The war began when Russia invaded Ukraine, but Donald J. Trump said on a podcast that the Ukrainian president “should never have let that war start.”

  • loutr
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    1 month ago

    Could someone please explain the rationale behind this? From what I gather it amounts to “well yeah Putin sent his army and started the war, but he was forced to by NATO/USA/Biden personally/Zelensky personally, THEY are the real warmongers!” But when I ask why, and what would have happened to Russia if he didn’t start the war, they don’t actually answer and just smile knowingly like I’m some kind of moron for not figuring it out by myself.

    • vxx@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I have shared this quote so many times. It doesn’t stop being relevant.

      Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.

      Jean-Paul Sartre

      • TheRealLinga
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        1 month ago

        Sartre shook me years ago with No Exit. That plot was so well done and interesting!

        Years later, I read this quote. And once again, I’m amazed at his ability to word things in such an understandable and insightful way. I’ve read this quote many times but never seen it credited to Sartre before… that’s so awesome.