Know Your Enemy

[Rick Otto]

 

[VanillaSunflowers]

I'd say he's right. We are being distracted. But we know that.

 

[Jack of Spades]

I think the translation missed the "At least that's how I did it in Russia" - line at the end.

 

[Rick Otto]

Shoot the messenger.

 

[Jack of Spades]

Shoot the messenger.

There might be truth to what Putin says, but Putin is literally the last guy on earth to lecture US for doing that. Or maybe the second last, after Kim Jong-un.

Russian people are basically made to expect a war with the west anytime soon, as a result of government propaganda, and imagine that they live in a world where everyone is out to get Russia, and whatever Putin does is the very minimum self-defense against hostile Americans etc. It's a textbook case of blaming an outsider for internal problems.

The intensity of government propaganda is a bit different in an authoritarian state than anything done in the west, because of the state control of the media. For comparison, imagine Trump campaign blaming Mexicans for everything, the campaign would last for 15 years straight and was the only source of news in the US. That's how Russia is like.

 

[Rick Otto]

There might be truth to what Putin says, but Putin is literally the last guy on earth to lecture US for doing that. Or maybe the second last, after Kim Jong-un.

Russian people are basically made to expect a war with the west anytime soon, as a result of government propaganda, and imagine that they live in a world where everyone is out to get Russia, and whatever Putin does is the very minimum self-defense against hostile Americans etc. It's a textbook case of blaming an outsider for internal problems.

The intensity of government propaganda is a bit different in an authoritarian state than anything done in the west, because of the state control of the media. For comparison, imagine Trump campaign blaming Mexicans for everything, the campaign would last for 15 years straight and was the only source of news in the US. That's how Russia is like.

That's certainly one interesting opinion. I wonder what a Russian opinion would look like.

 

[Jack of Spades]

That's certainly one interesting opinion. I wonder what a Russian opinion would look like.

They would mostly agree with Putin. But, after 15+ years of being exposed to government propaganda and intimidation, and without actual free press, I wouldn't call that a very educated, or free opinion.

Usually outsiders have more objective view on the situation than the parties, or countries involved do.

 

[Rick Otto]

They would mostly agree with Putin. But, after 15+ years of being exposed to government propaganda and intimidation, and without actual free press, I wouldn't call that a very educated, or free opinion.

Usually outsiders have more objective view on the situation than the parties, or countries involved do.

That's another interesting opinion, but not a Russian one.
We don't have an actual free press either (imho) and I've always seen objectivity as an ideal, but not a reality.

 

[Jack of Spades]

That's another interesting opinion, but not a Russian one.

You can listen the Russian opinion in the video. If you want some opinion that differs from the opinion of Putin, you have to ask the Russians who are living in exile in some other country.

We don't have an actual free press either (imho) and I've always seen objectivity as an ideal, but not a reality.

https://rsf.org/en/ranking

Non-governmental, non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders ranks US #41 in the world in freedom of press- index, and Russia is close to bottom #148.

While the US isn't top of the world in the freedom of press, it's still doing a lot better than Russia is. In the US you have an open opposition for the government, like Fox News. Not gonna happen in Russia.

 

[Rick Otto]

Open opposition is overrated. I think a lot of what is called open is in fact controlled. Only six corporations control all mainstream media here. That's only freedom on paper or in theory, but not in fact. The media is largely a psyop here. If it isn't making you stupid and obedient, it is making you hungry and horny, etc., etc.
I guess I have my own definition of freedom, too.