Bullies - I'm Against Them

This week all the talk is about Will Smith bounding up to the Oscar stage and slapping Chris Rock. Chris had joked about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers hair loss due to alopecia areata. The joke was in very poor taste, and I confess I didn’t get it since it was based on Demi Moore’s shaved head in G I Jane which I have long forgotten about.

But, just food for thought, I wonder if Will Smith would have delivered the slap if the joke teller had been a different Rock, like, say Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson.

 

 

If you figure he wouldn’t have, which is the way I figure it, the whole thing comes down to bullying.

 

Bullies create most of humanity’s problems. These days, two of the world’s creepiest bullies – Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump –  are behind two of the world’s worst current problems. Number one is the war in Ukraine which has its roots in Vladimir Putin’s neurotic self-loathing. Putin is such a loser that, upon hearing Angela Merkel had a fear of dogs, he made it a point to have a large, black dog in the room with them when they met. He’s a pathetic case, but, with Russia’s military power at his disposal, his twisted nature is making life harrowing and painful for thousands of Ukrainians. Also, for thousands of Russians, apparently, as front-line Russian soldiers are beginning to show reluctance to attack the determined Ukrainian defenders.

 

Even more neurotic than Putin is Trump, a man [sic] who can’t even accept that 81 million Americans voted him out of office two years ago. As he thrashes recklessly around, throwing out preposterous accusations of a rigged election, he undermines Americans’ confidence in our democracy and so he undermines America itself.

 

I have always had a thing about bullies, and that thing is contempt. Ever since I was a child, I have despised people who belittle, steal from, or crush others just because they feel they have the power to do so. Which brings me back to the Will Smith question. He seemed to think he had the power to smack Chris Rock, but what about that other Rock?

 

Well, I’ll let this go for now. Smith had the decency to apologize for his actions, eventually even to Chris. So, he’s clearly a better person than either Putin or Trump. But then, so is almost everybody else.

 

Nyet to Putin

What would be the worst outcome (not counting nuclear war) of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine? The worst outcome, I think, would be success. That is, success for Putin. His dream of unifying Russia and Ukraine under Moscow’s authority would be a nightmare for most of us, and especially for the Ukrainians.

Speaking of the Ukrainians, their fierce defense against the Russian military is an inspiration. It is inspiring because of the courage it represents but also because it is carried out in the name of democracy.

 

Trouble began brewing about nine years ago when Ukraine started to strengthen its ties to the European Union. Putin did not like this and, probably because of Putin’s objections, Ukraine’s president Yanukovych tried to block a pending association agreement with the EU. Ukrainians objected and began protesting, occupying Independence Square in the heart of Kyiv. Yanukovych’s efforts to intimidate and suppress the protestors failed and he soon fled to Russia where he remains today. He was eventually convicted of treason in absentia by the Ukrainian government.

 

The courage of the Ukrainians in facing down Yanukovych’s efforts to crush them was a foreshadowing of what we are seeing today. Their fierce and so far effective resistance against the Russian military shows that even if they are forced to give up Kyiv to the advancing enemy, the country as whole will almost certainly be ungovernable. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky deserves a lot of credit. His personal courage has played a major part in the ongoing anti-Russian resistance. Given all this, I believe the worst possible outcome – Putin’s successful takeover – is unlikely.

 

More likely are one of two alternatives. The best would be action within the Russian government that forces Putin to give up the assault within the next few weeks. This could only come about if enough well-placed Russian leaders decide that Putin’s policy is damaging the nation’s reputation and its economy badly enough that he has to be restrained or even removed from office. That would be an outcome that practically the entire world could celebrate.

 

Also possible, but more tragic, would be a drawn out struggle in which Russians try to occupy Ukraine but, month after month, continue to take casualties and face steady resistance from the local population. This would almost certainly result in an eventual withdrawal and again, a democratic and independent Ukraine.

 

So, here’s how I would rate the chances of each of these possibilities happening:

 

Putin Successfully Conquers Ukraine                         5%

 

Putin Forced to Give Up Within Weeks                   20%

 

Long Struggle Leading to Democratic Ukraine      75%

 

 

Like most of the world’s people, I am hoping fervently for result number 2.

 

In the mean time, here are some pictures from world capitals.

 

 

          New York - In Ukraine’s National Colors

 

 

                                Liverpool

 

 

                            

                                Paris, London

 

                                   Rome

 

 

                                Berlin

                    Saint Petersburg, Russia

                        (The sign says “No to War”)

                          President Zelensky