POLITICS|PSYCHOLOGY

The Moving Train(Wreck) That Is Vladimir Putin — In A Nutshell

Living only a 12-hour drive away from Ukraine causes this to hit too close to home

“Zinn told his students that he did not “pretend to an objectivity that was neither possible nor desirable. ‘You can’t be neutral on a moving train,’ I would tell them. … Events are already moving in certain deadly directions, and to be neutral means to accept that.”

Zinn eschewed neutrality, choosing to write reports, news stories, and multiple books from the perspective of the movements that he was active in. Prolific and without pretension, Zinn chronicled the civil rights and anti–Vietnam War movements for the general public. His writing exposed the broader world to the realities facing ordinary Black people across the South while also challenging the assumptions that the United States, by the sheer volume of its bombing campaign in Vietnam, could impose its will on that tiny country.

I didn’t sleep well last night, so when I heard the news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I took it hard.

At first, I wanted to write an open letter that started off like…

What the fuck is wrong with you and other people like you!?!!

I was filled with mixed emotions — all of them heavy.

Of course, I knew of the threat.

However, this whole situation affects me more than it would’ve if I still lived in the United States because of the proximity to Russia.

Aside from the reality of Germany’s past and horrible involvement with the Nazi party that created World War II making me hyper-aware of potential dangers, I feel the reality and threat of this current war more because Ukraine is just a 12-hour drive from where I live in northwestern Germany.

My partner and I have already spoken about where we could potentially go if war did break out in Germany or if Putin uses nuclear weapons and we were exposed to nuclear fallout.

Poland is the only country between northern Germany and Ukraine.

My heart goes out to the people in Ukraine as well as Russia.

The vast majority do NOT want to be involved in a war.

Putin is being absolutely ridiculous!!! Reminds me of the previous president of the United States in terms of absurdity, but Putin is currently worse of a threat (for now).

I rarely watch the news. I prefer to read credible news sources.

However, I looked for and found a couple of good videos that summarize this Russia Ukraine situation for those who want to know the key points told to them in succinct ways.

Here’s a good one that provides the backstory that lead up to this invasion:

In this video we look at what is happening with the Ukraine and Russia conflict in 2022. We first take a look at the historical background that has led to the conflict, including the collapse of the Soviet Union back in 1991. Then We discuss the 2014 revolution where the Ukrainian President at the time, Viktor Yanukovych, rejected an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia, which led to the annexing of the Crimean Peninsula. Next we discuss the 2015 peace agreement that was brokered with the help of France and Germany and how violations of that treaty has caused Russia to place 100,000 troops at the border between Ukraine and Russia. Next we look at the Russian side and dive into the viewpoint of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. We discuss some of the possible reasoning behind his actions that have led to so much attention today. Lastly, we look at the actions taken by both the United States and NATO to prepare for a possible escalation.

I like that he provides multiple sources underneath the video as well.

The following video is another that gives a backstory but goes into more detail as to what Putin wants with Ukraine and why.

It also provides more current information and uses real footage as opposed to illustrations.

Lastly, this video from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was uploaded today and shows the most current footage of what’s going on in multiple places throughout Ukraine and Russia.

You can hear and see for yourself what it’s like from the people who live in both countries.

This is the LAST thing that any of us “normal” people want 2 years into a global pandemic that seems to finally be becoming more manageable.

What. a. fucker.

That’s all I have to say about that…for now.

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