Comment by jacquesm
5 years ago
> If Ukrainians can take up arms against Putin's tyranny, surely Russians can as well.
I think you missed the bit where Ukraine is forced to do so and Russians have a comparatively comfortable position from which it will be very hard to dislodge them, and which - propaganda wise - might even play into Putin's hand (not that that should be a consideration).
FWIW I've lived in a country much like Russia for a while when the iron curtain was still in place. It was a complete eye opener to me how living under such a regime can take the spark of agency out of people. A fair portion of the people there were conscious of this and wanted change and were quite literally willing to risk their lives. But the majority was just chugging along in 'everything is fine' mode as long as they had their jobs, their pension and their food on the table.
You always hear 'why don't people rise up against Kim in North Korea'. The answer is simple: they can't unless they are willing to risk it all, only a huge coordinated mob could do that without arms. And absent massive coordination that is next to impossible. But Putin has created a synchronization event, which is why there are such large protests right now. If that flame takes hold it just might make the difference in setting up a sustainable fire and if and when it does I hope that Putin has a pistol nearby so he doesn't end up like Ceaucescu, or in a cell in the Hague for the rest of his life.
> But the majority was just chugging along in 'everything is fine' mode as long as they had their jobs, their pension and their food on the table
I believe this is a good definition of cowardice. People indeed do it all the time.
Most people are not cut out to be heroes and this is the case in every country.
Living under a dictatorship tends to weed out the heroes over time because they will want to change things, stick their head up out of the grass and have it chopped off. This tends to discourage the rest, understandably.
Russia doesn't have a whole lot of powerful people besides Putin left, he's either killed, jailed or neutered them. This is a major cause for concern right now, but it is also exactly why it is that way: dictators do not like viable competition.
Don't bring a democratic countries' viewpoint into a discussion about what the people living in a dictatorship can or can not do. It is possible, but only if there a sea change in support of the government, and with the media under total control unfortunately Putin is still ridiculously popular in Russia. And this may not change sufficiently, taking into account that he will blame any and all hardships on the West.
I think we agree: a lack of heroes and an abundance of cowards. This isn't a democratic viewpoint per se, just a direct usage of the terms. It's not really even a criticism, just an observation.
> But the majority was just chugging along in 'everything is fine' mode as long as they had their jobs, their pension and their food on the table.
And shortly they will have none of that, nor their DNS services. Global sanctions on Russians mean they are being given the same choice as Ukrainians were: rise up or die.
Not necessarily. Rise up or have a very uncomfortable life. The die part is when things escalate or when the uprising isn't fast enough and large enough.