Thread by @DavidRossShow

Putin is being bombarded with negative publicity, condemnation, sanctions, boycotts, propaganda, and protests. Good. That's all he understands. Some misguided folks are trying to empathize with his perspective. They are so much more enlightened and compassionate than you and I.

We simpletons just call a dictator a dictator and want him snuffed out. If only we could see the bigger picture, our common humanity. Or as that 90210 actress said in her poem, "Oh Putin, if I was your mother..." Screw that. That just leads to perverted and woke virtue signaling.

What do you think of these 3 sentences:
1."We don't want to back him into a corner, we don't know what he'll do." (Putin's aggression)
2."Don't get him mad, he might beat you again." (Wife-beater)
3."Be good kids, we don't want your father drinking tonight." (Alcoholic abuser)

Are you tired of how cowering and backwards our country has become? Are you tired of our entire culture having poor boundaries, not knowing who is at fault for making their choices, and thus enabling everything from crime and overdoses to abuse and war?

Look how similar the 3 sentences above are. What they have in common is the false premise that we are at fault for someone else's behavior. We may be able to predict someone's reactions fairly reliably, but the examples above are the choices of a bully, an abuser, and an addict.

Tip-toeing rarely if ever works. Soft music only works in cartoons to soothe the savage beast. We have spent 22 years playing soft music, following the credo, "Well, a strongman like Putin may be evil, but at least he keeps a chokehold on all the nukes from the Soviet Union."

"Wouldn't want those to get into the wrong hands." That sounds like the abuse victim who downplays things and says their bruises look worse than they are. Yet, we've used this to ignore Putin's expansionism, human rights abuses, murders, poisonings, cyberattacks, and more.

If you are old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, you should also remember the collective sigh of relief that a peaceful world was possible. We had over 10 years of friendship and open channels with Russia, before Putin started his power-hungry campaign.

Russia became more prosperous, human rights improved, and the threat of nuclear war was a thing of the past. In fact, the only real concern was of a nuke getting into the "wrong hands." Fast forward 22 years later and we have a sociopath who only understands one thing: power.

When I was a kid, my little brother used to feed our steer, Bucky. He would chase after and try to trample my little brother, even though Bucky was "fixed" and supposed to be more mellow.

After numerous attempts at working with Bucky, my 75 pound little brother finally used his aluminum baseball bat to dissuade Bucky from charging him. Bucky was not harmed, but as a result of consistent reinforcement and deterrance, he changed his mind and changed his behavior.

Did they become best of friends?
Nope
Did we learn about Bucky's formative childhood?
Nope
Did Bucky become a model steer?
Nope
Did Bucky know not to charge when he saw the aluminum bat?
Yep.
This is what we need to do with Putin.
#SpeakSoftlyButCarryABigBat