Tag: Ukraine

bookmark_borderExpressing a positive opinion about something is not “bootlicking”

Posted on by Marissa

This blog post falls under the category of “things that shouldn’t need to be stated, but apparently they do.”

The other day I was watching a YouTube video in which a doll collector criticized Mattel for laying off designers and other employees involved with the making of Barbie dolls. This YouTuber ranted at length about people who have defended Mattel, repeatedly characterizing these people’s opinions as “bootlicking.”

This reminded me of a situation a while back, in which a Democrat politician characterized a political opponent as “licking the boot” of Russia, because that political opponent failed to demonstrate sufficient enthusiasm about sending additional money to Ukraine.

Both situations make me angry. Expressing a positive opinion of something does not constitute “bootlicking” or “licking the boot.”

Expressing a positive opinion of Mattel is not “bootlicking.” It is expressing a positive opinion of Mattel.

Expressing support for Russia is not “licking the boot” any more than expressing support for Ukraine is. (Plus, the politician in question didn’t even express support for Russia; he merely questioned sending even more money to Ukraine, making the allegation of “licking the boot” even more preposterous.)

People are allowed to criticize Mattel for its layoffs, and people are allowed to feel that Mattel didn’t do anything wrong. People are allowed to support Ukraine, people are allowed to be neutral on the whole Russia / Ukraine conflict, and people are allowed to support Russia.

Usage of terms like “bootlicking” and “licking the boot” is predicated on the assumption that defending something, or expressing a positive opinion about something, is inherently bad. These terms imply that the very act of expressing a dissenting view is somehow pitiful or cowardly or ridiculous. Using such language is a way of presuming the truth of what you are trying to prove. It is both mean-spirited and intellectually dishonest.

People are allowed to have opinions that differ from yours. This shouldn’t exactly be a revolutionary concept. I’m sick and tired of people using pejorative and insulting language towards those who express dissenting opinions.

bookmark_borderSociety’s appalling inconsistency regarding Ukraine and the Confederacy

Posted on by Marissa

“Fighting for freedom, fighting for the right to live peacefully and independently”

During the Olympics, one of the commentators used these words to characterize the efforts of Ukraine during their war with Russia.

And it struck me that this is exactly what the Confederate States of America was doing during the war with the United States from 1861 to 1865.

The Ukrainian people are deified and worshipped by our society, praised effusively at nearly every opportunity for their bravery, resilience, and strength. People fall all over themselves in their eagerness to express their solidarity. During sporting events like the Olympics, audiences are reminded, again and again, about how inspirational the Ukrainian athletes are, the difficult conditions they’ve had to overcome, the sacrifices they’ve made, and the fact that they are fighting for something larger than themselves.

Yet the Confederates, who were fighting for the exact same thing, receive the exact opposite treatment. They are unanimously condemned as racists, white supremacists, “traitors,” and “insurrectionists” (as if defying authority is somehow bad). It is accepted as self-evident that they do not deserve to be honored in any way. Their names erased from streets, buildings, and military bases, their commemorations canceled, their monuments sickeningly destroyed in a systematic and relentless campaign of obliteration.

In the eyes of society, fighting for freedom is noble and honorable when done by Ukrainians, but “treason” and “insurrection” when done by southern Americans.

The fact that two nations, fighting for the same thing, are treated so differently, demonstrates the utter hypocrisy and lack of logic of our society.

Freedom. The right to live peacefully and independently.

These are things that all people deserve. These are things that the people of the Confederate States of America deserved just as much as the people of Ukraine do.