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Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
191–200 of 251 posts
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
I consider it crazy that there is talk about banning literary classics
Who is talking about banning? The question discussed in the article is whether we may blame Russian authors. It is possible to be critical towards the philosophy of some litterature without banning it.
indeed. It's also possible to seek wider context beyond the immediate and understand where some stories start
https://collegenews.org/italian-university-suspends-course-o...
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s a very strange emotional appeal. Yes, you can ban first-hand imports of Russian culture, or any other nation. But what about all the ways in which your culture has already been affected by decades and decades of integrating these works because they stand on their own, aesthetically speaking, regardless of their origin? I’m reminded of an equally strange move, in an equally strange vein: “Freedom Fries.”
Why is this strange? Wartime changes many things, and propaganda is a powerful weapon. > Freedom Fries How about "Today Baghdad, tomorrow Paris!"
German language newspapers in the USA went from over a thousand to almost gone during WW1.
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
> That is not the point. I want to know why you think we should dismiss Dostoevsky but not Shakespeare. Basically every great artist and intellectual was part of a war-waging genocidal empire, and many of them pro-regime in varying degrees (Dostoevsky being a good example of the "varying"). I’m not on the “boycott dead Russians” train but the difference is timeliness. Russia is today engaged in a colonial war of aggr…
Oh really? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War
>The conflict began on 2 April, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day.
I stand...correct?
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm baffled how this seems only to apply to the Ukraine this one time. Any meaningful discussion is labeled "whataboutism" and dismissed. You will surely agree with me that Russia is not the world's pioneer in wars of aggression. What about (oh no, whataboutism! We can safely dismiss the argument without thinking now) all the other countries that did, and do the same? Should we also dismiss their cultural output? I'm…
It really comes down to race, but most will never openly admit it. Let's face it, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a white people war. The 11 million muslims killed (and many more displaced) by the collective west (NATO) since 1990 don't count, because they're brown. But when a non-western majority white country wages war, as George Carlin famously said "That's Our F*ck!ng Job": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qyG…
No, it's about culture and proximity. There is a huge hunger problem in America. I give to my local food bank. It's not because I'm pro my state and anti all the others.
We are talking about Russian literature because it is part of our culture, unlike Afghani literature.
Attempts at weaponizing compassion are disgusting.
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yanukovych was democratically elected, the same as Zelenskyy. Please read the comment I replied to and understand the tone and context. And please read the HN guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
People are downvoting this but it's like...objectively true: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ukrainian_presidential_el...
I have seen very few people contesting his election. It’s the snipers shooting at crowds and sending the army to the Maidan square that people really objected to. Also, his cosying up with Putin and showing the finger to the EU. And corruption.
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
People are downvoting this but it's like...objectively true: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ukrainian_presidential_el...
I have seen very few people contesting his election. It’s the snipers shooting at crowds and sending the army to the Maidan square that people really objected to. Also, his cosying up with Putin and showing the finger to the EU. And corruption.
He also changed constitution without proper due process shifting lots of power from parliament to president.
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
It really comes down to race, but most will never openly admit it. Let's face it, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a white people war. The 11 million muslims killed (and many more displaced) by the collective west (NATO) since 1990 don't count, because they're brown. But when a non-western majority white country wages war, as George Carlin famously said "That's Our F*ck!ng Job": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qyG…
Exactly. This is the absolute core of the issue. "On France’s BFM TV, journalist Phillipe Corbé stated this about Ukraine: “We’re not talking here about Syrians fleeing the bombing of the Syrian regime backed by Putin. We’re talking about Europeans leaving in cars that look like ours to save their lives." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/02/civili...
So proximity and culture. I instantly place myself and my family in those cars fleeing Ukraine, I relate easier because it's familiar. My human empathy and compassion is not evil, and your attempts to weaponize it are gross and deny human nature and realities of the human experience.
I also watch more movies in English in settings I am familiar with or better know the context of (Western history versus eastern).
I also wear clothes I am culturally comfortable with. Am I racist for not giving all clothes equal wearing?
Because I had a diversity of ethnic foods around, I am comfortable and enjoy eating them. My family from the midwest who had no exposure mostly don't relate to them. I am not less racist, nor are they more, it's just a proximity and culture thing.
I am very fond of Greek and Roman history, yet have no Greek or Roman ancestry, because I am much more familiar with greek and roman history and culture than say Persian. It's not race, it's proximity and culture. Not that I wouldn't love more Parthian Empire stories.
Re: Don’t Blame Dostoyevsky
#199Apart from the abstract conviction that we should not indict the cultural output of a country that is under the thrall of an oligarch, I'm a bit baffled at the notion of decrying Tolstoy of people -- a Christian anarchist who radically challenged all of the assumptions of Tsarist Russia. Basically all of the great Russian writers lived in opposition to the various incarnations of the Russian State (Tsarist Russia, US…
> I don't blame some Ukrainians for feeling the way that they do I can certainly see why they're upset but it's a problem with Russia's leader at the time, and not the culture right? If it's a long-standing cultural issue then I'd imagine some introspection would also be required, which seems like it may undermine the whole notion.
I've seen an insightful explanation (from an immigrant from Ukraine) why it doesn't matter is there is a problem with the Russian culture or not but it should be cancelled in any case: to win this war Ukrainian people need to mobilize and hatred to anything Russian will help to mobilize them. It is not enough for them to hate Putin, to fight they need to hate all Russians. For this reason it is important to convince all that all Russians are imperialists and Russian culture is all poisoned by imperialism. And it doesn't matter if it would backfire - in an authoritarian Russia it doesn't matter what ordinary people think. Ukraine on other hand is more or less democratic state - it is for the people to decide if they would accept defeat or will continue to fight.