Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Russian lies mirror our own

     Why are liars so bad at lying?
     When the grisly images of atrocity started coming out of Bucha — the mass graves, the civilians with their hands tied behind their backs — the Russians immediately replied: it didn’t happen, the accusation itself another “provocation” against them. The photos were staged, or, if killings did occur — as the presence of hundreds of bodies would seem to imply — then it was from Ukrainians shooting their own citizens to make the Russians look bad, because nations do that.
     The speed of the reaction was breathtaking. No hesitation, no flutter of false concern, no “Atrocities? Gosh, we’ll have to look into it right away!”
     Instead, straight to wild conspiracy theories.
     That shouldn’t surprise anybody. The whole war was birthed in lies. When their army massed around Ukraine, Russia dismissed the idea there might be war as an American fantasy. Once it started, calling their “special military operation” a “war” could land you in prison.
     The Russian approach to the truth sure rings a bell, doesn’t it?
     The world was once divided between East and West, Capitalism and Communism, liberals and conservatives. Now it is between those who navigate the difficult world of fact and those sprawled in self-constructed sties of easy fantasy, rooting around the thick, warm mire of self-glorying falsehood.
     Russian rhetoric is characteristic of chronic liars. The nimble, shape-shifting quality. Their reaction this week echoes Alex Jones, the toxic radio host.
     Jones, if you recall, insisted the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary didn’t actually occur, but was a false flag operation, perpetrated by the government to encourage gun control. Jones whipped up his listeners to harass grieving parents.
     Where did that come from?

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16 comments:

  1. You often use words that are not in my vocabulary and I have to look them up. Today I looked up "liesare" jokes on me.

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    1. That was odd. Because the space was in the compose version, but gone online. I deleted it and tried again and it works. Thanks for the heads up.

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    2. It's correct in the e-edition, so I assume it was correct in the actual paper? (Perhaps the reference to the "compose version" answers this question, but I don't know what that means.)

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    3. Probably the wrong term. The place in the Sun-Times computer system where I write the column. The words weren't mashed together there (or in print). Yet they showed up that way on the page. I just deleted them and typed them back and that seemed to work. A glitch.

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    4. Thanks for the reply -- odd, indeed.


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  2. One thing we know for sure is a lot of people are dying in Ukraine. It's going to be tough to sort out who killed who and why.

    When civilians take up arms, one of the sad outcomes is civilians become even more targeted.

    The indiscriminate shelling cannot be excused, but I'm sure a lot of people are taken pot shots at Russian soldiers and then the return fire is aimed at civilian structures.
    The whole thing is so horrible and awful and I imagine it's just going to get worse.
    Russia should never have invaded Ukraine based on the agreements that were reached when the Soviet Union was dismantled. Clearly the current regime disregards these agreements completely.

    There are elements in Ukraine that undoubtedly are engaged in some score settling. Who knows what's really going on?

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    1. One thing for certain, with all due respect, you don't. Pot shots? Score settling?

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    2. No, it's not tough to figure out who killed them!
      It's the Russians massacring totally innocent Ukrainian civilians, many with their hands tied behind their backs.
      As for the Russian dead, they are uniformed soldiers, that invaded a peaceful neighbor & were killed by Ukrainian military, who had every right to do so!

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    3. You outdo yourself, today FME. A country is allowed to resist invasion, and that does not excuse slaughtering civilians. That you imagine it does shows the moral and intellectual void that is characteristic of your ouevre. Don't comment anymore.

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  3. Thank you, FME, for bringing the subject up, the likelihood that the Ukrainians might also be responsible for some lying, some cruelty, some atrocities even. That they are the good guys in this conflict is not in doubt, at least by most of the world, but that doesn't mean that they are complete innocents. To accuse Putin of war crimes in disingenuous, for all sides in every war are criminals, but only the losers are prosecuted. I root for the Ukrainians not because I think Russia more evil than Ukraine, but because a victory for Russian in these circumstances is a lesson plan for all the ambitious petty dictators now flourishing across the globe, including those close to home.

    John

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  4. "for all sides in every war are criminals"

    Are you crazy?
    Ukraine was a peaceful country that was invaded by Russia, because that sociopathic lunatic Putin the Dwarf, has this insane idea that Ukraine has always been part of Greater Russia, even though it was an independent country before Russia even existed as a country.
    I don't see any evidence of Ukrainians committing war crimes against the Russian invaders, Zelenskyy has even told his people to obey the Geneva Conventions regarding any Russian POWs they take into custody.
    Whereas the Russians are kidnapping & taking Ukrainian civilians to concentration camps in Russia!

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  5. Putin is a megalomaniac but resorting to name calling (i.e. Dwarf) is a bit Trumpian.

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    1. Well he is really short & wears elevator shoes, so the name fits!

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  6. Damn, nice day for shit magnets!

    I am struggling to focus on my own faults in life and pursue serenity and service.
    But my resolve will be sore tested should I encounter some both sides crap in person.

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