In the view of the Russian president, the West is weak. Until very recently, he may have had a point. The Ukrainians have never been weak; just look at their faces. Nevertheless, it doesn’t make any sense labelling something that is weak as a threat. Either you’re weak, or you’re a threat. A major flaw in his reasoning.
His reasoning may have been another case of reverse psychology and psychological projection onto others. Actually, because the West is/was weak, the Russian president and his armies are a threat to us.
The most recent case of his reverse psychology is stating that Western sanctions are akin to an act of war (eg, Guardian). There is already a war going on. One that he started. Now, he is blaming the West for reacting to his war. It’s amazing (to me) that some people actually believe this kind of reverse psychology.
Early August 2021, I’ve read one of the most important articles in my life: Why some of the smartest people can be so very stupid (eg, Psyche-2021, my August 2021 blog, my November 2021 blog).
Finally, I understand why the 45th US president likes the Russian president so much. They have a lot in common: blaming others, living in denial, pathological liar, use of reverse psychology and projection. They could be twins, like in the 1988 film Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
This war cannot end well. Ukraine will fight back until the end, with (very) many casualties at both sides.
Negotiations and/or mediation (eg, Israel, Turkey) seem pointless as Russia wants control over the whole of Ukraine while Ukraine wants back its territory, including Crimea.
Without the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine would probably never have become a NATO member or an EU member state. It was too provoking and thus too dangerous. Now, everything has changed.
The Russian president has achieved the opposite he aimed for: he has united his enemies and is losing neutral buffer states. There will be little kindness left for the Russian president once he’s on trial in The Hague.
“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.”
A quote by Al Capone (1899-1947), American gangster.
The Weakness in Me (1981) by Joan Armatrading
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2, Wiki-3
Why do you come here
And pretend to be just passing by?
Make me lie, when I don’t want to
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool
You make me stare, when I should not
Are you so strong or is all the weakness in me?
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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