West Declares Russian Elections “Undemocratic” Because it Doesn’t Like Winner - eviltoast
  • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
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    8 months ago

    Not sure why, but for some reason some people here and on hexbear seem to have fully bought into the narrative that Putin fakes the Russian election. It’s quite strange to see. We don’t have to like Putin, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t popular and his support isn’t legitimate. I too would like the Communist Party to be the most popular one, but just because my preferred outcome didn’t happen doesn’t mean the election is fake. I guess I try to avoid western media when it comes to this sort of thing, but western media has just been so complete and total with their “ELECTION IS FAKE!” screaming that even otherwise reasonable friends of mine just assumed it was true, because of how “matter of fact” every single western news outlet has been saying it.

    • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.mlOP
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      8 months ago

      Is there any difference between this and how all the chuds were denying the result of the 2020 US election? In both cases it was just asserted without evidence that the claimed result was a lie because they felt it couldn’t be true. Same for Russiagate and 2016. The same pattern repeats:

      “Me and most people i know hate this person, therefore it is impossible that they legitimately won the election.”

      When asked to produce evidence of actual fraud: crickets. When confronted with how the other side feels: deny, dismiss and demonize. It’s an emotional kneejerk reaction.

      • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
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        8 months ago

        Yeah, that’s what it seems like. People are just repeating “the election is fake” enough times that they start to believe it, because accepting that it isn’t is inconvenient to them.

        • Jennie@lemmygrad.ml
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          8 months ago

          Westerners (mainly Americans and the British) are so used to voting for the lesser of two evils that they can’t even comprehend that a country might actually like their leader. I don’t like Putin but that doesn’t mean Russians also don’t like him.

          • knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml
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            8 months ago

            I remember a heated irl conversation I had about ten years ago with someone from Yugoslavia. That was a time I was peak lib and I couldn’t possibly fathom that what they were saying was true, namely that Russians really like Putin. Since then I have realized the error of my ways, but most people never get that far.

        • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.mlOP
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          8 months ago

          Sure, but that’s not a particularly interesting question in my opinion. I mean there are plenty of good reasons to not like Trump, or Biden, or Putin for that matter. Hating them is easy. The better question is “do you understand why their supporters like them (or at least prefer them to the alternative)?”. It’s in answering that question that we learn something valuable. Your ability to give a reasonable, non-caricature answer reveals whether or not you have the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to understand their situation and their point of view. Even or perhaps especially when you consider the other person your enemy, it is useful to be able to do that.