I think in Russia they can kind of do that without a valid reason, and it's worse if you give them any semblance of one... and I think that that's kind of Sumac's point. People over there don't "Do More" because they don't see it helping and they're mostly resigned to This Is How It Is. Why "fight back" and become enemies of the state when "the state" is all too happy to punish them for it?
He's spoken at great length in many threads about how people over there just accept dictators and their dictator behavior as a way of life because that's how it's always been. Nihilism maybe isn't an attractive trait or outlook, but it tends to creep in over long periods of utter hopelessness. And I suspect that's where most Russian people are.
It's easy to forget that in most of the world, people are not "allowed" to fight back against or even criticize their governments, no matter WHAT they do. It's part of what makes America so "exceptional"; we get to do that (to a point) and nobody else gets to at all. Even the basic concept of "free speech" - as nebulous as it can be - is something that I've been told many times by people from all over the world is "crazy". I.e., "You can't just say whatever you want! What if people get mad/punish you?"
I don't envy the people over there, but I can understand why they don't try and change their own situation. It really kind of IS hopeless. If not Putin, who else? I mean, I literally don't know, I'm no geopolitician and he's frankly the only Russian politico whom I even know the name of. But I ASSUME that if Putin weren't there, it would be someone As Bad or Worse, same as it is with so many countries in the Middle East which have similar problems.
The fact is, there are a LOT of countries on Earth that would only ever "get better" if someone somehow gutted them completely and "started over". Problem is... that's kind of impossible, because of how certain systems are so entrenched.
It's a big reason I'm such a cynic, myself. There IS no "saving the world". HUGE chunks of it do not WANT to be "saved" and you can't drag them kicking and screaming into the "Modern Age". The best you can do is threaten to spank them if they misbehave. And when they don't listen, well... you get what we have Right Now.
It's a mess. But I honestly don't know how it can ever possibly be "fixed". Especially since I don't live over there. Mostly all I know of Russia is from Sumac's posts and the words of multiple people I worked with over the years who used to live there. Their consensus was always some variant of, "Place is sh*thole, that's why I'm here and not there." I'm inclined to believe them, but past that, I have no idea. Everyone I ever talked to basically implied there's no "fixing" sh*t over there, just to try and get out if there's any possible way and be done with it altogether. Which not everyone can do, obviously.
It's a mess, for sure, but I get why so many people just resign to it. If you can't leave, what's the alternative? "Fight back"? They're literally not allowed to do that.
----------------
Without making it overtly Dvs.R kinda thing, I don't think it's any coincidence at all that these countries always start sh*t when a Democrat is President, though. Go figure, the Democrats go on TV for years screeching about war being bad and "let other countries do whatever, we have our own problems at home, it's not our place to meddle in others' affairs", and then whenever we have a Democrat President again these other countries suddenly wanna flex. I WONDER why that is? I mean it's not like they were basically told, "Go ahead, we're weak on foreign policy" or anything, going back countless decades. Like, at least the Republicans don't go on TV and OPENLY SAY things like "We won't physically intervene in other countries' affairs." Once you expose a weakness, you're basically giving permission. That's a big reason so many Republican candidates always talk up the military so big; they're well aware that other countries are watching what we say/do, and you need to at least project an appearance of strength.
In hindsight, America was probably way too nice when the Cold War ended. We were collectively just so happy to have Russia as our "buddy" again that we just went right back to making kissy-face with them, not really caring whether or not they were secretly plotting some kind of nonsense to eventually put things right back to where they were. Even when we've been warned about it coming sooner or later, we're like "Naaaaaah, they wouldn't!" And now, here we are.
Seems to be a bit of a recurring theme. America has a long history of being way too nice to countries and their leaders who later go on to make us look spectacularly stupid for giving them the benefit of the doubt in the first place. This is just the latest example.
Sh*t wouldn't be happening under Reagan.
