The United States continues to seek new punishments against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, 2022. Americans rally to the cause with good intentions that may not mean much and that may do more harm than good. For example, pouring out Vodka and evoking spirit (no pun intended) of the Boston Tea Party accomplishes what?
As Dan Kois writes for Slate: “Stop Boycotting Random Russian Things. You are not stopping the war in Ukraine”. Nutgraph: “It is dumb to boycott things that have no actual connection to Vladimir Putin or even, in some cases, to Russia. But it’s also foolish to demonize every vestige of Russian culture, and ordinary Russian citizens, and Russians abroad, as a result of a catastrophic war launched by a despot”.
In a pointed opinion piece for Bloomberg, Tyler Cowen contends that: “Cancel Culture against Russians is the New McCarthyism. Demanding that performers and athletes speak out against Putin’s Russia is un-American”. Closing: “McCarthyism is not a practice America should want to revive. Witch hunts, by their very nature, do not bring out the best in people, Americans very much included”.
Where will the Russian cultural purge stop? I wonder if the pictured Soviet-era spacecraft is still on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. If so, will it or other icons be expunged because their very presence can’t be tolerated because of Putin’s war?
I used Canon EOS 20D to capture the Featured Image and companion on Oct. 3, 2004. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/100 sec, 28mm; 2:37 p.m. EDT. The other: f/5.6, ISO 135, 1/125 sec, 135mm; 2:37 p.m.