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Re: I've lived in the South and in Russia TyrReborn Send a noteboard - 27/10/2015 05:15:54 AM

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The attitudes are similar. People in Russia aren't going to jail for being gay. Every now and then they've jailed people for staging gay pride parades without a permit, but those sentences are just like here - they're not long-term.

Also, although the majority are generally tolerant in both places, hate crimes happen in both places from time to time.

I lived for 11 years in the South and visit regularly. I also visit Russia regularly and most of my friends are from the former Soviet Union somewhere. I know what I'm talking about.


Fair enough, I will never claim to know Russian opinions. All I know, all I've known, is Bible Belt Christians who, while not supporting LGBT rights, have never outright hated/acted on hatred towards LGBT people.


You also are misstating the situation in Russia. There is not a return to communism in general. Most enterprise is in private hands. The problem is that the state has too much ability to interfere in that private business. In this respect Russia has never changed. The tsars maintained government monopolies in certain areas and tried to direct everything top down. The communists took it to an extreme that no one wanted to see, but Putin is still following in Russian traditions regarding the power of government. I don't know, it could have something to do with the geography of Russia - a very cold climate, a lot of land, poorly defined natural borders - that creates this centralization of power. It could also have something to do with the way Russians erode any power they see as weak at the first opportunity they get. Either way, my issues with Putin are that he just uses these convenient precedents rather than trying to move away from them.

As I said, I've never lived in or really known Russians. My entire view is skewed by US media, so my exposure has been corrupted at best. It is nice to learn that Russia is not as communistic as I was lead to believe, however, it is still disturbing that the state has as much power as it does.

My brother is a US Army Captain stationed in Germany, and his opinion is that President Obama has made a wise choice by not contesting the annexation of Crimea and the subterfuge in Eastern Ukraine. As a person who obviously knows more of the situation than myself, what is your opinion of the current discontent in the area? I am legitimately curious, and very interested in seeing more accurate depictions than the US media provides.

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Putin is finally doing what Obama couldn't Tom - 19/10/2015 08:31:34 PM 751 Views
That may have been true three or four years ago. Legolas - 19/10/2015 09:07:45 PM 463 Views
He's not "viable"? That's silly. Tom - 19/10/2015 10:09:45 PM 389 Views
You're also approaching this from a "consensus-building" conviction. Tom - 20/10/2015 12:51:18 AM 402 Views
All of your examples are missing the salient point here. Legolas - 20/10/2015 07:10:13 AM 489 Views
The secular dicator is better argument falls apart if he can't control his country random thoughts - 20/10/2015 05:46:56 PM 348 Views
Well, but now you're selectively choosing facts Tom - 21/10/2015 02:18:44 PM 322 Views
If you run a junk yard you can tolerate a mena dog that bites only if he keep the thieves out random thoughts - 22/10/2015 04:22:18 PM 342 Views
Seriously, it's not hard to spell "Assad" correctly. Tom - 22/10/2015 05:43:15 PM 348 Views
Too bad he's an Iranian ally AgentApple - 22/10/2015 06:35:17 PM 312 Views
Yes, but right now they're fighting the Sunnis Tom - 22/10/2015 06:55:49 PM 353 Views
You say that almost as if he's ever shown any inclination to risk a war with Israel... Legolas - 22/10/2015 07:28:43 PM 358 Views
Oh no, he certainly hasn't. Tom - 22/10/2015 09:06:58 PM 329 Views
Thats funny coming the the Russin apologist in chief random thoughts - 23/10/2015 02:23:44 PM 365 Views
All the information here came from Western sources. Tom - 23/10/2015 03:08:24 PM 413 Views
What are your criticisms ? AgentApple - 25/10/2015 01:47:51 PM 335 Views
My criticisms Tom - 25/10/2015 07:29:52 PM 346 Views
I'm late to the party, and I have no dog in the Russian fight, but... TyrReborn - 27/10/2015 01:41:27 AM 399 Views
I've lived in the South and in Russia Tom - 27/10/2015 02:39:09 AM 346 Views
Re: I've lived in the South and in Russia TyrReborn - 27/10/2015 05:15:54 AM 504 Views
Regarding your last question The Shrike - 27/10/2015 01:57:04 PM 417 Views
Russian foreign policy Tom - 27/10/2015 02:00:54 PM 325 Views
Hmmm... AgentApple - 27/10/2015 11:23:43 AM 364 Views
God no. Putin has very real and easily understood goals. Tom - 27/10/2015 02:05:46 PM 393 Views
assassinate his political enemies? moondog - 21/10/2015 10:36:21 PM 327 Views
Try bombing the terrorists, instead of the actual authorities. Cannoli - 22/10/2015 05:19:08 PM 311 Views
except Putin is bombing people we've trained, so we're training terrorists? moondog - 22/10/2015 06:18:58 PM 342 Views
We were arming them at a minimum. *NM* Tom - 22/10/2015 06:56:16 PM 138 Views
Duh. Cannoli - 26/10/2015 12:40:08 AM 403 Views
or put it another way: do we really want to actually wade into ANOTHER war in the Middle East? moondog - 22/10/2015 06:25:37 PM 360 Views
Only two? Cannoli - 26/10/2015 12:39:03 AM 469 Views
I attempted to watch the Benghazi select committee but... TyrReborn - 27/10/2015 05:26:20 AM 352 Views
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