Not a hint of the fear of death of conscripted recruits - on both sides. Not a trace of the agony of burning, shattered, bleeding people after a rocket hit. Not a hint of death. Of corpses in sight, of people with whom you had exchanged words just a few minutes before. About people who were brothers and sisters, fathers, mothers, children. Friends, enemies. People who just a few weeks ago didn't have the slightest idea. Not the slightest.

You can’t win a war ,” said Jeanette Rankin, “ win an earthquake .” In this respect, I do not wish this world the sinking of the “Moscow” (that is already behind it) or the sinking of entire nations, but rather a new “Battleship Potemkin”. And a revolution of humanity that ultimately tracks down Putin and his fellow intellectuals in every crevice of this planet. And holds you accountable.

The previous lines come from Walter Gröbchen, Austrian journalist, blogger, author and music publisher.

We laugh: The problem of glorification, ridicule and trolling

I read Walter Gröbchen's comment and agree with it. More so, I've noticed a certain narrative on social media over the last few weeks. I have seen a multitude of memes, shareables, trolling and glorification regarding the Ukraine war. It's always about glorifying Ukraine's naturally inferior situation. Particularly impressive and effective, and at the same time humorous, are the shareables designed around tractors that tow Russian war machines.

That's funny in a way.

Yes, it's funny when pictures appear of Russian tanks hiding from Ukrainian tractors to avoid being towed away. In general, the Ukrainian tractors! We have a very exciting narrative here.
Andrew Wolf
mimikama

It is certainly not fake when we talk about individual cases in which broken down Russian military vehicles were towed away by tractors. That simply happened. But what is exciting is what has developed from it in terms of historical storytelling. Because here a new narrative is born, one that builds a glorification (all tractors are superior to Russian war material) on the basis of an original absurdity (tractors are superior to tanks).

This glorification is of course a kind of penalty for any kind of trolling.

Yes, we laugh about it. We laugh when pictures appear of Ukrainian tractors Russian space rockets . Pictures in which they Russian fighter planes or even in supposed military parades . Of course, behind all of these depictions lies the satirically exaggerated David versus Goliath narrative. In certain respects, this depiction is also laughable, because it was deliberately designed to be humorous and exaggerated. It's also an attempt to laugh in the face of horror.

Of course, it makes me smile when I see a photo of a sunken tank with a tractor rolling behind it and the words: “Russian tank with snorkel hiding from Ukrainian tractor.” The question with these types of depictions always lies with the real victims who are behind such an image. Did the tank sink without casualties? Does this image generally belong in the context of war? Is it even appropriate to laugh when people die?

And now we have a new situation.

A Russian warship has sunk . The guided missile cruiser “Moskva” sank. This point is not about individual war machines being towed away. It's about a warship on which many people serve/have served. There are also reports that the crew was evacuated. However, this assumes that the ship has experienced damage in a reasonably controlled manner. However, we don't know that. According to Russian media it was an accident, according to Ukrainian reports it was a sinking after rocket fire. If it were the latter, people may well have died.

Similar reports appear on social media, which of course claim to have a humorous character. I don't even want to go into individual puns or memes. I also understand the “in your face!” thinking behind the memes and shareables being spread regarding the sunken warship. Without question, many people (without judging) would like the war to end in which Russia ends up as the loser. David wins against Goliath. And we all sit in the distance and laugh at the loser, who imagined himself to be an arrogant winner from the start.

We laugh. But why are we laughing?

Is it a reaction to come to terms with the horror of war? Laughter is certainly also a form of coping. Someone wrote to me that this is especially the case when you realize that you are helpless in the face of the situation or that you are in danger of becoming depressed. I can easily understand that.

Is it laughing at Russia because the aggressor “deserves” opprobrium? I also read that nowhere are more jokes made than in dictatorships or under other permanently stressful circumstances. This also makes situations more bearable. It's a bitter laugh. Of course, in our powerless position, we must not forget: humor helps!

No. I'm certainly not morally mad. I also laugh in places where laughter is borderline. Because laughter must not go away and can also have an important psychohygienic function. I'm just worried and worried about where the limits of our malice lie. But where are the limits? I don't presume to define the limits of laughter. For heaven's sake, definitely not! That would also be completely wrong. To many, my words may sound like a reproach or reprimand, but they are not. Everyone has to decide for themselves when it is still appropriate to laugh when faced with suffering, pain or death. No matter whether it is about the victim or the perpetrator. I as well.

For my part, I just think: It's war.
It's about misery. It's about death. About murder.
We should be careful with our laughter.
No matter who is dying.

Just as Walter Gröbchen writes:

We laugh.

And don't have the slightest idea. Not the slightest. Not a hint of the fear of death of conscripted recruits - on both sides. Not a trace of the agony of burning, shattered, bleeding people after a rocket hit. Not a hint of death. Of corpses in sight, of people with whom you had exchanged words just a few minutes before. About people who were brothers and sisters, fathers, mothers, children. Friends, enemies. People who just a few weeks ago didn't have the slightest idea. Not the slightest.
Walter Gröbchen

That could also be of interest

Extremists planned Lauterbach kidnapping and takeover of power in Germany. A Telegram chat group is said to have planned a blackout and “civil war-like conditions” with attacks, as well as a kidnapping of Health Minister Lauterbach. Investigators suspect that the group includes so-called Reich citizens and opponents of corona policy. Continue reading …


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Notes:
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