I'm sickened by the invasion of Ukraine. I'm thinking of the people there, what they're living through, and how effectively they are defending themselves against their powerful aggressor.
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I just can't wrap my head around the reality that my extended family in Kyiv is experiencing. I've (deliberately) never even visited active warzone.
I like to think that I'm pretty empathetic, but this just... evades me entirely.
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The dynamic range of bravery that we're seeing kind of breaks my brain.
At one end, we have civilians taking up arms to defend their homes, or protesting in a brutal autocracy.
At the other... we're finding that comfortable people won't give up anything to help.
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The effectiveness with which Ukrainians are defending themselves is jaw dropping. I expected this to be a short blitzkrieg, and apparently so did Putin?
I don't know how this ends, but it won't be with the swift collapse of an independent Ukraine.
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I'm awestruck by the courage of ordinary people, taking up arms to defend themselves. I despise violence, but self-defense is admirable.
Watching them makes me hope that I, too, could muster that courage when there's no cavalry coming.
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I'm heartened to see the Ukrainian president standing with his troops, rather than evacuating from Kyiv. It's so rare to see anything but cowardice from political leaders; I am glad that we'll remember that Volodymyr Zelensky is no coward.
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I'm struck by the courage of Russians who protest their government despite the risks. I feel terribly for everyone who's been injured or killed by the ambitions of a powermonger, especially conscripts (likely a majority of the Russian forces), who did not consent to fight.
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And meanwhile... I'm ashamed at the complacency of some governments here in the west.
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I'm ashamed by the milquetoast response from the Canadian government.
Canada is not a great power, but there's one thing that we're very good at: welcoming refugees.
We must waive visa requirements/fast-track asylum for both fleeing Ukrainians *and* defecting Russians.
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I respect those who want to defend their home, or work to change their country from within. But anyone who doesn't should have the option of being on the next flight to Canada.
In the meantime, some low-hanging fruit;
twitter.com/RRFalconer/sta
This Tweet is unavailable.
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I'm ashamed of the German government. They've reversed many mistakes this weekend, but the fundamental one remains.
Germany must stop buying Russian gas, which directly funds the Russian government.
Buying critical supplies from autocracies gives them power over you.
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Like many, I had thought that Germany was reliant on Russian natural gas.
I have not dug into this, but journalists who I trust think that isn't even true? Apparently Russian gas is just somewhat cheaper?
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If your alternative to buying Russian gas is freezing this winter, that reflects poorly on your past judgement.
If your alternative to buying Russian gas is *paying higher prices*, that reflects poorly on your *current* judgement.
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I don't feel like it's my place to tell Americans what to do, but it suffices to say that there's much more to be done than you're doing now, without starting a shooting war with another nuclear power.
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I'm frustrated by people around the world who view this (or any) conflict entirely through the lens of their own political battles.
Can we focus on what's actually happening to actual people, and not what this means for our pet political beliefs?
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I basically agree with 's perspective. Many of us who live peaceful, prosperous lives have forgotten how fragile peace and prosperity are. And unfortunately we have a lot more challenges ahead.
Can we start by doing what's right here? 🇺🇦
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