From 8b074c48d64907d381ae33b97e814d70aa194c9a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Garrett D'Amore Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 18:15:09 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] Add note for Russian people with respect to invasion of Ukraine. --- README.md | 2 ++ UKRAINE.md | 77 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 79 insertions(+) create mode 100644 UKRAINE.md diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index f323a63..75f2456 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,6 +1,8 @@ # ![Tcell](logos/tcell.png) +Please see [here](UKRAINE.md) for an important message for the people of Russia. + _Tcell_ is a _Go_ package that provides a cell based view for text terminals, like _XTerm_. It was inspired by _termbox_, but includes many additional improvements. diff --git a/UKRAINE.md b/UKRAINE.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d86d3e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/UKRAINE.md @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +# Ukraine, Russia, and a World Tragedy + +## A message to those inside Russia + +### Written March 4, 2022. + +It is with a very heavy heart that I write this. I am normally opposed to the use of open source +projects to communicate political positions or advocate for things outside the immediate relevancy +to that project. + +However, the events occurring in Ukraine, and specifically the unprecedented invasion of Ukraine by +Russian forces operating under orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin compel me to speak out. + +Those who know me, know that I have family, friends, and colleagues in Russia, and Ukraine both. My closest friends +have historically been Russian friends my wife's hometown of Chelyabinsk. I myself have in the past +frequently traveled to Russia, and indeed operated a software development firm with offices in St. Petersburg. +I had a special kinship with Russia and its people. + +I say "had", because I fear that the actions of Putin, and the massive disinformation campaign that his regime +has waged inside Russia, mean that it's likely that I won't see those friends again. At present, I'm not sure +my wife will see her own mother again. We no longer feel it's safe for either of us to return Russia given +actions taken by the regime to crack down on those who express disagreement. + +Russian citizens are being led to believe it is acting purely defensively, and that only legitimate military +targets are being targeted, and that all the information we have received in the West are fakes. + +I am confident that nothing could be further from the truth. + +This has caused many in Russia, including people whom I respect and believe to be smarter than this, to +stand by Putin, and endorse his actions. The claim is that the entirety of NATO is operating at the behest +of the USA, and that the entirety of Europe was poised to attack Russia. While this is clearly absurd to those +of us with any understanding of western politics, Russian citizens are being fed this lie, and believing it. + +If you're reading this from inside Russia -- YOU are the person that I hope this message reaches. Your +government is LYING to you. Of course, all governments lie all the time. But consider this. Almost the +entire world has condemned the invasion of Ukraine as criminal, and has applied sanctions. Even countries +which have poor relations with the US sanctioning Russia, as well as nations which historically have remained +neutral. (Famously neutral -- even during World War II, Switzerland has acted to apply sanctions in +concert with the rest of the world.) + +Ask yourself, why does Putin fear a free press so much, if what he says is true? Why the crack-downs on +children expressing only a desire for peace with Ukraine? Why would the entire world unified against him, +if Putin was in the right? Why would the only countries that stood with Russia against +the UN resolution to condemn these acts as crimes be Belarus, North Korea, and Syria? Even countries normally +allied to Russia could not bring themselves to do more than abstain from the vote to condemn it. + +To be clear, I do not claim that the actions taken by the West or by the Ukrainian government were completely +blameless. On the contrary, I understand that Western media is biased, and the truth is rarely exactly +as reported. I believe that there is a kernel of truth in the claims of fascists and ultra-nationalist +militias operating in Ukraine and specifically Donbas. However, I am also equally certain that Putin's +response is out of proportion, and that concerns about such militias are principally just a pretext to justify +an invasion. + +Europe is at war, unlike we've seen in my lifetime. The world is more divided, and closer to nuclear holocaust +than it has been since the Cold War. And that is 100% the fault of Putin. + +While Putin remains in power, there cannot really be any way for Russian international relations to return +to normal. Putin has set your country on a path to return to the Cold War, likely because he fancies himself +to be a new Stalin. However, unlike the Soviet Union, the Russian economy does not have the wherewithal to +stand on its own, and the invasion of Ukraine has fully ensured that Russia will not find any friends anywhere +else in Europe, and probably few places in Asia. + +The *only* paths forward for Russia are either a Russia without Putin (and those who would support his agenda), +or a complete breakdown of Russian prosperity, likely followed by the increasing international conflict that will +be the natural escalation from a country that is isolated and impoverished. Those of us observing from the West are +gravely concerned, because we cannot see any end to this madness that does not result in nuclear conflict, +unless from within. + +In the meantime, the worst prices will be paid for by innocents in Ukraine, and by young Russian mean +forced to carry out the orders of Putin's corrupt regime. + +And *that* is why I write this -- to appeal to those within Russia to open your eyes, and think with +your minds. It is right and proper to be proud of your country and its rich heritage. But it is also +right and proper to look for ways to save it from the ruinous path that its current leadership has set it upon, +and to recognize when that leadership is no longer acting in interest of the country or its people. + + - Garrett D'Amore, March 4, 2022 \ No newline at end of file