Tuesday, February 22, 2005

What's the problem with Russians? We are not Greenskins.

I always notice that Europeans and Americans are so tactful and considerate when they make generalizations about culture and lifestyles of different races or nations. Somehow Russians are treated differently. There is a simple acid test. When reading about Russia and Russians replace the word “Russian” with “Jew” or “Arab” or “African”. How about phrases like these – “Jews are not ready for democracy”, “Afro-Americans are lazy because they were slaves for so long”, “Japanese really don’t want to be free because they still long to be ruled by a good emperor”, “Ages of opium smoking (meaning vodka drinking) made Chinese unpredictably aggressive”, “Should we believe that Indians want to be the part of the Western civilization?”, “Expansionism is in the Arab DNA”. All these phrases sound very racist. Considerate and educated people never dare to say anything like this even if they do believe in it. It’s taboo. Anyway such generalizations are quite permissible when it comes to discussing Russians. Why?
I believe the answer is simple – because Russians are not Greenskins. If Russians had distinct greenish color of the skin things would be different. For example, Latvia and Estonia would have a lot of problems – why residents with green skin are not allowed to vote and are considered aliens? When black people in South Africa were considered ‘non citizens’ that was called apartheid? Why do you discriminate Greenskins? Nobody would ask stupid questions like should we treat Greenskins as Europeans? Do greenskins belong to the Western civilization? In cultural terms Greenskins are as different from Europeans as Chinese or Indians. Now for many Americans it would be racist to say that Russians are rude because they don’t smile or Russians like to wear black clothes because they are not free. Greenskins don’t smile for the very same reason why Afro-American don’t smile. Greenskins like dark clothes for the very same reason why Japanese like kimonos. If you feel like you’re a social anthropologist you can mark cultural peculiarities of Greenskins’ way of life but you are not supposed to generalize about its causes, like vodka, oppression, barbarism, lack of education, slavishness, bad DNA, xenophobia, hate of freedom, filthiness, etc.
I have a good advice for ex-pat Americans who are blogging from Russia of how mad they are about those horrible Russians and their terrible lifestyles. Try to imagine that people around you are actually Chinese (or Greenskins) and you will feel much better.
So far Russians do have problems because they are treated like ill-bred and ill-mannered Europeans. “Russians are exactly like we are, but they are not well educated and are not taught good manners, because of Communists (slavery, vodka, xenophobia, aggressiveness, rudeness, etc.) Teach them manners and soon they become exemplary members of the Western civilization. Forget about it, guys! Greenskin civilization is a distinct civilization of itself.

11 comments:

Fence said...

People are people and just because the media from the US or Europe may represent Russia in a certain way doesn't mean all Europeans think that way. I doubt that all Europeans think of anything in the same way at all.

Anonymous said...

You Russians are just getting the taste of your own medicine. The way you treat ethnic minorities within Russia is really very repugnant and disgusting. Russian stereotypes about ethnic and religious minorities are always very negative. For example, the Chechens are invariably depicted in the media as terrorists and barbarians. Russians have numerous pejoratives to describe ethnic minorities: zhydy (Jews), chernozhopie (the peoples of the Caucasus), chaplashki (Tatars), etc. There are hundreds of insulting jokes about the Chukcha people. Learn to respect other peoples and ethnic groups first, and then demand similar respact for yourselves!

Konstantin said...

To Anonymous. That post was not about Russians demanding respect. It's about demanding integrity. If you thing there's nothing wrong to say: "You, Jews, learn to respect other peoples and then demand similar respect..." or "You, Afro-Americans, are just getting taste of your own medicine..." then I will respect you as a man of integrity. If on the other hand you carefully choose what ethnic groups is an easy pray for "anthropological" generalization and what ethnic groups are 'taboos' then you're simply a hypocrite. As simple as that.

Anonymous said...

Only in Russia when I lived in Piter for one year in 2003 could I have gone to a football match and heard 20,000 Russians hooting like monkeys each time a black player touched the football. No where else in the world have I since such a disgusting display of racism by such a large body of people.

I notice that when you highlight racial or ethnic groups or use them to make a point that you always mention Jews first. An obvious and often repeated Freudian mistake of a hidden racist. I have repeatedly witnessed Russian racism firsthand in Russia and yours is not so difficult to recognize now.

Many Russians are racists pure and simple. If your not white russian (or the right white russian ie not jewish) you are a piece of human offal, a monkey, an animal. It is the one item in Russia that you can get a ex-communist, a neo-facist and social democrat to all agree on.

Konstantin said...

Thank you, Patrick, for getting my idea. You wrote "MANY Russians are racists", not "RUSSIANS are racists". And here I agree with you. Now let us go further. I also find agree that MANY Russian soccer fans are disgustingly racists. That's one reason I never go to soccer matches. The other reason is - I wear glasses and look too "intelligentsia". You get me? The guys you're talking about are not just racists - they hate EVERYONE who is different from them. That way they are also people-wearing-glasses haters, people-having-good-shoes haters, people-who-walk-alone-late-at-night haters, etc. Now if you follow my lead. I also spent a year in England and remember what it's like for a stranger to visit a local pub, somewhere let's say the Docks of London. Sometime about 11 pm. Now talking about Freud and the way you unmasked my true intentions and brought me out in the open. An obvious and often repeated mistake of people who are ignorant about modern psychology. The Freudian theory is dead long ago. Have a good day!

Anonymous said...

I am afraid Freudian theory is not a dead long ago and is fact in a revival period at the present. By the way "long ago" was when it would have been in very wide use and was predominant. Also modern psychology is nothing more than prescribing the available drug for various disorders. Which is why Freud's ideas and methods are in revival. Of course Freud was in fact Jewish so perhaps this is from where your unfamiliarity of the topic comes from. As to the football matches I attended in Piter there was obviously a very good cross-section of the city's various social strata's present.

The reasons as to why Russians are spoken of in this manner is not because they have or do not have greenskins or black or yellow (ie that they're white) it is because of frustration regarding the Russian lack of progress on so many issues regarding human rights and the rule of law. I do not speak of harrassment of ethnic minorities but of ethnic Russian upon ethnic Russian violations.

Russia is held to a higher standard than the third world or the developing countries of Asia or the abysmal nation states in Africa. But you know it is Russia herself that says they are better than those countries. And if Russia is held to a higher standard than these other regions of the world it is because she says she of that higher standard.

Having travelled entirely around the world I find most people are not racist and that most racists are not truely racist they are simply fearful. When you can walk the streets in Russia without fear, to do business in Russia without fear, to participate in politics without fear, to peacefully protest without fear only then will Russia acheive that higher standard she claims to belong to. Only then will Russia be discussed with the respect as you wish her to be.

Anonymous said...

Russia lost a lot of self esteem after the breakup of the soviet union. Some Russians to compensate thought heck we are least better than those darkies (Africans, Indians, middle easterners etc..etc.); a small minority of maniacs then decided to attack foreigners.

I am British of India origin and have only met educated former soviet people. So I am shocked and suprised to learn about the violent rascism in Russia. I think it will dissapear after Russia gets its confidence back.

Anonymous said...

Russians are a bunch of racist assholes...I had the unfortunate luck to meet some of them here in the states...I'm an Italian-American and they act as if they'd never seen a guy with dark hair before...Russia, good for exporting vodka and whores...who else can an Israeli or Turkish guy go to when they need a good blowjob.

Anonymous said...

Fuck Russians...a bunch of ugly,pale, lethargic looking motherfuckers. I love fucking Russian women...sticking my fat dark cock inside those pink pussies and cumming all over their ugly white faces.

toto said...

Samyj urodlivyj loch na svete - Putin

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