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As long as they pay taxes and contribute to the economy, they are supporting whatever the government does in a very concrete way. Their actual opinions matter l

As long as they pay taxes and contribute to the economy, they are supporting whatever the government does in a very concrete way. Their actual opinions matter little. Western strategy is based on containing Russia to limit their government's ability to cause harm. Most would prefer that Russians chose overthrow the government and replace it with something more palatable, but so far they have been unable or unwilling to do so. The next best alternative weakening their economy with sanctions. That necessarily hurts ordinary Russians, because they are part of the same economy as the government. It's not racism, because your family is being punished for their actions. It may feel unfair, but the world is unfair.

rpmisms 3y ago
Let me rephrase what you said, replacing a few key terms: As long as Rwandans pay their taxes, they are contributing to recruiting child soldiers. This is a good reason to be shitty to Rwandans in general, no matter where they are in the world. My family is in Russia, they're fine. I'm the one experiencing the racism. Justify that.
- jltsiren 3y ago
  I misinterpreted you, because the context of the discussion seemed to be the effect of sanctions on ordinary Russians. Treating you badly because of your ethnicity is obviously not ok. You also mentioned the US invasion of Iraq. Sanctions against the US would have been justified at that time, but they were impossible, because the US was too big to sanction. Around that time, there were serious discussions in Europe whether Putin or Bush was the bigger villain. Putin had not gone particularly bad yet, while Bush was obviously a villain. Memories of those years helped Putin maintain a favorable image in Europe far longer than could be justified based on his actions.
  - rpmisms 3y ago
    Putin is taking care of Russia and the people he considers to be under Russia's care. As far as I know from my immediate family, living under Putin is pretty nice. The economy has actually gotten stronger since the invasion. They're doing better than we are in the US on prices and imports. The sanctions are a joke, and BRICS is really strong. That's all immaterial compared to the actual discussion here, and I appreciate you clarifying your position.
    - EB-Barrington 3y ago
      [dead]

rpmisms 3y ago

Let me rephrase what you said, replacing a few key terms: As long as Rwandans pay their taxes, they are contributing to recruiting child soldiers. This is a good reason to be shitty to Rwandans in general, no matter where they are in the world. My family is in Russia, they're fine. I'm the one experiencing the racism. Justify that.

jltsiren 3y ago
I misinterpreted you, because the context of the discussion seemed to be the effect of sanctions on ordinary Russians. Treating you badly because of your ethnicity is obviously not ok. You also mentioned the US invasion of Iraq. Sanctions against the US would have been justified at that time, but they were impossible, because the US was too big to sanction. Around that time, there were serious discussions in Europe whether Putin or Bush was the bigger villain. Putin had not gone particularly bad yet, while Bush was obviously a villain. Memories of those years helped Putin maintain a favorable image in Europe far longer than could be justified based on his actions.
- rpmisms 3y ago
  Putin is taking care of Russia and the people he considers to be under Russia's care. As far as I know from my immediate family, living under Putin is pretty nice. The economy has actually gotten stronger since the invasion. They're doing better than we are in the US on prices and imports. The sanctions are a joke, and BRICS is really strong. That's all immaterial compared to the actual discussion here, and I appreciate you clarifying your position.
  - EB-Barrington 3y ago
    [dead]