Thread by @maksymeristavi

the fact that some westerners have zero problem with hardcore neo-nazi roots of r*ssia’s opposition leader and fashy vibe of russian national identity but instead get obsessed with some marginal far-right freaks in Ukraine nobody really knows is classic western colonial gaze

https://twitter.com/rynkrynk/status/1625730517512474624

Ukrainians always are expected to fit the impossible standard: our society cannot have far-rights, crooks, murderers, and just mean people — even though every other has. Even as we are being murdered in genocide

r*ssian literal war criminals get fancy book deals and politicians who called for extermination of ethnic minorities end up being gloried heroes, but reputation of every Ukrainian in public eye gets policed to the level of insane absurdity. this is so f*cking exhausting

“your families get buried alive in the rubble of their homes after r*ssian terrorist attacks? but what about that 2015 picture of a far-right person you shared on social media once? maybe they slaughter you all for a reason?

some westerners feel it is totally appropriate to play a public judge what’s okay or not okay for Ukrainian democracy even though their own countries are ruled by open fascists and far-rights and have dismal colonial record - and we’ve never had any of that

maybe that’s something i’d close my eyes on before or even amplify because of my own inferiority complex, but enough is enough. we are being slaughtered under the pretext of “denazifying” - if you peddle the narrative, even by accident, then you are complicit.

Ukrainian civil society and investigative journalism are strong enough to decide on their own what is a problem that needs urgent public attention and what is not. marginal far-right that have had likely the lowest public support among all European countries is not one of them

as a mixed queer Ukrainian in public eye I never minimized the fash danger. i used to deal with several death threats a week. however, dear western dudes — if we’re being slaughtered in the name of the same thing you’re still obsessing about then some self-reflection is overdue

and westerners projecting their own cultural and ideological wars on Ukraine that lives the reality of post-right-left civic nation is a ginormous but separate issue. if you feel real nerdy about check this amazing new book by @oonuch

amazon.com/Zelensky-Effec…

let's not ignore a centuries-old pattern of #RussianColonialism doing the same narrative trick on Ukrainians. that's why it is so triggering for most of us.

https://twitter.com/Stastartseva/status/1625795236914946048?s=20&t=PMI9Z1hzarYWGJS6mkJWXw