Man this shit’s bleak

@Minus
Kind of hard to stand up when their government is literally silencing their own civilians for protesting at all.

I also have a friend in Russia, and I know how he feels. He fears that he will also be forced to go to war, and despite the communist regime, every demonstration is only symbolic. In the Czech Republic, we have a lot of experience with Russia from the past, and Czechs often look at Russians with their fingers.
I wish all Ukrainians, including Russians, peace as soon as possible, and if there is freedom in Russia, sometimes it would be best

@Minus
I’m not talking about the oligarchs. I’m talking about ordinary people. Much hatred is directed against them.

For example, a game studio that I really appreciate, CD Projekt Red, has announced the cessation of sales in Russia. https://twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/1499388321050599428 . You said that the target is the Russian oligarchs, but how does this affect them? They won’t get a penny less, but Russian nerds will be disappointed instead. There are so many of these things that people stop noticing it and take it for granted. And it’s scary.

You say the Russians have power. It’s a lie. The average citizen has no more power than you. His voice have no more meaning for the gouverment than yours. You can do everything he can. You can do even more if your family lives outside of Russia and will not be persecuted for your political views. Why do you say that this is the duty of the Russians?

You say the Russians must fight on the right side. But with whom? I don’t want to fight. I don’t want war. I don’t want to kill Ukrainians, Russians, anybody. I want to be friends with people, not fight.

Why you insist that I should become a soldier? This is not the peacemaking. This is warmongering.

Совершенно точно - нет, дружище. Война… По Донбассу стреляли восемь лет, там четырнадцать тысяч погибших за это время - и что-то никто не обращал внимания. Не стыдился, на митинги антивоенные не ходил, голову пеплом не посыпал. А когда Россия вписалась за этих несчастных людей - сразу вспомнили дружно, что воевать, оказывается, плохо и нельзя. Плохо, кто же спорит? Потому и пришли - чтобы положить конец этой кровавой вакханалии, тянущейся уже столько лет, что скоро поколение вырастет тех, кто всю сознательную жизнь провёл в подвалах под обстрелами.
Россия всегда заканчивала войны - закончит и эту тоже. Чтобы после восьми лет мрака занялся новый рассвет. Остаётся только верить и надеяться, что это случится максимально быстро и малой кровью - для всех.
Не унывай. Самое тёмное время - перед рассветом. Жизни и мира всем нам.

Every war has a reason.

The only way to stop a war is to eliminate its causes. If it’s an economic war, make it unprofitable. If this is a war caused by specific people, deal with these people. If this is a war for survival, help the parties to survive without war.

But you must think about the causes of the war. If you are simply applying random sanctions preventing an athlete from participating in the Paralympic Games without a flag. Artists can’t paint ponies for money. If you forbid children to watch cartoons. If you are expelling international university students. If you harm other people in any way that does not in the least remove the causes of war, you are not a peacemaker. You are just a racist bully.

My best wishes to the author of the picture. And for everyone who suffers. From any direction. People, please be smart and kind to each other.

part of the descrip really got me. I see this all the time.

>russia
>choice
pick one. do westerners understand democracy like, sort of doesn’t exist in 9 countries out of 10?