that she is seeing through the madness of the adults? Probably. After all, the system starts the process of mind control very early. But even so. This seems unscripted. I couldn’t help feeling that the little girl is shattering the surface of the collective delusion. And does that mean that the photographer is colluding? Even though this is an official picture aimed at consolidating the official narrative, can we see here a subtly resistant action? Doubtful. Because that would be much too dangerous. But nevertheless……

I was also given adequate evidence that the BBC and the system it serves, and within which I live, is also pretty damn nutty. Look at this:

A stupid advertisement lodged between stupid images. Perhaps we are just as mad in our way as these North Koreans…….