…fuck.
Insert “Russians” instead of “Jews”, and suddenly that’s a mainstream position, not conspiracy theory.
Depends on the theory.
There’s a constant barrage of media pieces stating Russia covertly did X or Y, but for most of them the source is just gut feeling or some weirdo in a Telegram channel claiming random things on Russia.
And suddenly Russia is a scapegoat for anything bad that happens in Europe or the US. And Russians themselves are often held responsible for it (but then Jews don’t answer for the acts of Israel?)
Don’t get me wrong, Russia is an aggressor in a brutal war, one where my actual relatives are under fire, and it deserves scrutiny for what it does in Ukraine, and also for the confirmed cases of political assassinations and espionage. This shit must be stopped.
But claiming everything on Russia without any investigation just waters down an actual journalism highlighting the real atrocities committed by Russian army and ruling elite. We need truthful stories, not propaganda, unless we want to be the same.
Besides, holding Russians accountable for what their extremely undemocratic elite is doing is playing into Putin’s deck, as claims are made in Russian propaganda that Russians are targeted just based on ethnicity - and this becomes increasingly true as they get denied entry or asylum, and as sanctions pressure everyday people over things they barely control.
(but then Jews don’t answer for the acts of Israel?)
Followers of a specific faith are not the same as citizens of a country.
And honestly I’m not bothering to read the risk of this garbage either. If Russia wants to stop being accused of crimes then Russia should stop committing the crimes.
I mean ethnic Jews, not followers of Judaism - since it is ethnic Russians that are attacked and apparently constantly tied to Russia the country.
not bothering to read
Of course you aren’t. You don’t really have any stakes here, sitting in a comfortable bed in a safe country, not having to worry about how it all impacts real people. You just take a “principled stance” with 0 nuance and think you’re good now.
My people are struggling. There are rockets fired at their homes there in Ukraine, and there are armed drones flying over my head here across the border in Russia, although on the grand scale of things I got to see the latter as something minor.
I gotta tell you, one last time. Sitting here, and seeing Russians change, I can tell you this blame game is a disaster. People that just yesterday supported Europe and even felt sanctions are “deserved”, are now turning against it as its actions have mostly hurt the regular folks, and didn’t impact the elites all that much. These people go on to support, arm, and even join the Russian military forces. You can call them scum all you want, and so can I, but this could have been avoided, and that’s what I get to care about.
At the same time, news attributing every disaster ever on Russia has further deteriorated any trust in reporting on Russia, especially among Russians themselves. This further fuels the conversion of people into Kremlin’s puppets.
Whatever was done to further support the view of Russia as the enemy, and of Russians as the people who enabled it to exist this way, turned Russians to get more violent and united on the act of destruction.
I like it when Russians (pretending to be Ukrainian, like you) beg for the sanctions to stop. It means they’re working.
I’m currently living in Russia and have Russian citizenship; my father is Ukrainian, and I’ve spent a fair share of time there and I have my close people I worry about there; my mother is Russian.
Make of that how you will, I don’t pretend to be anybody.
I’m concerned about my people in Ukraine, living in Dnipro - my uncle and aunt, my cousins, all of whom I love and keep in touch with, despite not seeing them since the beginning of the war. Moreover, it’s not uncommon for people in the west of Russia to have Ukrainian roots, or to migrate/flee from Ukraine to Russia, or to gain Russian citizenship in annexed regions of Ukraine, so my situation is by no means unique.
Despite not being straight on the frontline, my Ukrainian relatives have witnessed firsthand the rocket strikes when they’ve hit the city, they are often left without electricity and other supplies, and on the other side they also know the horrors of Ukrainian mobilization (i.e. busification). You can be bombed in your house by a drone, or you can go buy groceries and be forcefully put on the bus directed straight to the frontline - even if you’re not eligible. Good luck standing for your rights from there.
I beg for the war to stop, and I see what happens around me and how one thing ties to the other. Sanctions are meant to influence political decisions made within a country - and it doesn’t happen. Instead, it aggravates many within Russia to go against “the West”, because the only people actually struck by this are everyday Russians - people who, in the huge part, didn’t support the war in the first place, and are speaking up against it as much as it’s still even legal.
Sanction military supplies - many Russians would support you. Sanction billionaires and the ruling elite - Russians were absolutely thrilled when this happened and will be again. Don’t show yourself as the enemy of the Russian people, though - because then, some of them might decide to “fuck over the West” by stamping my people with their boots, something they already do. You’ll be fine, though - it’s not that they’re gonna attack NATO - so feel free to feel righteous.
You’ve spoken well and made some good points supporting your position. They make sense, assuming your point of view. But if you look from a little farther away you’ll see how misguided that view point even is.
I’ll make an analogy. You’re complaining that Ukraine is punching and kicking you. “Why does it hit me” you say, “I’m not the one forcing myself on her! I’m only holding her hands down while Putin and the oligarchs take turns. It should only kick them!”
If your position is that “you’re suffering too and wish you weren’t” when your countrymen, your work, your taxes, your silence all support the raping and killing of your neighbors (and even family, you say) you’re already starting from the wrong position.
There is actual proof of Russian information warfare and aggressive intelligence operations.
True, but only of certain instances, and from what I’ve seen lately 99% are pure speculation written in such a definitive tone as if it was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
This casts a shadow on actual journalism, and erodes trust in many sources - sources that have real things to highlight and maintain a well-argumented opposition to Russian madness.
Not directly relevant, but: I think M. Night Shyamalan’s movie Signs would have been better if it had turned out that wearing aluminum foil caps really did hide your thoughts from those aliens. I mean, it wouldn’t have been any stupider than aliens invading a planet full of a substance that killed them (water) and not being able to figure out how doorknobs work.
We all got our limitations, man.
My favourite foil cap trope reference is Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. It has several characters with supernatural abilities that can affect other people’s emotions, and aluminum happens to block all kinds of magic powers in Sanderson’s larger book universe. So a lot of rich and important people wear hats that are lined with aluminum foil on the inside to protect them from emotional influence.
With how the western world/media is treating gaza, it doesn’t seem that far off that zionists have some aspect influence
This feels like how it was reading Harry Potter as a kid vs as an adult.
Why does he do that?
My experience with those struggling with their grasp on reality has been, more often than not, that they blame various three letter agencies of the US government, not “the Jews”.
Of course, conspiracy theorist aren’t usually struggling with mental illness, but rather an overblown sense of self-worth and the inevitable result of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Insert a George Carlin quote about how stupid the average person is
A lot of things that were laughed at as being “conspiracy theories” surrounding three letter agencies later turned out to be true.
True.
What I was thinking of was more along the lines of “There’s a midget working for the FBI hiding in my attic and stealing my clothes while I sleep” - an actual statement from a woman who was hypoxic (and didn’t have an attic)
Not sure about a lot. Like a handful of the tamest ones.
- MK Ultra
- Cointelpro
- Tuskegee Syphilis Study
- CIA assassination plots
- Iran Contra
All of these were “conspiracy theories” when I was young and now we know they really happened. This is just off the top of my head. These are not really “tame” in my book.
Counterpoint: the “Jews” didn’t kill Texas kids in a flood, the local Texas government that stole federal funds from the flood warning system to give bonuses to sheriffs did.
Conspiracists have been stranded to figure out their own chosen “other” to fear and hate since Israel stepped into the scene and the Republicans (and most dems) made any criticism of their genocide “anti semitism” in a playbook move straight out of internet trolling tactics.
So you can turn your back on “God’s blessed war against the Muslim beasts” OR you can suddenly start softening towards the idea that Jewish Cabals are running our whole country.
It’s been kind of spectacular to see the right splinter around the edges over this even before the Epstein stuff.
Too bad none of it will actually make a real dent in a political ideology that is already built on cognitive dissonance.
This is a bad post to make when Israel is currently committing a genocide and powerful people are clearly trying to distort the truth about it.
Of course “the Jews” aren’t behind the trees being fake or whatever, and antisemitism is bad… but this reeks of zionist pro-Israel strawman shit.
Israel is commiting a genocide. Free Palestine.
Now fuck off and lemme just post funny thing without making an insane leap about my own personal beliefs.
Well sure… but this is a political comic that’s basically saying “these crazy people hate the Jews and blame them for everything”.
Obviously you can post whatever you want and there surely are crazy people like this, but to me this comes across as though it could be trying to discredit certain criticisms and seems in bad taste right now. It doesn’t really matter what you say you personally believe.
But if you find this funny then sure. I’m not trying to have your post removed or anything.
Israel != “The Jews”
Israel is a country. Jewish is a Religion.
I know. I never said they were the same. I’m trying to say that this comes across like a zionist strawman.
Complaining about antisemitism right now is just cringe.
Jews have a right to exist. Israel doesn’t.
There are genuine concerns about people promoting “Israel” to benefit from the extermination of the Palestinian people, and that’s what this looks like a strawman of, to me.
And to be clear, I don’t think “the Jews” are behind this. It’s largely rich and powerful people from the US (and UK and other countries), who often consider themselves to be Christian.
I’m not trying to defend the crazy guy in the comic. I’m trying to say that we shouldn’t be pretending this guy is representative of anyone who matters.
this comes across like a zionist strawman.
It doesn’t, though.
You’re suggesting that the auther who drew the comic is a secret zionist, or that the readers who like it are secret zionists, and neither track. Like, at all.
I think this is a genuine touch grass moment, man. I don’t know what news sources you’re plugged into, but not every mention of even vaguely Jewish or Jewish-adjacent ideas is innately pro- or anti- the state of Isreal. You’re wading deep into a culture war no one else is a part of.
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