Russian Cyber Terrorists and Bears
“The President and Senate Majority Leader are willing to spend $2.5 billion to build a wall to keep Latin American asylum seekers from “invading” our country, but NOT $1 to keep Russian cyber terrorists from invading our elections!”
-the web
I still can’t decide if I like Russians being demonized anew for the last three years 😈 or not 👿.
That reminded me how the beautiful A.L. came to UT and at her talk quoted Marquis de Custine. He wrote, in beautiful prose, that the Russian human bears are hibernating in their winter palaces and huts.
I confirmed for everyone present that he was, indeed, correct.
People in the audience laughed.
I was the only Russian in the audience, although the department has a fairly diverse group of people attending to Russian affairs.
A.L., in her greatness, exhibited fleeting signs of light confusion from which she, an experienced speaker, instantaneously recovered. Of course, she was not solidarizing with Marquis de Custine.
To the contrary, she quoted him as an example of the ignorant and smug European for whom Russians were second-class (non)citizens. Still, after so many years, words remained enlivened in the audience full of people, and they were affective. They created an atmosphere.
The spirit of marquis de Custine was no doubt entertained.
This is not to say that Russians can’t be, or indeed are not, hackers or meddlers in the USA election, but merely to point out that putting Russians against other peoples and calling them “terrorists” will be in line with an old Western tradition of stripping Russians of human dignity by comparing them to bears.
