Comments by "Meh Pluribus Unum" (@pluribus_unum) on "Russian actress speaks out after father appears at Putin's rally" video.
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We don't like to talk about it much, but post-Soviet Russia has sometimes been an indicator of what the US will confront about 10 years later.
The mainstream political rise of ethno-nationalists in Russia has been mirrored in the US, again with that approx. 10 year lag.
Some key similarities aiding the rise of ethno-nationalism in both countries:
1) Massive Income Inequality
The US and Russia have vast income disparities. In the US, CEOs were making 351x what an average worker made in 2020. And it's not changed much in two years.
2) Money Dominates Politics
Money corrupts politics in Russia and the US. Due to Republican obstruction, the 12 years under the Citizens United ruling with no campaign finance reform means the wealthy can dominate politics.
3) Elections Aren't Representative
In Russia, rigged elections mean votes aren't representative of the public will.
In the US, gerrymandering, racist hurdles and obstacles, racist voter roll purges, closing polling locations, and the discriminatory allocation of equipment, staff and materials result in elections they are not representative of the public will.
4) "Patriotic" Nationalism
The Cold War created a lot of hubris, arrogance and machismo politics, all of it wrapped in a thick blanket of nationalism, for the US and Russia in particular.
We are so marinated in nationalism that we rationalized our own illegal invasion and high civilian-toll bombing campaign under what amounted to a marketing slogan, "Shock and Awe".
5) Sexual Violence
The United States is ranked 11th in the world for sexual violence. Russia, in 2017, decriminalized domestic violence, leading to a massive increase in cases, including a large increase in rapes.
6) Declining Social Status and Living Standards
Russia's collapse was dramatic, and a great shock to Russians. Though the US hasn't collapsed, millions are seeing declining social status and a lower standard of living.
Many millions more whites suffer from a perception of declining social status because their long-held privilege is being challenged and in some cases corrected.
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Tommy Gunna - Politically expedient fallacies aside, here's one expert on what is the widely agreed upon reason for the timing, as I've shared before.
"Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a ground war against Ukraine that he apparently has been planning for years, many have wondered why he waited until now."
"Wouldn’t it have been easier for Putin to invade Ukraine when Trump was president? The United States had abdicated its traditional leadership role in global alliances and left much of the rest of the world open to expanded Chinese and Russian influence. Plus, NATO had already expanded eastward to Russia’s borders, and the Kremlin already controlled Crimea and had proxies in the Donbas."
"[Some American politicians and commentators on the political right have tried to answer the question by comparing the purported strength or weakness of President Joe Biden with that of Trump, alleging that Putin saw Trump as stronger than Biden, even though Putin’s own description of Trump¹ suggested the opposite. But beyond personality,] there’s a far more likely and logical explanation if you look at policy alignment between Russia and America during the two administrations: With Trump in office, Putin was already getting what he wanted. The election changed all that."
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¹CNN host Farid Zakaria reminded President Vladimir Putin of his words about the outstanding talents of Donald Trump, the US presidential candidate, during SPIEF.
“Why do you distort everything? I said on the go that Trump is a bright person. Why not bright? the president replied.
Putin explained that he supports Trump's readiness for a full-fledged restoration of Russian-American relations. “Hopefully, the new American head of state’s sense of responsibility will motivate him to work with Russia and keep the peace.
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