A royal insult: '¿Por qué no te callas?'

History provides us with many examples of famous catch-phrases – the right words, uttered at just the right time – that have shown the power to change the course of events: FDR’s “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” (This week, I might add the late Mr. Whipple’s “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin,” but the Associated Press is reporting that its true authorship is in question.)

Someday soon, we may be able to add to this list the blunt suggestion, already a hot Internet buzz-phrase and cell-phone ring tone, by an exasperated King Juan Carlos I to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez during a recent summit in Chile: “Why don’t you shut up?” It was a classic and, in the case of Chávez, long overdue case of standing up to a loudmouth bully.

Chávez had disrupted the Ibero-American Summit, calling former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar a “fascist,” adding that “fascists are not human. A snake is more human.” There’s some specific bad blood here related to Spain’s role in a 2002 coup against Chávez. Still, “fascist” is Chávez’ favorite all-purpose insult these days against anyone who disagrees with him. When Aznar’s successor, Chávez ally José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, responded to defend Aznar, Chávez kept shouting over him. The king then wagged his finger at Chávez, exclaimed “tu” (the familiar form of “you”), then demanded: “¿Por qué no te callas?” Chávez fumed and has demanded an apology, although he’s also mumbled something about not wanting to get into a spitting match with Spain.

So Spaniards are loving it. Juan Carlos is already a national hero for championing democratic reforms after dictator Francisco Franco’s death, then thwarting an attempted 1981 military coup. Now they’ve put his phrase on T-shirts and coffee mugs. Videos on the confrontation abound on YouTube. And Spanish newspaper El País reports that a ring tone that does a remix on the king’s words has been downloaded more than 500,000 times.

More important, his words have galvanized anti-Chávez forces within Venezuela. It’s already become the slogan for their resistance to Chavez’ attempt to expand his power even further in a Dec. 2 constitutional referendum. Venezuelan T-shirts with the phrase have the word “NO” in large, uppercase letters, slyly signaling support for a “No” vote on that issue. So events may prove Juan Carlos’ little outburst in Santiago to be another example of the serendipitous power of words.

Sure, most of us would like public discourse on social and political issues to proceed in a civil manner, without name-calling or intimidation. But every once in a while there’s a place for a little incivility against boors, and sometimes the most rational course can be an expression of righteous anger.