Footnote 22: the (virtue-signalling) bravery of being out of range
Vienna Idiocy Ed.: Der Standard further virtue-signals dangerous historical ignorance--check out this lunatic agit-prop in downtown Vienna (and apologies to Roger Waters)
And now this happened, according to the live ‘newscast’ by Der Standard:
Displaying an incredible lack of taste and, frankly, sanity, Johannes Schwarzenberg, the aristocratic owner of the eponymous hotel (I won’t link there, here’s a Wikipedia link to the building), engaged in cheap and ahistorical agit-prop. The hotel is under renovation, but earlier today, Mr. Schwarzenberg had the construction fencing painted in yellow and blue to virtue-signal his support for Ukraine.
While I don’t object to personal opinions, however I may disagree with them, I object, and viscerally so, to the one-sided agit-prop the (self-declared) left-liberal daily Der Standard engages in. Pencil-pusher Michael Vosatka uses the following header:
Russian Monument with Ukrainian Background
The outer wall of the Schwarzenberg Palace is currently under construction, and since today the wall shines in the Ukrainian colours, blue and yellow. According to Johannes Schwarzenberg, this was borne by his conviction to take a stand against the war in Ukraine. The wall is situated directly behind the Soviet War Memorial.
The monument was constructed to commemorate the roughly 18,000 Red Army service personnel who died liberating Vienna in early 1945. Here’s a Wikipedia link, here’s a (German) entry.
Here’s what the Russian embassy in—ostensibly neutral—Vienna had to say:
❗️ The wall behind the Soviet War Memorial on Schwarzenplatz is painted in the colours of the 🇺🇦 [Ukrainian] flag.
☝️ The memorial should remind all Ukrainians & Austrians that the ranks of the Red Army saw Russians & Ukrainians fighting shoulder to shoulder against the fascist beast.
There’s more pictorial evidence of this kind of bravery of being out of range (with due apologies to Roger Waters):
Praying, other magical rites and displaying tribal colours cannot go out of style, seing as we can't function beyond the size of a family unit without it.
That's not me being nihilist, just recognising that it's what it is and how we function.
And few things brings large diverse groups together as hating together. Look at all forms of marxist ideology. Look at islam. Look at the climate cult. Hating the Other declared Evil brings the group together, lessens tensions within the group and incites the group to act.
The reverse of course being to warn about ominous doom to create fear of straying in thought or deed.
Actual facts? Leaders only need facts, us galley slaves needs the beat and keep an eye on the lash.
Over here in CZ, people are valiantly resisting Putin by flying Ukrainian flags all over the place and sporadically bullying Russian immigrants. As far as the flags are concerned: fine. If it makes people happy, I don't see why not. As for the bullying: sounds an awful lot like trying to get back at the local Mafia boss by shooting your neighbor's chihuahua, because you know that the Mafia boss also has a chihuahua. Never mind that the Mafia boss's chihuahua has its own bodyguard whom you certainly wouldn't dare mess with, and as for hurting the Mafia boss himself - hahaha.