I liked Return of the Jedi when it came out. I suppose I still do, although I have not bothered seeing it again for many years. But I suppose it was when George Lucas jumped the shark as far as balancing the cutesy merchandising and kiddie gimmickry. R2D2 and his sidekick C3P0 work well together, Jar Jar Binks does not. And Episode VI is where it all really started to tip over towards the eventual birth of Jar Jar.
Because that is where we first meet those loveable little Ewoks, little teddy bear like creatures who worship C3P0 as a god and want to cook his companions in a feast in his honour.
The scene where the Ewoks suddenly spring out and ambush the storm troopers, fighting and winning a savage battle so that Han Solo and Princess Leia can sabotage the shield generators is pure science fiction. Did any well drilled and armed modern colonial army encounter such resistance to the point where they were defeated by bows and arrows? (Well, the Zulus did it once, but they were well armed and well drilled and in huge numbers, and did it at huge cost.). But I digress.
We all know lots of bears. In our safe urban lives where we have long been at top of the food chain, bears are reduced to loveable critters like Paddington, or my childhood favourite Humphrey B Bear (I had a huge crush as a four year old on his sidekick Patsy Biscoe, who then crossed over to Fat Cat on another channel – and eventually shacked up in real life with the bloke in the Fat Cat suit). And most of us have at least one soft toy teddy bear to play with as a baby.
And we Australians love to joke about a carnivorous mutant species of Koala, the Drop Bear, who likes to drink the blood of American tourists. Who would think that a cuddly little Koala is a scary monster?
But in even in our soft safe urban lives, where our bears are only toys or cartoons or zoo exhibits, there is still one bear who can strike fear into the hearts of the boldest amongst us.
There is a statue of a charging bull set up on Wall Street. In our recent politically correct times, there was some contention when a statue of a fearless girl was placed in front of this fierce auroch. Standing in front of any charging bull is a foolish thing to do, rather than fearless. The only creature who can face the sharemarket’s Bull is the sharemarket’s Bear, and he is not exactly the cuddly variety.
They do not set up statues to him. He is not someone investors worship, like a minotaur, or sacrifice their fearless daughters to, in emulation of Iphigenia, to raise winds for their becalmed equities. Investors like to believe that he is at worst caged, and hopefully extinct.
Last night, as I have firmly expected, the recent insane exuberance on the share markets came to a halt. The Dow Jones plunged 6.9%. The ASX had a 3% drop in sympathy this morning.
The Bear has burst his cage open, and is out amongst our financial markets.
Are any of you surprised? Look at the world.
We have over seven million people suffering from the Wuhan sourced pandemic, 400,000 dead, and it is running rampant through most of the world, doubling currently at a rate of every 36 days. The recriminations against the tyranny that is Communist China have finally caused most political and business leaders to start realising that this tyranny is not our friend, but a robber who comes in the day, as well as a thief in the night. The economic damage caused by the three months (so far) of economic closure and money printing is starting to show in the economic indicators. And America is burning.
To expect the Bull to continue his unimpeded charge down Wall Street in these times is not naive, it is insane.
The Bear is out, and he is very hungry. He wants to eat beef. That and your investments.
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Lost For Words! 