The media exposes the racism of our wars

Most racism is subtle, subjective and interpretive.
But it seems that in all of the excitement over a major war the media has slipped up and said the quiet part out loud: Our in-your-face Racist Double Standards when it comes to war.

Media pundits, journalists, and political figures have been accused of double standards for using their outlets to not only commend Ukraine’s armed resistance to Russian troops, but also to underlying their horror at how such a conflict could happen to a “civilised” nation.

CBS News senior correspondent in Kyiv Charlie D’Agata said on Friday: “This isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilised, relatively European – I have to choose those words carefully, too – city where you wouldn’t expect that, or hope that it’s going to happen.”

D’Agata later apologised, saying he spoke “in a way I regret”.
Sorry, my mask slipped.
It seems there's been a lot of mask slippage going on.

On Saturday, the BBC hosted Ukraine’s former deputy general prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze.

“It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blonde hair and blue eyes being killed every day with Putin’s missiles and his helicopters and his rockets,” Sakvarelidze said.
The BBC presenter responded: “I understand and of course respect the emotion.”

It's interesting that this guy feels so strongly about people with blond hair and blue eyes, when he doesn't have either.
Let's continue.

On Sunday, Al Jazeera English presenter Peter Dobbie described Ukrainians fleeing the war as “prosperous, middle class people” who “are not obviously refugees trying to get away from areas in the Middle East that are still in a big state of war; these are not people trying to get away from areas in North Africa, they look like any European family that you would live next door to.”

The media network later issued an apology, saying the comments “were inappropriate, insensitive, and irresponsible”.

I like that last "f*ck off", from whoever took that video.
Finally, we have that delightful mix of racism and classism.

On BFM TV, France’s most-watched cable news channel, journalist Philippe Corbe said: “We’re not talking here about Syrians fleeing the bombing of the Syrian regime backed by Putin, we’re talking about Europeans leaving in cars that look like ours to save their lives.”
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Ukraine-Propaganda-3.jpg

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@gjohnsit

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Wally's picture

@humphrey

[video:https://youtu.be/L17Bi7zBJHI]

And as far as I'm now concerned, here's a dose of pravda re. the Russian Imperialistic Invasion of Ukraine (listen if you dare):

https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-against-putins-czaro-fascism/

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@gjohnsit Joy is what it looks like and sounds like.

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NYCVG

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

Most racism is subtle, subjective and interpretive.

If it's the latter 3 things, then it really isn't the first - or resides not before, but behind the eye of the beholder.

Do not succumb to the sovereign of all fear, hate, and bigotry:
PRESUMPTION OF GUILT.

Contrast this with one of the best things I ever saw back on DailyKos, which was left tragically by the wayside:
"Racist, Or Just Territorial?"

I can't easily find it now, but it represented a total alternative for how the last 8 years' discourses could've gone - and would, for example, explain why African-American (Notice the odd retreat from that term?) lives matter, but Middle-Eastern, Subsaharan, and yes, Russian lives don't.

Lest we forget, Morgoth continues to hunger after Iran, and I having met an Iranian exchange student years ago who could have blended in at a literal Nazi/Klan rally better than any member of my family, I can personally testify that "AIrYan" was not given its modern name at random.

Racism was NEVER about color; that is a provincial conceit of the Deep South (that I'd wager doesn't even work there anymore), stubbornly projected onto the whole of existence. These pseudoscience-cults that have come out of nowhere over the past 8 years are going to get innocent people killed, if they haven't already (for a great read about America's love of relentless cargo-cults that serve as steroids to the problems they claim to be solely capable of solving, I recommend Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult Or Cure?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alcoholics-Anonymous-Cult-or-Cure-by-Bufe-Charl...).

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

@The Liberal Moonbat @The Liberal Moonbat

explain why African-American (Notice the odd retreat from that term?) lives matter, but Middle-Eastern, Subsaharan, and yes, Russian lives don't.

After all the knee jerk accusations of racism.

However, America has a very long history of including racism with our foreign wars.
In fact, I wrote a couple essays about our racist wars on DKos.
one of them I titled something like "Obama's White Man's Burden", or something like that.
In which i contrasted Rudyard Kipling's poem with Obama's foreign policy. it confused people.

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@gjohnsit ...well, maybe I do have a quibble:

Racism doesn't cause war; war causes racism.

It is the #1 fountainhead bar none, and ALWAYS has been (as I'm sure you already know).

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

thanatokephaloides's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

Racism doesn't cause war; war causes racism.

The one and only exception being situations where war caused racism caused war ad nauseam. Example: the World Wars.

Bad

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

snoopydawg's picture

I can’t. I watched this play out on Twitter last night and was just stunned. Guess that answers my questions about why the media hasn’t covered our misadventures in the Middle East nor have countries been outraged or have there been calls for sanctions to be put on us for our misdeeds there. Even Harry's big brother and his wife have spoken out about the invasion of Ukraine. Guess they aren’t concerned with brown people either.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Lookout's picture

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

@The Liberal Moonbat

The Kremlin Gremlins take out Hitler Looney Tunes Style.
Very funny, thanks for the laughs!

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in 2003 there were educated/middle class Iraqis fleeing to Syria and Jordan as US bombs were dropping. Syria was relatively generous in accepting Iraqi immigrants even as it didn't have the resources to provide the necessary care.

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Bob In Portland's picture

There was a clip of refugees boarding a train to escape Kiev. Of course, most men weren't allowed. But no people with black or brown skin, who also can be injured or killed when the bombs and bullets fly, were forced off the train. People were shouting "for Ukrainians only".

There is a report today that the Azov nazi division, which is almost closed off in Mariupol, have been firing phosphorus shells out of the city while using the residents as shields.

There was a report last week that the Azovs, in full safety outfits, were unloading biowarfare canisters. If and when they start using them, expect the Russians to be blamed.

There is also a story circulating that the US has set up multiple biological warfare labs around the country. This too will be blamed on the Russians.

I was banned for 24 hours on Facebook because I posted a picture of the Azov battalion waving a Nazi swastika flag, because the picture violated community standards. These are the thugs who were trained by US military advisers.

Other notes: I heard someone, either on MSNBC or CNN, say that there are no nazis in Ukraine. He had three guests to confirm this.

I saw Robert Gates, who probably should be finishing a prison sentence for his part in the Iran-contra affair, psychoanalyze Putin. He has determined that Putin is "evil" and "crazy". You know, like how Saddam Hussein, Assad, bin Laden, Khadafy and whoever's in charge in Afghanistan were all diagnosed as being crazy and evil. Declaring the enemy crazy and evil sure is an easy way to dismiss the humanity of someone.

Just saying.

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@Bob In Portland @Bob In Portland my friend.
The last US bio-weapon lab leak was blamed on China.
Russia's turn.
After all, fair is fair.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

shaharazade's picture

Seems to me if you poke sticks at a Russian bear and as Hillary did in 2014? replace a government in a country that borders on Russia with a bunch of Nazis loving assholes that NATO backs, your asking for trouble. Why is NATO still around? Isn't it some relic of WW2. Sorry but I just don't buy what where being sold. History counts and this is a dark and murky freaking mess, historically. Trace it back, how far as far as you can in today's propaganda riddled version of history. Just how stupid can people be? To war, to war.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3coxrP3wbd4]

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