I’d argue it’s an objectively true statement that, of all the people alive today, Putin has singlehandedly caused more death and suffering than anyone else. The gap between him and whoever is second is likely orders of magnitude. Yet, when I read discussions about him, Russia, or the war in Ukraine, I almost never see the kind of hateful, nasty, and mean comments directed at him that I regularly see aimed at Trump, Elon, or even ordinary Republican politicians. Why is that?
Bonus question: Why be so nasty about it in the first place? There’s nothing wrong with criticism, but I struggle to understand the need for such meanness. Even when I agree with the sentiment, reading comments like that feels toxic. It poisons my mind too. I don’t like being angry, and I avoid it for practical reasons as well. Anger clouds my judgment, and I think it does the same for others and thus should be avoided.
Wouldn’t the same be true about Elon and Trump though, especially when talking about Lemmy.
There’s a huge contingent, even here, who loves both those guys, but maybe more importantly, they’re supposed to be on our side. Hell, Trump is the president! Putin is the dictatorial ruler of an enemy country, we expect that he’s going to do and say stuff that’s terrible.
That’s Whataboutism.
Putin probably gets plenty of hate on Russian language social media. English language social media is going to be full of criticism of English language influencers.