Whenever there is a big news story, people tend to revert to a perverse tribalistic jingoism which absolutely kills all opportunity for constructive dialogue or intellectual examination of the topic. One such recent event is especially charged with loaded labels applied to anyone who questions any aspect of the mainstream narrative. I hope an analogy will help clarify my stance.
I do not believe Vladimir Putin is a good guy. I do not believe the government of the Russian Federation is a force for good in the world. I also believe the Russian government does not represent the Russian people as a whole in spite of the mythology of democracy.
I do believe Ukraine is rife with corruption, and their refusal to allow full independence for the Donbas region played a major role in the conflict which has simmered for about a decade and exploded into open war over a year ago. Other efforts by the Ukrainian government toward closer ties with NATO also escalated tensions. None of this is the fault of the Ukrainian people in spite of the mythology of democracy.
None of this means I am somehow anti-Slavic. The Russians are a Slavic people. The Ukrainians are also a Slavic people. Many of my ancestors are even Slavic. Framing opposition to a political conflict and efforts to understand it as proof of racism or cultural hatred is stupid. Trying to explain how events transpired and what incentives drove people toward the choices they made is not justification of, or an excuse for, any of those actions.
War is the health of the state. Targeting civilians, or trying to justify deaths of noncombatants and destruction of property as mere "collateral damage" is terrorism writ large. Neither side has an excuse, but the invading force with the biggest army has the most moral culpability. National pride needs to be set aside for the good of all in order to end conflict as quickly as possible and restore peace for the people just trying to live their lives.
If you can see how this applies to Ukraine, you can apply it in all times and places. If you cannot see how this applies even to Ukraine, why not?
