As a white American, I was just talking about this relatively new experience to me, and not in any way meaning to co-opt or undermine other people’s objectively worse experiences, by the way. Just wanted to throw that out there.
At the same time, while we might disparage Russia or China, to me that’s always meant the government, not literally the people. I hate that I probably took for granted that at least most other people thought the same way I did.
Too many people often just handwave that civilians should die rebelling against their government if it is bad. It is never that simple, it is not as simple as they voted bad and didn’t rebel, so we have an excuse to exterminate them all.
We should do the same as was done with Germany: trial those most responsible in Nuremberg, rehabilitate the rest. Germany turned out to be a wonderful, anti-nazi country, with hard workers that produced high-quality products. Imagine if they where just nuked instead?
Germany is a really interesting example. When I’m trying to decide if I’m overreacting about what’s happening now, I often tell myself a lot of Germans probably said the same thing in the 1930s. I’ve never assumed all Germans were Nazis, and always knew there was a large number, if not majority, who were victims of their own government. However, I remember my mother (born just after WWII and my grandpa fought in the Pacific) saying she grew up with a negative opinion of Germany.
Welcome to our world. I remember the hate I had to put up with, just for being Serbian. Finally, someone else understands.
As a white American, I was just talking about this relatively new experience to me, and not in any way meaning to co-opt or undermine other people’s objectively worse experiences, by the way. Just wanted to throw that out there.
At the same time, while we might disparage Russia or China, to me that’s always meant the government, not literally the people. I hate that I probably took for granted that at least most other people thought the same way I did.
Too many people often just handwave that civilians should die rebelling against their government if it is bad. It is never that simple, it is not as simple as they voted bad and didn’t rebel, so we have an excuse to exterminate them all.
We should do the same as was done with Germany: trial those most responsible in Nuremberg, rehabilitate the rest. Germany turned out to be a wonderful, anti-nazi country, with hard workers that produced high-quality products. Imagine if they where just nuked instead?
Germany is a really interesting example. When I’m trying to decide if I’m overreacting about what’s happening now, I often tell myself a lot of Germans probably said the same thing in the 1930s. I’ve never assumed all Germans were Nazis, and always knew there was a large number, if not majority, who were victims of their own government. However, I remember my mother (born just after WWII and my grandpa fought in the Pacific) saying she grew up with a negative opinion of Germany.