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juche armor
Part of the typical uniform for Anglo politicians doing "tank ride" propaganda is dressing up like a soldier. (see also: GWB's "Mission Accomplished"). The dressing up makes the politicians seem insincere. This insincerity was overlooked for Thatcher's scarves and goggles, possibly because she was a right winger, but not Dukakis' helmet, possibly because he was the left candidate at the end of the Cold War.
Kim has more opportunities to dress like a soldier than the western liberals and tank day isn't one. The juche tank ride seems more authentic than the western photo ops. Not that the tank is self sustaining or ready for action, rather the Kims look like a father and daughter bonding over a special interest. This act alone is more human than any publicly made by an American politician since Howard Dean (GWB excluded). The royal family vibe of juche isn't as off putting because they seem more normal (and resilient) than famous British royals, American politicos, transatlantic blue bloods or the constantly vile nouveau riche.
The tank ride is probably going out of style in the age of drone warfare. The tanks that survive Ukraine are a mishmash of reactive armor and welded rebar attempting to save the crew from the drones that dominate bulky mechanized equipment. The concept will be decommissioned like the battleship. Sitting on the lap of some battle robot isn't a calendar pose. Just under the wire, the Kims might have produced the best political "tank ride" photo.
The trope has propaganda value from Anglo liberals to Jucheland that might be transferred to other purposes. Every town square in the USA has a surplus tank begging to return to public discourse.[*] This neutered steel is the only thing left of the peace dividends of WWII and the American industrial century. Everything not off shored is surveilled and any radical caught touching these useless relics would today be punished like a dognapper: a very serious offense.
This is ironic. Besides violence, noise and speed; the tank has always had this impressive political potential. A one man military parade. The VFW brought the thing to your town based on scrap metal prices and military propaganda. This beast was built to run over platoons has now a delicate "stay off" placard leaned against the flaccid turret. When prices shift these will go the way of the rail ties, box cars and boomer shacks: commodifiable history is scrapped. Maybe the VFW will get a new pool table or dance floor.
[*]This is not advising property destruction. Some ways to use these relics are: as a temporary canvas for light shows, forced perspective photography or photoshop, narrative prompts, rallying point for peace marches.
images:
Margaret Thatcher "riding in tank" West Germany, 1976. video hosted by Getty.
Margaret Thatcher in challenger Tank at NATO camp, British Army Base Fallingbostel. West Germany: 17 September 1986. video hosted by Getty.
Michael Dukakis on a General Dynamics M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Sterling Heights MI: 1988. picture hosted by Politico.
Liz Truss with British and Royal Tank Regiment flags. (I, II) Tallinn, Estonia: 29 November 2021. images hosted by The Sun.
"Prince William rides in a tank close to Russia's border" by Ian Vogler image hosted by Daily Mirror in "Prince William rides in tank just 90 miles away from Putin's Russia as he meets troops" 21 March 2025.
Kim Jong-un and Kim Jue-ae in "infantry tank" during "combined arms tactical exercise" Pyongyang 60th Training Base: 20 March 2026. Korean Central Television. hosted by Yonhap.
hominidmedia sources:
hominidmedia "Dukakis v. Bush: Prison Reform and Peace Dividend (1988)" gratis goobers collection, 06 March 2023. link.
Dukakis' tank ride was a political tool that failed because it was inauthentic not because it was ill conceived. Dukakis promised to squander the peace dividend. This didn't differentiate him from Reagan or HW Bush. American culture remembers the nerd wearing a helmet who is out of place at Geneal Dynamics. The concept of a nominal leftist with right leaning defense policy advocating military spending at the end of a war is the actual reason it seems absurd. When Eisenhower or Churchill poses in uniform with a tank there is no dissonance.
hominidmedia "duakis and hypnotoad (1988)" zany zilch collection, 14 August 2022. link.
This is an anglo-American tradition. Margaret Thatcher took successful tank photo shots in 1976 and '86. "Some American politicos believe Dukakis' mistake was covering his hair with a helmet. But Thatcher wore a scarf, ear and eye protection and a helmet in her photos from West Germany." Liz Truss recreated the photo in Estonia in 2021. This was a short ministership and this provocation toward Russia didn't work out. There are ironies in all three: Dukakis was a New England liberal, Thatcher was a austerity hawk and Truss was outside of NATO a proxy warrior.