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Covering Ukraine: A mean streak of racist exceptionalism

They are called Zio-Nazis and in reality most of ultra-right racist groups in Europe are supported and funded by Zionists, PEGIDA is a classic example of Nazi and Zionist links.

Arguing with some of these people here about fascism is a dead-end and a waste of time.

Just remember not to support these Eastern European fascists in any trade ventures or benefits from your countries.

As their living standards fall (Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe) these folks will become even more staunch believers in fascist Nazi principles. I don't see any about turn from that yet.

I remember Ukrainians supplied arms to the Myanmarese Junta for oppressing the Rohingya and other groups. They don't have the economic backbone to stand up and say no to selling arms to despots and oppressors.

As Baltic and Slavic countries get poorer, they will fall into the arms of extreme hate groups in an attempt to solve their problems. The paradox is - that will make things worse. They will become even more of being Pariahs as countries, than they are now.

Hail Salutes don't fill empty bellies....

"New Ukrainian Values" for Azov followers....:lol:

Real Nazis wouldn't even consider these people worthy of being Nazis.... :-)
 
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Covering Ukraine: A mean streak of racist exceptionalism

Western moral deformities are on an open display amid the war in Ukraine.

Patrick Gathara

Communications consultant, writer, and award-winning political cartoonist based in Nairobi.

Published On 1 Mar 20221 Mar 2022



[Patrick Gathara/Al Jazeera]

The conflict raging in Ukraine between Russian and Ukrainian Slavs, the latter with the support of a tribal coalition of nations across sub-Scandinavian Europe, has exposed much more than the fragility of peace on the disease-ravaged subcontinent. It has also revealed a mean streak of racist exceptionalism with which many Europeans, and people of European heritage, tend to regard themselves.

It has been impossible to miss the shock among Caucasian journalists covering the war, sparked by Russia’s invasion under the pretext of supporting ethnic allies in the eastern tribal enclaves of Donetsk and Luhansk, which it has recognised as independent states, at the idea that this could happen in Europe.

“They seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking … War is no longer something visited upon impoverished and remote populations. It can happen to anyone,” wrote Daniel Hannan in the UK’s The Telegraph. “We are in the 21st century, we are in a European city, and we have cruise missile fired as if we were in Iraq or Afghanistan, can you imagine,” a commentator wailed on French TV.

Reporting from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Charlie D’Agata, a correspondent with CBS News in the US, declared Ukraine “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.” He later apologised.

The pearl-clutching is of course nothing new. When covering events in the US during the Donald Trump administration, especially the 2020 elections, reporters would regularly exclaim that such chaos was expected of the “Third World”, not the US. “America is a Third World country now” was a headline of Fortune magazine following the unhinged first presidential debate between Trump and his eventual successor, Joe Biden.

It all harkens back to Chinua Achebe who, in his 1977 review of British writer Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, noted that “for reasons which can certainly use close psychological inquiry, the West seems to suffer deep anxieties about the precariousness of its civilization” and needs constant reassurance by comparison with Africa. To Africa, we can add Iraq, Afghanistan and much of the Global South.

In essence, the journalists are seeking to affirm white European exceptionalism and virtue by outsourcing its ills to the “developing” world. What Achebe wrote, regarding Africa is true of much of the non-white world which “is to Europe as the picture is to Dorian Gray – a carrier onto whom the master unloads his physical and moral deformities so that he may go forward, erect and immaculate”.

Ironically, European moral deformities have been on open display since the Russian invasion, which is itself grossly immoral and unjust. The reported treatment by Ukrainian guards of Africans, Indians and other people of colour trying to flee the country remains an indelible stain on its otherwise heroic stand against aggression.

The warm welcome accorded to white Ukrainian refugees by Ukraine’s neighbours in the European Union is in sharp contrast to the hostile reception experienced by people of other races, from other places, on arrival at Europe’s doorstep. And the Europeans have not been shy about the reasons for the discrepancy.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov declared: “These are not the refugees we are used to. These are people who are Europeans, so we and all other EU countries are ready to welcome them. These are … intelligent people, educated people … So none of the European countries is afraid from the immigrant wave that is about to come.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also said: “We will accept anyone who needs it. The Ukrainian society gets more afraid and stressed. We are ready to accept tens, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.” This is while his country continues to deny entry to mostly Iraqi, Afghan and Syrian migrants and asylum seekers on its border with Belarus.

In the UK, which has contemplated pushing back non-white refugees into the English Channel, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly said Ukrainians can go in visa-free if they already have family there.

It is worth noting that when the journalists shocked by the pristine continent’s descent into the muck which they believe is solely reserved for the rest of humanity, deign to mention the contradictory stances towards asylum seekers, they do so in passing. The word “racism” appears to be studiously avoided.

The irony of European powers taking in refugees created by Russia’s aggression while shutting out those generated by their own invasions and occupations is apparently also lost on them. As is the fact that while Russia is condemned as it should be for invading someone else’s country, the same countries shouting the loudest about international law and the UN Charter and resolutions are happy to ignore Apartheid Israel doing exactly the same thing to Palestinians. No calls for sanctions or isolation there. No celebration of the bravery of people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in standing up for their freedom against a brutal occupier.

But then again, Israel did not invade a white European country, and we know they think certain behaviour is acceptable, and to be expected, when directed against people on other continents.

In fact, one feels towards the North in much the same way comedian John Oliver responded upon hearing that former US President George W Bush, who ordered the disastrous and murderous invasion of Iraq in 2003, was condemning Putin. “Hold on, George. Not from you,” he retorted on his show, Last Week Tonight. “You are not the guy for this one, because that statement only would have made sense if it ended with ‘Oh s***, now I hear it. Sorry. I’ll shut the f*** up now.”

Rather than shut up, perhaps it would be better if they showed a little awareness and a little consistency.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.




Racism is deeply ingrained within the east European societies.

The only way they have developed is by getting billions of dollars of free aid from western European countries every year, for years.
Otherwise, most of them would still be dirty backwaters.
 
What is saving their hide a little is their low birth-rate.
Not really - it is being in close proximity to their Ummah, the Western Europeans who are prosperous is what saves these people. Otherwise they would be as bad as Africans. The only good thing that comes out of these hellholes is cheap whores.
 
Well - what can be expected of the poor of Eastern Europe. Uneducated sad little racist lumps living in $hitholes, which look great from the outside but are no better than the third world in a real sense.

Poverty makes every uneducated Eastern European a "cornered" racist and exceptionalist.

Their Eastern EU economies aren't really doing all that good. Ukraine, Bulgaria and Poland aren't Germany. What is saving their hide a little is their low birth-rate.

GDP of Bangladesh is nearing 400 Billion and going up, Poland is a little higher than that, but GDP of Ukraine is half that of Bangladesh, and let's not talk about Bulgaria. By being racist (and not even attempting to hide the racism), these idiotic countries are digging their own grave, and will be even bigger global Pariahs than they are now.

Ukraine is an odd place, a Neo-Nazi country with a Jewish president. What are the chances?

Nothing made in those countries will find a market in the Global South, we should make sure of it.

I don't know why we send our kids to be educated in this Eastern EU hellholes. Better to invest in medical colleges and technical institutes at home.

Stealing from the third world is getting harder and harder by the day for the West, the Baltic and Slavic countries are really feeling the pinch. These Eastern EU countries better straighten up and fly right, or they will all get to live in places like Romany camps in Romania soon.

When the South goes up the ladder of development, we must remember all this (we must NEVER forget).

Our day too - will come. China is already there.
Dude what a ignorant post.
The accessibility and availability of education in Eastern European countries is far better than in the so-called educated and rich west where education is just a business.Where you have to be in debt to get a university education. Whereas in Russia it's free. That's the reason in former socialist republics even most of their population has teritiary education.
 
Not really - it is being in close proximity to their Ummah, the Western Europeans who are prosperous is what saves these people. Otherwise they would be as bad as Africans. The only good thing that comes out of these hellholes is cheap whores.

Not really - it is being in close proximity to their Ummah, the Western Europeans who are prosperous is what saves these people. Otherwise they would be as bad as Africans. The only good thing that comes out of these hellholes is cheap whores.




Everyone keeps saying that...... :lol:...........why is that?
 
Dude what a ignorant post.
The accessibility and availability of education in Eastern European countries is far better than in the so-called educated and rich west where education is just a business.Where you have to be in debt to get a university education. Whereas in Russia it's free. That's the reason in former socialist republics even most of their population has teritiary education.

It's not just a question of money and a cheap/free education.

My point was that we in South Asia should not be supporting and financing the white supremacist movements in these baltic and slavic countries by sending our kids in these countries for an education.

Most of these Baltic/Slavic White supremacists wouldn't even get a visa to visit the US if US authorities know they belong to White supremacist militias.

The differentiation should be made about money and principles.

If you don't - then you deserve to get beat up and left in the sub-zero cold with no food, like these upper middle class Indian medical students did at the Poland/Ukraine border locations. To date, there is no apology from the Ukrainian authorities about these blatant racist incidents. Why should we support these people with our money??

There are lot better places with medical education choices, starting with China, for example....

Think....
 
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Not really - it is being in close proximity to their Ummah, the Western Europeans who are prosperous is what saves these people. Otherwise they would be as bad as Africans. The only good thing that comes out of these hellholes is cheap whores.

Without descending into name calling (which I get), I am sure we can all agree that these places have no clear economic future for their populaces economically, so they will continue to attract extremism as solutions to their societal and economic ills.

Which gets me to my point about isolating these countries economically if they adopt fascist principles. We should NOT deal with fascists. PERIOD.

These countries must clean themselves of their fascist trash first, before we can deal with them as responsible members of the international community.
 
It's not just a question of money and a cheap/free education.

My point was that we in South Asia should not be supporting and financing the white supremacist movements in these baltic and slavic countries by sending our kids in these countries for an education.

Most of these Baltic/Slavic White supremacists wouldn't even get a visa to visit the US if US authorities know they belong to White supremacist militias.

The differentiation should be made about money and principles.

If you don't - then you deserve to get beat up and left in the sub-zero cold with no food, like these upper middle class Indian medical students did at the Poland/Ukraine border locations. To date, there is no apology from the Ukrainian authorities about these blatant racist incidents. Why should we support these people with our money??

There are lot better places with medical education choices, starting with China, for example....

Think....
Valid points raised but be careful when you used the word Slavic . Not all slavics are racists and white supremacists. Russia is the biggest Slavic nation on earth and I lived there and I can attest that place is one of the least racist places on earth.
Ukraine though I agree is increasingly becoming a neo Nazi ,anti Russia and anti Muslim hell hole. And that's the primary reason why Putin attacked it.
 
I am sure we can all agree that these places have no clear economic future
It's not just about economic future. There was a time when I was young and immature I relied on books as window to the world.

Scandanavia was painted as ideal societies and Eastern Europe was experimenting in socialist utopia. Now that I am grey and wiser after having seen much of the world I consider these places as hell holes.

To begin they have freezing climate, lack of sun shine, drab which would drive you to suicided. But as if that is not bad enough the traditional family has broken down. Men have just become biological sperm banks to be used and discarded like condoms.

By middle age the men are broken, isolated and surivive like zombies on ample alcohol. The suicide rates are appaling. Above 40 the population pyramid is skewed because of the number of men who die.

Many of these societies may support worlds best statistics. But life is more then statistics. I lost my wife few weeks ago to cancer. On paper I should be living it. House, car, living standard, salary etc but the reality is I feel more rotten then a begger in Mumbai.

I guess what I am saying is the human condition is far more complex then any statistics can abstract.
 
It's not just about economic future. There was a time when I was young and immature I relied on books as window to the world.

Scandanavia was painted as ideal societies and Eastern Europe was experimenting in socialist utopia. Now that I am grey and wiser after having seen much of the world I consider these places as hell holes.

To begin they have freezing climate, lack of sun shine, drab which would drive you to suicided. But as if that is not bad enough the traditional family has broken down. Men have just become biological sperm banks to be used and discarded like condoms.

By middle age the men are broken, isolated and surivive like zombies on ample alcohol. The suicide rates are appaling. Above 40 the population pyramid is skewed because of the number of men who die.

Many of these societies may support worlds best statistics. But life is more then statistics. I lost my wife few weeks ago to cancer. On paper I should be living it. House, car, living standard, salary etc but the reality is I feel more rotten then a begger in Mumbai.

I guess what I am saying is the human condition is far more complex then any statistics can abstract.





Bro, sorry to hear about that. My condolences to you and your family.
 
Arguing with some of these people here about fascism is a dead-end and a waste of time.

Just remember not to support these Eastern European fascists in any trade ventures or benefits from your countries.

As their living standards fall (Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe) these folks will become even more staunch believers in fascist Nazi principles. I don't see any about turn from that yet.

I remember Ukrainians supplied arms to the Myanmarese Junta for oppressing the Rohingya and other groups. They don't have the economic backbone to stand up and say no to selling arms to despots and oppressors.

As Baltic and Slavic countries get poorer, they will fall into the arms of extreme hate groups in an attempt to solve their problems. The paradox is - that will make things worse. They will become even more of being Pariahs as countries, than they are now.

Hail Salutes don't fill empty bellies....

"New Ukrainian Values" for Azov followers....:lol:

Real Nazis wouldn't even consider these people worthy of being Nazis.... :-)

Keep in mind these East Europeans lived under "communist" rule for decades. Communism preaches "brotherhood" for what it is worth

Valid points raised but be careful when you used the word Slavic . Not all slavics are racists and white supremacists. Russia is the biggest Slavic nation on earth and I lived there and I can attest that place is one of the least racist places on earth.
Ukraine though I agree is increasingly becoming a neo Nazi ,anti Russia and anti Muslim hell hole. And that's the primary reason why Putin attacked it.

Put a million Pakistanis, Iraqis and Syrians in Russia and see how Russian society reacts. Culturally Russia and Ukraine are not that far apart.
 
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It's not just about economic future. There was a time when I was young and immature I relied on books as window to the world.

Scandanavia was painted as ideal societies and Eastern Europe was experimenting in socialist utopia. Now that I am grey and wiser after having seen much of the world I consider these places as hell holes.

To begin they have freezing climate, lack of sun shine, drab which would drive you to suicided. But as if that is not bad enough the traditional family has broken down. Men have just become biological sperm banks to be used and discarded like condoms.

By middle age the men are broken, isolated and surivive like zombies on ample alcohol. The suicide rates are appaling. Above 40 the population pyramid is skewed because of the number of men who die.

Many of these societies may support worlds best statistics. But life is more then statistics. I lost my wife few weeks ago to cancer. On paper I should be living it. House, car, living standard, salary etc but the reality is I feel more rotten then a begger in Mumbai.

I guess what I am saying is the human condition is far more complex then any statistics can abstract.

So sorry about your loss bhaisaab. May Allah Subhanahu Ta'ala let you discover some semblance of inner peace in your daily life through other means. I feel your pain....

Some of us were exceptionally lucky, but when getting to a certain age, all of us lose near and dear ones, and somehow have to invent ways to carry on.

I get your point about the former Comecon economies.

It will take a long long time to correct their issues, if ever.

Valid points raised but be careful when you used the word Slavic . Not all slavics are racists and white supremacists. Russia is the biggest Slavic nation on earth and I lived there and I can attest that place is one of the least racist places on earth.
Ukraine though I agree is increasingly becoming a neo Nazi ,anti Russia and anti Muslim hell hole. And that's the primary reason why Putin attacked it.

Got your point. I was only talking about the racist slavs.
 
I am free to publish whatever I want. There are late night comedians who make fun of American Presidents. it means nothing


Edward Snowden disclosed methods and sources of intelligence


American establishment did nothing to sabotage the occupy Wall Street movement
No you are not, try posting in favor or Taliban and Osama in mainstream American publications/media.

Heck people of have jailed in US for 20-40 years for merely posting translation of one of Osama's speeches on their blogs.
 

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