The above is written in modern Ukrainian, that is to say, Ukrainian via Google translate. Anyway, I have to admit that I jumped on the anti-Russian bandwagon as soon as I could. But after speaking to a friend the other day I put this quite possibly apocalyptic situation into some kind of perspective.
First of all, I needed to admit that despite the absurdity of a country with over a million soldiers being somehow threatened by one with 310,000, this is simply a situation in which one imperialistic country is imposing its will onto a weaker country; you know, the way the U.S. invaded Iraq, supported the Nicaraguan Contras, toppled a legally elected leaders in Chile, Guatemala, propped up tyrants in Viet Nam, El Salvador, Brazil, Haiti, etc. I could go on forever, and already have in past BA entries. I didn’t include Afghanistan because there was an actual justification for that invasion, at least initially. The point is, forget the self righteousness, it’s simply another instance of the weak being attacked by the strong.
Still, I was against all of those actions as I am against this one. What makes it different to me is that the next step after Ukraine is Moldova, or Poland, Romania, take your pick. The fact that it’s not going too well for Russia and Putin’s solution is to put RU’s nuclear forces on alert suggests that Putin has ambitions way beyond simple regime change in Kyiv. Granted, this is just LBJ’s Domino Theory projected onto Europe, as opposed to Southeast Asia. The difference is we actually have a defense agreement with Western Europe (N.A.T.O.) that may soon be militarily threatened by Russian action. The fact that there have been multiple actions by multiple parties to oppose the Russians already (getting kicked out of SWIFT, admitting refugees easily, donations, etc) implies that other European countries are AGAINST Russian Imperialism and not interested in further war. What this all distills down to is I’m still on Ukraine’s side. They, more than anybody else, have shown the world what Putin is doing: passionately missing the Cold War like a heartbroken teenager missing a teen idol who doesn’t know she’s alive. It would humorously remind me of Marcia loving Desi Arnez Jr. on the Brady Bunch, if it wan’t for all the the senseless killing and destruction. Sorry, Vlad, but you just can’t go back to your youth.
Ultimately, it’s still a race issue. Most Americans were fine with the invasion of Iraq, despite the fact that its justification (Iraq’s non existent nuclear stockpile) didn’t exist. People were okay with it, versus the invasion of Ukraine because they were Muslim, non-white, and they had oil. Face it, when the U.S. invites itself over, plan for it to overstay its welcome.
Bittersweet Abattoir 