You raised me on a steady diet which included a fear of everything Soviet, communist, and Russian. In the classroom, on the television, and conversations around the dinner table. I went to bed at night planning for an invasion that was inevitable. When I gathered with my friends at the river on the weekends, we’d train for the coming attack. The fear of the Russians consumed me, and became part of my DNA, setting me on the same perpetual doomsday reality you’ve embraced, and see as normal.
Now you expect me to be as blind as you. Ignore the racism, homophobia, propaganda, and hatred your fear and doomsday reality allows you to overlook. There is no pure race living in the woods in a natural state, there is only racist propaganda that allows you to be controlled. The Russian people are good, but those in power, spreading propaganda that speaks to the left as well as the right in this country only want to hurt us. You find this on the web, and you feel it speaks truth, without any understanding of how the web works, or ever seeing the puppet strings in play.
The shift from fearing Russians to trusting them amongst conservatives in this country has only revealed the fear and racism for me. It demonstrates how much fear there was when I was growing up, and how controlled the people were around me. Something that continues to this day, keeping people isolated, controlled, and believing in some apocalypse that is right around the corner, that will ultimately save us all (except the brown people). Without ever having been to Russia, spoken to any Russian citizens or exiles, you’ll stare into a bright propaganda painting and believe it is the future. Never questioning the damage that is being done right around you in the real world as you gaze wide eyed into this hateful landscape.
You keep believing your fantasies. You keep living in fear. Your belief in a pure people are nothing new. These fantasies go back to the beginning of time, and are used to control weak and fearful people. Eventually, the world will close in around you. Your gardens of isolation cannot protect you from reality, and at some point you will have to realize the damage your apocalyptic visions have inflicted in your own community. Maybe someday you will see that the brown people right around you aren’t a threat, and that those white people far away aren’t your friends. Maybe someday you’ll see the puppet strings the rich people use to keep you isolated, controlled, and out of their way.
For me, as an adult, I live on a new diet. I don’t fear the world around me. I know that most people are good, and work to expose those who wish to hurt us. I see the Russian propaganda machine for what it is. I see the web as a tool born of military origins, and being used to deliver misinformation. I question every fearful tale that I’m told, then venture out into the world to gather facts, learn from opposing perspectives, and push myself to learn each day. I wont stay isolated again, allowing my reality to be crafted by the fearful people around me. I’m in charge of crafting my own reality, and encouraging our children to do the same. I’m not letting their reality be dictated by people they grew up with–including me. Everyone should venture out into the world, and craft their own reality. One rooted in reality, and not just fear.
