Protesting against the government in Russia is a jailable offense. People have families, kids, lives. To most citizens of Russia, this war is pointless and they do not want it. But actually protesting it lands them in jail, possibly their families too. Are you suggesting that they abandon all of that just cause a website tells them that? Or is it your point that collective punishment works (it doesn't)?
Or maybe you think that if enough websites block them, people will think "well, maybe jail ain't so bad, so that i could access www.belltacospersonalsite.com"
EDIT: throttled, so reply to below comment by nope96 about calling in sick:
Call in sick -> no money -> your kids starve. Once again. It is easy to be sitting here and theorizing. Life is a lot more harsh in the former USSR.
Perhaps they decided that their children's lives are more important than your views of their regime? Until THEIR children/families/lives are threatened, their call is reasonable.
Would you sacrifice your life to save 10 people you've never heard of in a faraway place?
If you claim yes (a lie), sign your donor card and eat a bottle of aspirin. If you are truthful and you answer no, you know how Russians currently feel. They do not support this war, but the only thing they can do has no payoff and a high cost to each of them
> Until THEIR children/families/lives are threatened, their call is reasonable.
It may well come to that if this isn't dealt with inside Russia, that's the real trade-off.
> They do not support this war, but the only thing they can do has no payoff and a high cost to each of them
Not as high as the cost to Ukrainians. And that is what matters right now.
To do nothing is to effectively support the war, it may sound crude but that's how it is right now and only Russia can change that without further bloodshed, any other way forward will be far worse in the longer term. To put it bluntly: Russia never really properly got rid of their past, and now more than ever is the moment to consider that, do you want to continue to be on the wrong side of history or do you clean house? Both of these have extremely high price tags attached, the time for easy choices has run out, and some of our possible futures are no future at all.
Some words for contemplation:
"The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing"
The meaning is clear I think (even if the attribution is not), sometimes inaction is also an action.
Even 1% of Russian male population is a number bigger than Russia's combat troops number, and 10% will overwhelm the full force of the military.
If Moscow will suffer a nuclear strike by NATO to decapitate the Russian government, and prevent a coordinated first strike, these people will have no kids to care about.
The advancing crowd on the video been shot at by 5 RPGs, hail of sniper, and machinegun fire just few minutes prior, and they still routed the government special forces with just sticks, and rocks.
I don't see that happening. If they would do that it would instantly annihilate any support for NATO the world over. First user of nuclear weapons today is going to go down in history - assuming there will be anybody left to write it - as worse than Hitler.
It has in the eyes of some. Me included. That should have never happened and I don't for a second buy all the learned opinions about it, it was mass murder and as far as I am concerned it tainted the USA forever.
Or maybe you think that if enough websites block them, people will think "well, maybe jail ain't so bad, so that i could access www.belltacospersonalsite.com"
EDIT: throttled, so reply to below comment by nope96 about calling in sick:
Call in sick -> no money -> your kids starve. Once again. It is easy to be sitting here and theorizing. Life is a lot more harsh in the former USSR.