Image Transcription:
An 8-panel Phoebe Teaching Joey meme.
The first panel is Phoebe from Friends saying "Russia".
The second panel is Joey from the same show replying with "Russia".
The third panel is Phoebe saying "has invaded".
The fourth panel is Joey repeating back "has invaded".
The fifth panel is Phoebe saying "Ukraine".
The sixth panel is Joey repeating back "Ukraine".
The seventh panel is Phoebe saying the completed phrase "Russia has invaded Ukraine".
The final panel shows Joey proudly proclaiming "NATO just started a proxy war".
Asking honestly: How would you characterize the Azov Brigade and the Social National Assembly? Do you think the presence of these groups might contribute to the perception of Nazis in the Ukrainian ranks?
Meanwhile, Dmitry Utkin, founder and real leader of Russian "Wagner" PMC, and active in invading Ukraine since 2014, had SS insignia tattooed on both sides of his neck and a big Nazi eagle tattooed on his chest.
SNA was apparently dissolved in 2015. So, you know, it's unfortunate they were a thing in the first place, but it happens in volatile times.
Azov was definitely quite Nazi for quite a while, but apparently they've depoliticized in measurable ways, with both inclusive messaging from their leadership and practical steps like adding background checks to weed out racists while welcoming more Jewish members.
Overall, the "perception of Nazis in the Ukrainian ranks" is mostly a Russian propaganda myth, used to rationalize sending actual Nazis to "denazify" and murder people in a peaceful country that has at most maybe like, 1 far-right politician in its parliament of 450. Ukraine can deal with the kids getting edgy about politics after they deal with the killers occupying their land.
Certainly, and I'd characterize it like this. If a bunch of Nazis want to go fight my enemy, I'm not going to stop them. No matter what happened, I win out.
Yeah. Best case, they'll die in battle and there'll be fewer of them to deal with once the dust has settled. Worse case, they're fighting the enemy, making the fight easier for the rest.
And at the end of the day, we can still prosecute them for hate crimes. They can get a slightly more comfortable pillow in their cells in recognition of their service.
Well first of the Azov brigade was taken apart, subsumed by the military, and had it's neo Nazi core group removed. If you want to mention them you need to remember Ukraine 2023 is not Ukraine 2018. Second, the political wing is a minority in the government much like the Freedom Caucus in the US, the Golden Dawn in Greece, and the current majority in Italy. Having dumb people in your country does not make you fascist. It's an entire ideology that does not co-exist with democracy.
Does capitalism coexist with democracy?
It can, obviously. Like anything else too much can be bad.
Capitalism best coexists with democracy.
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Name another system that capitalism would work better with.
Name another system that has produced better results than capitalism.
Note that socialism is not, in fact, when the government does things.
I mean presence of Nazis in society does not mean the society as a whole is Nazi - else literally every country on the planet is Nazi.
Now the presence of Nazis is a problem but there is a difference between a relatively small group who are nowhere near the reigns of power (as is Ukraine's case) and literally being the state (as is Russia's case).