This will likely come as a deep disappointment to red-blooded American patriots, but I saw a lot more dissent in Russia against war with Ukraine in 2022 than I see in the US opposing the attack on Iran.
Russian dissent against the SMO failed for two reasons. The main reason is that Russian opposition was based on the idea of friendship with the West. That obviously failed because western governments made it abundantly clear that they are not friends, were never friends, and every relationship and deal made in the past was just a trick to stall for time. Not a conspiracy, this was openly stated. And of course legions of western citizens took to social media to express hatred for all Russians collectively and a desire to occupy and break up Russia. Again not a conspiracy, talk to almost any European liberal or any western political space on any western social media platform, and you will see these opinions expressed thousands of times. Even the most hardcore Russian anti-war activist was left with no choice but to support his government, because the alternative was total annhilation.
I know several educated Russians who were shocked to find that all of their former “friends” from western country expressed homicidal hatred for all Russians, and were forced to accept the idea that maybe the Russian government was right and there was an existential danger.
And the second reason Russian dissent failed was because a lot of it was puppetry by western governments. The moment Russia forced NGOs to either shut down or register as foreign agents, a good chunk of the “organic” anti-war movement died with them.
To be clear, I’m not blaming anyone, the confusion is understandable. After all when the US illegally invaded Iraq and murdered over a million people, Europeans did not declare that the US was evil and had to be destroyed, nor did they declare that all Americans are orcs who have to be exterminated. Even when a European does vocalize opposition to US wars, he does not express even 1% of the hysterical hatred as he does toward Russia.
Now that Trump has invaded Iran, we have reached a true mask-off moment. The Americans who spent the last four years howling about the “brutal invasion of Ukraine” are now either frothing at the mouth with blood lust, or just apathetic. Though the approval ratings for Trump’s illegal and unprovoked assault on Iran are very low, there is no active opposition against it either.
What’s happening in the USA now is actually bizarre. Our most famous conservative journalist Tucker Carlson is under criminal investigation for speaking out against the war, and Sen. Ted Cruz has openly called on the people to deny Christ and worship idols. I almost cannot believe this is happening in real life, because it sounds like biblical tale of an ancient kingdom that denied God and suffered the consequences.
Ian Kummer
I now have a new YouTube channel that I will use to upload videos from my travels around Russia. Expect new content there soon. Please give me a follow here.
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Are there any American shitlibst packing their suitcases to leave for Mexico (your equivalent of Georgia) or, say, Guatemala? Are European brands withdrawing? Do you still have IKEA?