Cat Show. 4/23/2021
VG: We know that it is dangerous and unhealthy when people begin to believe their own lies. Of course, we always make up stories about ourselves. How heroic, honest, entrepreneurial, or moral we are. That’s bad enough. But when we allow all sorts of cultural stereotypes to take over, it can easily result in wars and destruction, if not annihilation. German attitude toward Jews and Slavs is the case in point, of course. I have a feeling that we have this déjà vu all over again, vis a vis Russians.
HOBBS: The US was peddling these lies about Russians for years. Oppression, ugly dresses, toothless people. Culminating in Obama’s “Russia does not make anything” and McCain’s “Russia is gas station masquerading itself as a country.” I wonder if McCain was entertaining the same thoughts when captured by Vietnamese and singing like a bird during interrogations. Of course, this euphoria and dismissals are quickly replaced by another stereotype. Once Sputnik went up into the stratosphere, Russians began to turn up everywhere, making all sort of crazy and scary gadgets, turning Americans into zombies, deplorables, trouble-makers, brainwashed commies and so on. Of course, Russia has tried to break through these idiotic stereotypes by coming up with Sputnik V, the so called vaktsina, but we all know that it can’t be good, since Russians don’t make anything. That’s why the British regulators won’t approve it. And if they do, Americans won’t. We have our own failing products to experiment on people.
ALICE: You guys fail to see that Russia is just a blimp on the radar. There are serious real concerns, like climate, or systemic racism, or equally systemic sexism and homophobia. One Greta Thunberg is more important than the whole Russia, as far as the young generation of Biden voters are concerned. And one more proof that Russians don’t make anything: they can’t even produce a sufficient amount of spies and bad guys. Look at these two poor souls, Bashirov and Petrov. Now they are rushed to Salisbury to poison Skripals, now they are in Czech Republic blowing up arms depots. Who can doubt the power of James Bond, sexy beast that he was. But these two ugly and dumb bastards? Not sure they can open up a bottle of vodka, let alone walk and chew the gum at the same time. In fact, it is time to cast our new President, Biden, as the new OO7. This dude sure can walk and chew at the same time, especially if he remembers to take his medicine. But even if he does not, he just lands on his four, like any good cat does. Say what you want, he was, is, and will remain my president. And his historic acts in the areas of climate, race relationships, gun control, public health, and animal rights – will transform the country beyond recognition.
VG: Yes, Alice captures the mood of many young people, who never knew Russia as a serious country. All they remember is crime, collapse, drunkenness, and squalor. Many of my students are convinced that Samantha Power is the Mother Teresa of our day, preaching love and understanding through bombs and destruction of all sorts of deplorables. This ignorance is infectious. My colleague was telling me of a night at some pub in Germany during one of those Oktoberfests, when young students began to crack jokes about stupid and helpless Russians. It was a while ago, so there still was an old dude in the crowd, who told the youth, that he fought on Eastern Front, and that Russians are not a laughing matter. But he was laughed away as an old relic as well.
HOBBS: Can’t believe Alice is still rhapsodizing about Biden and his bold legislature that consists in renaming cages into detention centers, and illegal aliens into non-citizens. That’s so courageous. And while you are at it, why don’t you praise his parental skills. He raised such a perfect hunter-gatherer. The dude gathers money, coke, and bimbos quicker that his father gathers women to sniff. And by the way, this gathering and sniffing is not a cat’s activity. We all know the nasty sniffing smelly animals whose name I won’t even pronounce. So don’t kid yourself about the cats. Didn’t we discuss recently Biden’s dog, Major Major, who kept on biting people in White House, until it was stopped by Nuland, who threatened to bite its head off?
VG: I want to return to this story of young Germans mocking Russians. I can understand certain anger and fear that Russians inspire in Germans and Czechs, or Hungarians, or Latvians. After all, these guys saw Russian soldiers and were scared by them. But it is beyond me, what the young Czechs are doing now. Why do they want to resurrect the Cold War? Why bring in some evil mysterious Russians and blame on them their own sloppiness. Czechs used to be the champions of irony, perfectly well aware as to what it means to get along and navigate among Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Russia. And now they joined this game of Russophobia with the zeal that makes Poles look sane. Is it just American propaganda, or there are other reasons for this silliness?
ALICE: They are just young people who want to live, think, speak dress and look like their friends in US and England. That’s normal.
HOBBS: When scapegoating and stereotyping becomes a new normal, that’s not normal. It is pathetic, hypocritical and dangerous. In fact, it is shameful, when the older generation brings up the youth this way, it does not bode well for anyone. Can’t our society offer anything better that a doting old man, like Biden, or doting young girl, like Greta? Of course there is Hunter Gatherer sandwiched between these two, but he is hardly a model either.
VG: I would also add, that we can measure society’s health by its eagerness to embark on another round of scapegoating. There must be something rotten at the core of it. And it is not just a virus.
