If one doesn’t know high school-level history well enough that “this guy fought against Russia in WWII” doesn’t set off a million alarm bells, they have no business being in government.
If their defense is “I was told to clap like a seal, I did, and it turns out I was applauding a Nazi,” same thing.
In the state I teach in, our textbooks make communism out as the greatest failure and evil in the world. A token “6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust” is given, but the history of most of the world goes into more detail about how many millions the alleged idiocy of Mao or the apparent power hungry brutality of Stalin caused. Which is really telling because they take every opportunity to mention when communism allegedly did something bad or failed in a region, but never go into as much depth or detail about any other similar events in history. It’s only junior high level geography, but the main focus of all the world history seems to be on how bad socialism is. Every other economic system, war, and historical event is briefly covered in a whitewashed way, but socialism and communism are repeatedly paraded around as evil. This is all the world history they’ll get until high school, which will likely have a similar focus.
I’ve noticed that from when I was in school to now, a decade later, that they’ve really pushed a “communists were the worse evil all along” narrative. My students, who know very little about the world, know to hate and fear Russia, China, and North Korea, but have never heard of fascism and barely know about Nazis except as edgy jokes.
Do you think it’s a coincidence that most of the people who actually fought in WWII are now dead, unable to challenge their grandkids at the dinner table for coming out with nonsense takes? WWII isn’t really in living memory anymore, except for people who were kids in it.
I have considered that’s part of it, that the revisionism is related to it. Makes me wonder if we’ll quit admitting the Vietnam War was a bad thing as soon as that exits living memory… kinda scary to know when I’m dead, the bad shit we did will be erased from history books to trick future generations.
A country that gladly accepted Nazis is clearly one where the rulers weren’t particularly concerned about it - these are their kids and grandkids, still supporting Nazis, and still because of anticommunist thinking. This is the same country that continues to occupy land stolen from the indigenous and constantly fails to reckon with even acknowledging it, let alone stop steamrolling indigenous land, let alone implement restorative justice.
Russia bad is part of that anticommunist legacy. Look how little effort it took to dehumanize Russians from the Anglo perspective, look how they continue to rely on the same trope of the Asiatic hordes that will conquer everything in their path - if we let them.
One would expect the entire governing body of a country (minus apparently two people) to have a tiny bit more understanding of politics and history given that it is literally their job to know such things.
One would be very disappointed in the result if that was their expectation, but it would be a reasonable expectation.
Settle down. This is clearly an example of short sightedness / ignorance and politics. “Russia bad. Man fought Russia long ago. Stand and seal clap”
If one doesn’t know high school-level history well enough that “this guy fought against Russia in WWII” doesn’t set off a million alarm bells, they have no business being in government.
If their defense is “I was told to clap like a seal, I did, and it turns out I was applauding a Nazi,” same thing.
I feel ya. I’d love to be a fly on the wall of their inner thought bubbles lol
How many were standing while clapping and thought “. . . wait . . .”
In the state I teach in, our textbooks make communism out as the greatest failure and evil in the world. A token “6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust” is given, but the history of most of the world goes into more detail about how many millions the alleged idiocy of Mao or the apparent power hungry brutality of Stalin caused. Which is really telling because they take every opportunity to mention when communism allegedly did something bad or failed in a region, but never go into as much depth or detail about any other similar events in history. It’s only junior high level geography, but the main focus of all the world history seems to be on how bad socialism is. Every other economic system, war, and historical event is briefly covered in a whitewashed way, but socialism and communism are repeatedly paraded around as evil. This is all the world history they’ll get until high school, which will likely have a similar focus.
I’ve noticed that from when I was in school to now, a decade later, that they’ve really pushed a “communists were the worse evil all along” narrative. My students, who know very little about the world, know to hate and fear Russia, China, and North Korea, but have never heard of fascism and barely know about Nazis except as edgy jokes.
Damn that’s bleak haha
Do you think it’s a coincidence that most of the people who actually fought in WWII are now dead, unable to challenge their grandkids at the dinner table for coming out with nonsense takes? WWII isn’t really in living memory anymore, except for people who were kids in it.
I have considered that’s part of it, that the revisionism is related to it. Makes me wonder if we’ll quit admitting the Vietnam War was a bad thing as soon as that exits living memory… kinda scary to know when I’m dead, the bad shit we did will be erased from history books to trick future generations.
A country that gladly accepted Nazis is clearly one where the rulers weren’t particularly concerned about it - these are their kids and grandkids, still supporting Nazis, and still because of anticommunist thinking. This is the same country that continues to occupy land stolen from the indigenous and constantly fails to reckon with even acknowledging it, let alone stop steamrolling indigenous land, let alone implement restorative justice.
Russia bad is part of that anticommunist legacy. Look how little effort it took to dehumanize Russians from the Anglo perspective, look how they continue to rely on the same trope of the Asiatic hordes that will conquer everything in their path - if we let them.
One would expect the entire governing body of a country (minus apparently two people) to have a tiny bit more understanding of politics and history given that it is literally their job to know such things.
One would be very disappointed in the result if that was their expectation, but it would be a reasonable expectation.