On Bullshit
A lot these days rides on Z’s ability to think straight and communicate clearly. This is why we should pay special attention to the exceptionally stupid idea he shared this week during a one-hour pow wow with The Washington Post.
Why the president said he wants countries to send Russian citizens back to Russia is understandable, but that doesn’t make the proposal less idiotic, unless he thinks sending Russian citizens home is the same as preventing them from traveling abroad, which makes no sense.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba a day later said EU and G7 states should stop issuing visas to Russian tourists. That’s probably what Z should have said, but did not.
Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak chimed in on Telegram:
So, maybe Z misspoke? If that’s true, it’s really bad. If he was being genuine but his own staff is undermining his message, that’s even worse. Either way, a total muddle at the worst time and place.
In related news, Serhiy Leshchenko, an advisor to the President’s Office, said last week during a TV interview that he, along with his fellow Ukrainians, likes watching video clips of dying/dead Russian soldiers.
It was a polite interview, but at the end something happened that made my hair stand on end.
Ew.
Looking on the bright side, anything anyone in the President’s Office says these days is part of psychological operations (PSYOP) to demoralize Russian invaders.
“Of course, today all public comments are part of PSYOP. We need to demoralize Russia’s military. They must understand that they will always be under attack in our country, that we will burn them here. This is the key,” Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak told BBC on August 9 in a 6,000-word interview.
Maybe this means we should ignore what Z, Kuleba, Yermak, Leshchenko and Podoliak say about the war and devote all our attention and energy to supporting Ukraine’s military. That way we’ll avoid becoming victims of their PSYOP bullshit.