But apparently it does.
Believe it or not, semi-lucid adults can hold more than one viewpoint at a time. For example you can believe….
– Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was ill-advised for a number of reasons and is an act of aggression that is leading to the loss of innocent lives.
…while also believing….
– Russia has been the subject of years of maneuvers by Western powers intended to back them into a corner. Like for example agitating for Ukraine to join the NATO even though the entire reason for NATO to exist in the first place ended 30 years ago, thereby threatening to put an openly hostile military alliance right on the doorstep of Russia and cutting off access to the Atlantic via the Mediterranean Sea. There is no legitimate reason for NATO to even exist in 2022, much less be inviting additional states to join.
Those two beliefs are not mutually exclusive at all.
In other words, recognizing that Russia has legitimate and reasonable concerns about Ukraine joining NATO does not make one a shill for Putin, nor does it require anyone to cheer Ukraine’s degenerate “president” Volodymyr Zelenskyy as some sort of mythical heroic archetype. I can say Russia shouldn’t have invaded Ukraine but at the same time say the U.S. and NATO shouldn’t have been threatening Russia by dangling membership in NATO for Ukraine. It was intentionally provocative and who woulda thunk it, being provocative ended up provoking Putin.
There are plots within plots in this whole charade and the propaganda is off the charts. Unfortunately too many people including people on /ourside/ are getting suckered into it. Stop it. You are getting manipulated by the same people we all rail against all the time. Getting played like a fiddle isn’t holding a principled position.
Like I said, it shouldn’t need to be said but apparently it does. Vodka Man Bad isn’t an argument.
Agreed, and thanks for standing up up & stating it…
Probably fall on deaf ears as designed tho, as this new front in the divide & conquer campaign seems like a slam dunk simply from decades of knowledge that we're dealing w the evil empire of godless commies, so it's by default an either/or decision to most…
We're being pared down not only by external forces but by fractured relationships and slow "othering" of our own people…
Vodka man_orange man_potato man_eggroll man_goathump man are all bad…
Poor dumb bastards almost have us surrounded…
OT – We are just back from Costco in South Texas, where stock was excellent, but prices are up, up, up ($8.65 for a two-loaf package of Dave's Killer Bread? WTF?!?). And the line of cars at the gas pumps there was 6 deep on every lane. "Are they giving it away?" we wondered.
There are no longer any signs to be seen advertising the price of gas at this Costco, presumably because it changes by the hour. So we checked online after we returned home. $3.89 per gallon. Not even a mile away, the Valero was selling regular at $3.99 per gallon, and there was a single car among all of the 8 open lanes. Is ten cents per gallon enough of a savings to sit there and wait 15 minutes for your turn to pump your own gas? They had attendants directing traffic, it was so effin' packed.
Poopy Dementia Man Bad.
I was at Costco and Sams today as well, both were stacked deep in lines and in Sam's the board where gas prices normally are displayed was covered up. It was only $.09/gallon cheaper than everywhere else here too.
I know, probably a waste of time but it still needs to be said.
Yes, it shouldn't need to be said. But I appreciate that you did. Well done.
Thank you
One of the most insightful things I have ever heard, regarding what you describe, is the problem with popular pundits on "our side" is "the need to be right far exceeds the need to be effective". Putin vs Ukraine is simply the new 9mm vs .45 or AR vs AK dick measuring, arrow-slinging, meaningless internal debate that has plagued our side for at least a decade.
Well said, sir!
Thank you for stating it so clearly.