Nolte: The Stupid Blacklisting of Russian Civilians and a Dead Novelist

There is no moral world in which Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation that was no threat to him, is justified or acceptable. In fact, Ukraine was so not a threat to Russia, Ukraine denuclearized in 1994, and in exchange, Russia agreed to safeguard Ukraine’s security.

Putin is a war criminal inventing excuses to grab Ukraine’s warm water ports, natural resources, and legacy. I hope his illegal invasion fails. I hope Putin’s humiliated. And if Putin’s invasion ultimately succeeds, I hope the Ukrainian people launch an insurgency.

Are we clear?

I don’t want any misunderstandings on that point… Because when you criticize a mindless mob of moral preeners, a fanatical group of blacklisters determined to prove they’re purer than everyone else, you’d better be crystal clear about your basic principles lest you be misquoted, taken out of context, canceled, banned, tarred, feathered, slapped with a scarlet letter, and run out of town on a rail. Hey, eventually, that is going to happen to me. But I’d prefer it be for an actual offense, not an invented one.

Watching the response of keyboard generals out to prove their purity is like watching George Costanza push little kids out of the way to get to the fire exit.

These idiots tried to blacklist Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, who’s been dead for 140 years! Dostoevsky! One of the greatest novelists in all of history. A flawed man, indeed, but a man who hailed from a Russia no one would recognize today, a novelist who explored the human condition like few others. Because Russian writers in those days were paid by the page, he could certainly be long-winded, but can y’all take a breath now?

How does waging McCarthyism on Russian citizens result in anything other than those citizens siding with Putin, who might be a very bad man, but who is not waging war on them?

Maybe take a lesson from the one man who actually defeated Russia, Ronald Reagan. He brought that country to its knees and always distinguished between the Russian government and the Russian citizen.

You do know you’re pouring out “Russian” vodka while filling your tank with Russian oil, right?

The Metropolitan Opera is creating hardcore Putin allies by blacklisting Russian artists.

Cats are being blacklisted for the sin of being Russian. Cats!

Digital people are being blacklisted.

It just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and…

Some people are blacklisting themselves.

This is what the great Thomas Sowell called “moral exhibitionism.” It’s all about moral satisfaction and signaling your virtue without considering the outcome. It’s selfish, counter-productive, lazy, cruel, and doing nothing to aid your cause. But people like this don’t care about the cause. Any excuse to preen their superior morality is the cause.

Putin is the bad guy. The Russian people are not.

I will say this… Normally, when America opposes the leader of a foreign country, what we do is invade that country, liberate kill a shitload of innocent civilians, spend trillions of tax dollars, lose thousands of American limbs and lives, and then run away… So at least things are improving.

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