Vilify Putin, not the average Ruski
Many a Ruski already felt, before the disaster of Ukraine went into overdrive, that the West treated them as inferior; we should not be feeding that flame.
In time, the West will come to realise that pushing Russia away since the end of the Cold War was a great strategic mistake. Yet, in a world where we need a constant bogeyman, the Ruskis have filled that void perfectly for many years, leading, in part, to where we are today, with the flames of warfare engulfing Ukraine and licking around us ominously.
There are greater threats, in the long run, than Russia. It is the Chinese Communist Party, of course, who constitutes our main adversary, and one into whose embrace the politicians of Moscow now run. Yet, having the good fortune of not being Caucasian, Western criticism of our Machiavellian masters in the east is muted, lest the dreaded ‘r word’ be thrown into their face.
It has been the long-stated goal of most of our foreign policy adventures to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of those labouring under hostile regimes. In spite of a list of human rights abuses longer than a Taoist monk’s beard, we still cosy up to Peking and show little determination to reverse the economically suicidal policy of transferring our factories and intellectual property to the sultry shores of Guangdong. Appetite for blaming the average Chinaman on the excesses of Chairman Xi is approximately zero.
Other groups across the West, whose members occasionally pop up to cause a spot of carnage and destruction, are never tarred with the collective brush. We are, instead, reminded the collective and the individual are wholly separate entities, and that any desire to blame along the lines of shared characteristics is unacceptable in every instance.
Perhaps similar generosity would be lent to our Russian foes were they not unfortunate enough to be white. Being broadly as melanin deficient as the average Anglo-Saxon, they are fairer game than most.
Comparatively little effort is expended in trying to differentiate the person from the regime when it comes to citizens of the Russian Federation. Raise the point and immediately comes the riposte that, ah yes, it is unfortunate, but they have to learn their lesson. You cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
I must admit this rankles. I, for one, hold a special loathing in my heart for so many of the British state’s actions. Many reading will no doubt share this same sentiment, and yet we are living under the the blessed Mother of All Parliaments. Asking the citizens of a one-party state to carry the collective burden of their government’s ill-advised decisions seems all the more insane, given their utter inability to influence political outcomes.
‘But just revolt!’ may come the easy response, much like the arm-chair general who so blithely sends thousands of men to die on his behalf. Coming from the lips of those who, for so many months, parroted every diktat and welcomed each imposition on our freedoms over the last two years, the stunning lack of guts we have shown should dampen the false courage emanating from the lips of those far removed from any potential front line.
For it appears that for many the average Russian is to blame for this sorry mess. For what other reason can the sports bodies of the world ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing internationally, or for forbidding displays of Russian culture? Our own parliamentarians feel emboldened enough to say that we should expel each Russian citizen from our shores. The only similar action in our history that I can recall is the banishing of Jews from England in the Middle Ages.
As with any geopolitical d***-swinging, it is the little people who get crushed. I personally know of Russians caught amid the chaos. No fans of Putin, they sit in Europe with no access to their bank accounts in Russia and their savings slashed, afraid of returning home. No doubt they deserve their precarious position for being the citizens of the wrong country.
If people like them are just small fry who we can brush under the carpet as the detritus of bigger events, then let us hope that our enemies might show us more mercy. I doubt sincerely that many of those making such claims would suffer willingly for the insanities of our own incompetent elite.
We must differentiate between the Russians and their government. Many a Ruski already felt, before the disaster of Ukraine went into overdrive, that the West treated them as inferior; we should not be feeding that flame. It is those in power that must be targeted instead.
It feels good to have an enemy. It fulfils a basic human urge lurking somewhere in the basic wiring of our ape brain. But let us not forget that the man and woman on the street or on the battlefield are the ones who suffer the most as the vain and venal leaders of our world play their high-stakes games.
