It is the comparison (insinuation) that Mr. Putin is as mad as Napoleon in his ambition that 'triggered' me posting the above.
Once, the go-to comparison was Mr. Putin is as mad as Adolf Hitler (hence 'Putler'), which is about as absurd as any such insinuation, and it might actually work as there is evidence that there is some credence to both régimes that their military intervention was due to abuse suffered by their fellow compatriots (ethnic Germans in Poland, ethnic Russians in Ukraine). Once one ventures down that particular rabbit hole, many of the 'ze Nazis is pure evil' categorisations become less tenable almost immediately. (Hence, I referenced an older post discussing these absurd 'comparisons'.)
Now, though, the 'new thing' appears to be Mr. Putin is like Napoleon, which is even more stupid: yes, the latter was ambitious (perhaps more so than Mr. Putin), but one must not forget that it was the Russians who were attacked by the French; it was also the Russians who eventually wore down the invader, went on the counter-attack in 1813, and managed to capture ('liberate', if you like) Paris in 1814. The comparison is not only far more stupid than the one with Hitler (which, mind you, could go either way: either Mr. Putin is the 'Voldemort', but there is also the possibility of Hitler becoming rehabilitated to certain degrees) but it also shows that, for one reason or another, the 'Putler' thing seems to have lost its glamour.
Also, for further information about Napoleon's invasion of Russia, I also recommend Tolstoy's War and Peace (but not Woodstock's way of reading it).
Thanks, that’s an excellent answer to my query. Yet, is this just more blather over obviously specious claims? Those who believe it won’t listen to reason, those who don’t won’t care anyway. It seems clear the propaganda level is very high on everything, so high it could all be just auto-created by an ai app. Are we getting close to full BS where no one believes anything anymore?
I enjoy your writing, always interesting and thoughtful. Thank you
As to your question ('is this just more blather over obviously specious claims?'), I'm somehow inclined to believe it's mostly horse manure, for sure, but I doubt that, given the level of education these days, that certain individuals manage to come up with this quite 'sophisticated' BS on their own; sure, a broken clock is right about twice a day, too, but the main issue here, I think, is AI-driven amplification.
I do wonder if, say, some meme that makes a comparable argument about Biden will be moved around as much as anything that mocks Putin.
Sorry, I don’t get your points. Can you explain more clearly what you’re seeing?
It is the comparison (insinuation) that Mr. Putin is as mad as Napoleon in his ambition that 'triggered' me posting the above.
Once, the go-to comparison was Mr. Putin is as mad as Adolf Hitler (hence 'Putler'), which is about as absurd as any such insinuation, and it might actually work as there is evidence that there is some credence to both régimes that their military intervention was due to abuse suffered by their fellow compatriots (ethnic Germans in Poland, ethnic Russians in Ukraine). Once one ventures down that particular rabbit hole, many of the 'ze Nazis is pure evil' categorisations become less tenable almost immediately. (Hence, I referenced an older post discussing these absurd 'comparisons'.)
Now, though, the 'new thing' appears to be Mr. Putin is like Napoleon, which is even more stupid: yes, the latter was ambitious (perhaps more so than Mr. Putin), but one must not forget that it was the Russians who were attacked by the French; it was also the Russians who eventually wore down the invader, went on the counter-attack in 1813, and managed to capture ('liberate', if you like) Paris in 1814. The comparison is not only far more stupid than the one with Hitler (which, mind you, could go either way: either Mr. Putin is the 'Voldemort', but there is also the possibility of Hitler becoming rehabilitated to certain degrees) but it also shows that, for one reason or another, the 'Putler' thing seems to have lost its glamour.
Also, for further information about Napoleon's invasion of Russia, I also recommend Tolstoy's War and Peace (but not Woodstock's way of reading it).
Thanks, that’s an excellent answer to my query. Yet, is this just more blather over obviously specious claims? Those who believe it won’t listen to reason, those who don’t won’t care anyway. It seems clear the propaganda level is very high on everything, so high it could all be just auto-created by an ai app. Are we getting close to full BS where no one believes anything anymore?
I enjoy your writing, always interesting and thoughtful. Thank you
Many thanks for your extra-kind words.
As to your question ('is this just more blather over obviously specious claims?'), I'm somehow inclined to believe it's mostly horse manure, for sure, but I doubt that, given the level of education these days, that certain individuals manage to come up with this quite 'sophisticated' BS on their own; sure, a broken clock is right about twice a day, too, but the main issue here, I think, is AI-driven amplification.
I do wonder if, say, some meme that makes a comparable argument about Biden will be moved around as much as anything that mocks Putin.