âSqueeze Russia out of yourself!â
Brings some interesting visions to mind, indeed.
The title isnât really correct. Though it would be stretching to equate âbeing black in Americaâ with âbeing strongly pro-Ukrainian in Russiaâ, the latter is basically what the story is about and does have some points of similarity; the police are worried about what either out group might do and are prone to responding to what they see as provocation with excessive force.
I guess one problem is that there are people in Russia who really do believe that Ukraine has effectively been stolen from the Russian sphere of influence by the bribing of oligarchs and NATO plotting. The similarity with McCarthyism in the US also perhaps bears mentioning.
Personally, though, I think this guy is a complete idiot. Thereâs a wife and child involved. He may want to be a big hero sticking it to the Man, but he had no right to involve them and harm their futures. Like E M Forster, I personally feel that loyalty to my friends and relatives take precedence over loyalty to governments and causes. To those who say that this is not very heroic, I reply that if everybody thought like that there would be much less need for ideological heroics, and I agree with Brecht: âUnhappy is the land that needs heroes.â (Galileo)
Itâs a pity that the UN has itself been corrupted because I think we really do need an independent international body that can call these things as they are rather than constantly trimming to someoneâs desired political narrative. But fat chance of that.
âIâm glad we donât have a skin-thinned tyrant running for president in the US.â
Who said irony was dead?
But the real power in the US is surely an oligarchy rather than a monarchy. Itâs more like the Roman Republic, whereas Russia seems to have a large undertow of people wanting to get back to the tsars.
Thatâs an odd line of thought. Were people in the US protesting against the Iraq war also idiots? Or is idiocy proportional to the severity of punishment that your criticism will attract?
How many of them were sent to prison?
Please, read my post past the line you are referring to, because I think you have completely missed my point.
I did read all the post, and I think itâs entirely the wrong attitude. Weâre not talking about somebody throwing a hissy fit about something they just happen to personally dislike. Weâre talking about an authoritarian government that actively works against the interests of its people and neighboring countries, continually spreads lies through propaganda channels, and cracks down on any dissent - including telling the truth - though draconian laws. Russia is an unhappy land, and it does need heroes. Of course, it would be better if there were enough of them to actually improve matters, but individual protests like this also have their place.
What are you talking about? The title is complete bullshit, which is more and more the norm around here. But it got me to click, and thatâs worth, what, ten cents these days?
Actually we are. Bubayev, according to his wife, was responding to stuff he had read online, and reposted. He doesnât seem to have any connection with Ukraine or Crimea.
I agree that the overreaction was ridiculous, but the fact is that had he done the same thing in this country only in support of ISIL, he would have been visited by the police and could well have found himself on a terrorism charge. I can imagine a British judge making sarcastic remarks about the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, but I expect that there is a minority of judges who would have taken a view similar to the Russian court.
I repeat that, given he has a wife and child, he was pretty stupid. Having been arrested the first time, he posted again. What he did wasnât going to affect anything. Thatâs why I say he is an idiot.
Quite a lot of people in the world would use that description for the United States, so Iâll take that as empty rhetoric.
It doesnât need misguided 40 year old electricians posting stuff on Vkontaktye. I would suggest that what Russia needs is good government - and heroes and revolutions very rarely produce that. I do suspect that the American revolution only succeeded because it wasnât really a revolution but an independence movement based around the continuation of the existing power structures in North America.
Well the difference is that the things he didnât like are also things that are illegal under international law (as well as long-disused parts of Russian law). Things like an undeclared and unacknowledged war fought by Russian army, and various violations of universal human rights. That makes it no longer a personal hissy fit, but a justified protest.
Thereâs also the fact that the idea of enmity between Russians and Ukrainians is such a recent and ill-justified invention. The nations have a long friendly history, and even since 2014 leaders of both sides have used terms such as âbrotherly nationsâ to describe them. That a comparison with ISIL - a self declared terrorist organization whose goals and methods are naturally abhorrent to most of the world - is even thinkable is a good illustration of how things have been twisted far out of proportion.
And how would that happen? It wonât happen though elections - plausible opposition leaders have been killed, imprisoned or driven out of the country by fear of death or imprisonment. It wonât happen by persuading the current government to change direction because valid criticism is illegal. Ultimately, it may not happen because the bad government says it is a good government, and nobody may say otherwise. Whatâs left?
I didnât want to Godwin this early, but since you quoted a German author fleeing Nazi repressions I guess itâs alright. Would your advice extend to Germany in the 30âs? âDonât be an idiot, think of your family first, keep your head down and just follow the ordersâ? If not, why not? Where is the line when quiet obedience stops being the best option?
This is a horrible tale.
Worse if she had to âfriendâ the apartment block on facebook.
I am sure if you study any country you would find something excessive and unreasonable! There is geopolitical tension in Europe at the moment and the western press like to create as much as they can.
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