Posted: Dec 06, 2022 3:07 am
Ok, so rephrase the point instead as that seeking explanation of the cause of war in a scenario in which the Ukraine should have acted like a subordinate state to Russia in order to avoid war is an assumption that the Ukraine doesn't have sovereignty, that they should have been prepared to give up sovereignty to appease their aggressive neighbour, or that the Ukrainian people's democratic choices should not be respected.
This is not about accusing you of X, this is about the language of appeasement and how it doesn't seem to have any concern for Ukraine's sovereignty and its peoples' rights. This is still a very common refrain today: if Ukraine just concedes, then there'd be no cause for war, as if this puts the responsibility for the continuation of suffering squarely with the victim rather than with the aggressor.
Had Ukraine been aggressive and bombastic towards Russia, then sure, we might suggest they'd had a hand in the escalation that led to war. But really, all they did was show democratically that they wanted what being a state in Europe offers rather than what being a satellite of Russia offers, and frankly given the disparity in treatment of citizens and standard of living between those two states/superstates, perhaps Putin should have worked on making his fiefdom a more attractive option if he wants to win that argument. Instead, like all bullies, when he failed to get what he wants, he lashed out. Now everyone's suffering, Russians included.
This is not about accusing you of X, this is about the language of appeasement and how it doesn't seem to have any concern for Ukraine's sovereignty and its peoples' rights. This is still a very common refrain today: if Ukraine just concedes, then there'd be no cause for war, as if this puts the responsibility for the continuation of suffering squarely with the victim rather than with the aggressor.
Had Ukraine been aggressive and bombastic towards Russia, then sure, we might suggest they'd had a hand in the escalation that led to war. But really, all they did was show democratically that they wanted what being a state in Europe offers rather than what being a satellite of Russia offers, and frankly given the disparity in treatment of citizens and standard of living between those two states/superstates, perhaps Putin should have worked on making his fiefdom a more attractive option if he wants to win that argument. Instead, like all bullies, when he failed to get what he wants, he lashed out. Now everyone's suffering, Russians included.