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Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago

The cognitive dissonance is breath taking. Viktor Orban is an existential threat to democracy, but the Azov Brigade are the great defenders of democracy.

Samir Iker
Samir Iker
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

And, in contrast, if you see a single nuzi flag at a Canadian trucker or Dutch farmer protest, being ignored by the rest of them, it shows that all those truckers and farmers are right wing Nuzis.

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Samir Iker

Even worse, that single flag at the truckers protest is widely believed to be planted. When the protestors went to confront the guy about the flag, he fled. No one really knows who was even carrying the flag.

Matt Hindman
Matt Hindman
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

“What do you want Yahtzee?”
“See that guy that you are fanboying over with the suspicious S shaped lightning bolts and other racial supremacist symbols on his arm? Yeah, he is an actual Yahtzee.”
“Shut up, you don’t know anything! You are just an evil Yahtzee white supremacist!”
“Well at least I tried.”

Last edited 1 year ago by Matt Hindman
Matt Hindman
Matt Hindman
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

“What do you want Yahtzee?”
“See that guy that you are fanboying over with the suspicious S shaped lightning bolts and other racial supremacist symbols on his arm? Yeah, he is an actual Yahtzee.”
“Shut up, you don’t know anything! You are just an evil Yahtzee white supremacist!”
“Well at least I tried.”

Last edited 1 year ago by Matt Hindman
Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Samir Iker

Even worse, that single flag at the truckers protest is widely believed to be planted. When the protestors went to confront the guy about the flag, he fled. No one really knows who was even carrying the flag.

Brian Villanueva
Brian Villanueva
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

Yeah. Marine LePen is a far-right Nazi who must be disavowed and ignored, but actual Nazis are celebrated as brave freedom fighters for liberal democracy.

Noel Chiappa
Noel Chiappa
1 year ago

The really amusing thing is that the Azovs have equivalents in Russia – Pamyat is gone now, but there are current replacements.

Noel Chiappa
Noel Chiappa
1 year ago

The really amusing thing is that the Azovs have equivalents in Russia – Pamyat is gone now, but there are current replacements.

Samir Iker
Samir Iker
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

And, in contrast, if you see a single nuzi flag at a Canadian trucker or Dutch farmer protest, being ignored by the rest of them, it shows that all those truckers and farmers are right wing Nuzis.

Brian Villanueva
Brian Villanueva
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

Yeah. Marine LePen is a far-right Nazi who must be disavowed and ignored, but actual Nazis are celebrated as brave freedom fighters for liberal democracy.

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago

The cognitive dissonance is breath taking. Viktor Orban is an existential threat to democracy, but the Azov Brigade are the great defenders of democracy.

B Emery
B Emery
1 year ago

Yet whitewashing and valorising groups like Azov, which have violent extremists in their midst, is patently irresponsible.

Couldn’t agree more, this issue does not get enough attention. Good article unherd.

B Emery
B Emery
1 year ago

Yet whitewashing and valorising groups like Azov, which have violent extremists in their midst, is patently irresponsible.

Couldn’t agree more, this issue does not get enough attention. Good article unherd.

Samir Iker
Samir Iker
1 year ago

Those who write the history of these times are going to have their minds tied into knots….

To begin with, we must accept without question that Nuzis or anyone affiliated with them or carrying their flag, are “far right” – which is true, only as long as you ignore the second half of their name, the “envy” based thinking that is perennially true of Marxist / Socialist systems (those kulaks / Jews/ White supremacists are the reason we are doing poorly), and the reality of government controlled industries, social systems and policies in place in Germany 1933-34.

And, additionally, while pushing the narrative of the “brave” Ukrainian resistance, we must conveniently ignore the Russian majority in Donbass and Crimea who went along with Ukrainian independence, saw the prime minister they got elected being forced to flee for his life by “peaceful protestors”, dozens of their own burnt alive with no redressal, seeing their language and culture being stamped out, attacked by well armed army troops for nearly a decade…..

And of course, their noble, moral supporters in the West, who detest the warmongers of Russia, fresh from destroying Iraq and Libya….

This isn’t 1984. This is the reality that makes fiction, even that from the fertile mind of Orwell, appear feeble and unimaginative.

Samir Iker
Samir Iker
1 year ago

Those who write the history of these times are going to have their minds tied into knots….

To begin with, we must accept without question that Nuzis or anyone affiliated with them or carrying their flag, are “far right” – which is true, only as long as you ignore the second half of their name, the “envy” based thinking that is perennially true of Marxist / Socialist systems (those kulaks / Jews/ White supremacists are the reason we are doing poorly), and the reality of government controlled industries, social systems and policies in place in Germany 1933-34.

And, additionally, while pushing the narrative of the “brave” Ukrainian resistance, we must conveniently ignore the Russian majority in Donbass and Crimea who went along with Ukrainian independence, saw the prime minister they got elected being forced to flee for his life by “peaceful protestors”, dozens of their own burnt alive with no redressal, seeing their language and culture being stamped out, attacked by well armed army troops for nearly a decade…..

And of course, their noble, moral supporters in the West, who detest the warmongers of Russia, fresh from destroying Iraq and Libya….

This isn’t 1984. This is the reality that makes fiction, even that from the fertile mind of Orwell, appear feeble and unimaginative.

Stephen Walsh
Stephen Walsh
1 year ago

“If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons.” Young men won’t fight and die without something rousing to believe in.

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago
Reply to  Stephen Walsh

Is that an actual quote? Who by? (Churchill?)
Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Rob N
Rob N
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Murray

Apparently it was Churchill. Or at least attributed to him.

Rob N
Rob N
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Murray

Apparently it was Churchill. Or at least attributed to him.

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago
Reply to  Stephen Walsh

Is that an actual quote? Who by? (Churchill?)
Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Stephen Walsh
Stephen Walsh
1 year ago

“If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons.” Young men won’t fight and die without something rousing to believe in.

Elliott Bjorn
Elliott Bjorn
1 year ago

The good news is they do not have rainbow flags with lines through them on their uniforms. That would be OTT.

Elliott Bjorn
Elliott Bjorn
1 year ago

The good news is they do not have rainbow flags with lines through them on their uniforms. That would be OTT.

Snapper AG
Snapper AG
1 year ago

We embraced and lionized Stalin, and his barbarous Red Army. These guys are pikers compared to them.

Snapper AG
Snapper AG
1 year ago

We embraced and lionized Stalin, and his barbarous Red Army. These guys are pikers compared to them.

Noel Chiappa
Noel Chiappa
1 year ago

Use them as cannon fodder. Win-win.

Dougie Undersub
Dougie Undersub
1 year ago

You’re forgetting that “Azov’s historical ideological orientation” is, well, historical.

Dougie Undersub
Dougie Undersub
1 year ago

You’re forgetting that “Azov’s historical ideological orientation” is, well, historical.

martin logan
martin logan
1 year ago

There are extremists on both sides of this conflict Indeed, the fact that numerous Russian TV programmes routinely advocate killing any self-identified Ukrainian suggests why there are “extremists” like Azov.

Extremists never gained more than 2% of the vote. in Ukraine, considerably less than in many Western nations.

Just defeat Russia and the problem disappears.

Last edited 1 year ago by martin logan
Noel Chiappa
Noel Chiappa
1 year ago
Reply to  martin logan

You’ve sure got some people here who don’t like you. Down-votes all over the place.

Noel Chiappa
Noel Chiappa
1 year ago
Reply to  martin logan

You’ve sure got some people here who don’t like you. Down-votes all over the place.

martin logan
martin logan
1 year ago

There are extremists on both sides of this conflict Indeed, the fact that numerous Russian TV programmes routinely advocate killing any self-identified Ukrainian suggests why there are “extremists” like Azov.

Extremists never gained more than 2% of the vote. in Ukraine, considerably less than in many Western nations.

Just defeat Russia and the problem disappears.

Last edited 1 year ago by martin logan
j watson
j watson
1 year ago

Hang on, the title of this article implies the Washington establishment – i.e Congress, White Office, Federal depts etc, are suddenly supportive of Azov. That’s clearly misleading. One federal employee is mentioned and a photo with a Congressman. That’s hardly indicative of Washington.
I daresay there are some who support, or have developed a more sympathetic view since the Mariupol defence but the article title is another example of trying to grab attention via headline distortion.

j watson
j watson
1 year ago

Hang on, the title of this article implies the Washington establishment – i.e Congress, White Office, Federal depts etc, are suddenly supportive of Azov. That’s clearly misleading. One federal employee is mentioned and a photo with a Congressman. That’s hardly indicative of Washington.
I daresay there are some who support, or have developed a more sympathetic view since the Mariupol defence but the article title is another example of trying to grab attention via headline distortion.