We are experiencing a fascinating media kerfuffle in Ukraine right now. A famous Russian liberal and anti-Putin journalist Yulia Latynina had an on-air debate with the famous Jewish Ukrainian journalist Portnikov, and guess who got drubbed within an inch of their life in that dialogue?
Now, Latynina is very anti-Putin and lives in exile. She's as anti-regime as a Russian can be. But her anti-Putinism - just like Navalny's, just like every Russian anti-Putinist's - is limited to the belief that as soon as the people of Russia understand how much money Putin has stolen, they'll immediately overthrow the regime.
For 20 years, Russian anti-Putinists have been doing their darndest to demonstrate that Putin steals. One would have to be deaf, blind, and in a coma to not get the message. But the more Putin steals and the more obscene is the luxury in which he lives, the more he is loved in Russia. The "he steals" narrative, however, refuses to die, reminding me of the Dems' unhealthy attachment to the "Bush lied" slogan that lost them the 2004 election. Yes, I'm that old, I still remember all that.
Beyond this "Putin steals" message, Latynina eagerly mouths every imperialistic Russian slogan. "Russians and Ukrainians are brothers, this is a civil war, Ukraine never had its own culture, etc." The funny side of this situation is that her own imperialism got her into a sea of trouble. She decided to engage in a public dialogue with a Ukrainian journalist whose knowledge of history is sublime. She expected Portnikov to play the role of a subservient, uneducated country bumpkin that she expects every Ukrainian to be. As a result, he unleashed on her a torrent of information while she clapped her eyes and bleated "yes, but" incoherently.
"Turn on YouTube!" I texted my husband during the show. "Portnikov is committing unnatural sexual acts against Latynina."
Aside from the specifics of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it was highly enjoyable to see smug ignorance getting crushed by knowledge and competence. The saddest thing about stupid people is that they don't know they are stupid. It's the high-IQ folks who have the intelligence to be aware of their intellectual limitations and would never enter a debate with a specialist on a subject of which they know nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment