• Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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    5 days ago

    Wow, that degree of blatant racism is a new low for this community.

    So it’s ok to be racist as long as it’s against russians?

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Racism or other forms of discrimination apply to a protected class of people; any group sharing attributes beyond their control (bearing dark skin, a particular place of birth, a religion, etc)

      Russians are a protected class. Vladimir Putin, the evil individual who ordered an unprovoked war on Ukraine causing thousands of innocent deaths, is not a protected class.

      While I have seen racist uses of monkey imagery towards black people, never have I seen it towards Russians. In conclusion, there is strong implication that this meme targets the latter, not the former.

      • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 days ago

        While I have seen racist uses of monkey imagery towards black people, never have I seen it towards Russians.

        Welcome to Lemmy. Get ready to see more and more racism towards russians.

      • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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        5 days ago

        While I have seen racist uses of monkey imagery towards black people, never have I seen it towards Russians.

        Ever since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, German discourse at least was full of racist remarks on how russians basically have no culture, aren’t even European, etc.

        I’d argue that comparing people to Apes should be judged just like depicting people like squids/kraken (which is an antisemitic caricature).

    • hitwright@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 days ago

      How do you find it racist? How is this meme directed against Russians? Do you really not see the familiarities between Putin and Adolf Hitler? Are you okay, mate?

      • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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        5 days ago

        Putin’s clearly supposed to look like a monkey in the picture (also: “Mein Banan”). I didn’t even see the connection to Hitler.

        • hitwright@lemmy.worldOP
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          5 days ago

          Hitler is famous for his book “Mein Kampf” which translates to “My fight” the book cover is literally almost the same.

          Still don’t get how making fun of a warmonger using a history person makes me racist tho.

          Is it that you look highly at Putin and have embraced his cult of personality?

          • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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            5 days ago

            Thanks, I know of Hitler and Mein Kampf. I even know German, wouldn’t you believe it. 🙄 (Also: the better translation would be “My Struggle”)

            Can’t you see that the image looks a lot like racist caricatures of when humans (usually plack people) where drawn like/compared to apes.

            Is it that you look highly at Putin and have embraced his cult of personality?

            WTF? Taking umbridge with racist imagery means that I’m a Putin simp now? Do you *reallyy think that racist caricatures are OK when it’s directed at the “right” people? O.o

            • hitwright@lemmy.worldOP
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              5 days ago

              I guess I can see the connection you’re trying to make. But I can hardly still connect it to mindless rascism since there are quite a few reasons why monkey comparison is used.

              There is a cult of personality around Putin, or any other dictator. Where making fun of him, lands you in jail. Public images like that are a fight against it. (Like Jinping drawn like winnie pooh).

              Also I’m pretty sure that you’re the one being racist. Since you saw the monkey and instantly came to the conclusion of racism (with the example of black people). For shame.

              • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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                5 days ago

                But I can hardly still connect it to mindless rascism since there are quite a few reasons why monkey comparison is used.

                Are the reasons because russians are sub-humans, maybe? /s

                There is a cult of personality around Putin, or any other dictator. Where making fun of him, lands you in jail. Public images like that are a fight against it. (Like Jinping drawn like winnie pooh).

                Again: how does this excuse racism? You’re constantly dodging the issue.

                Also I’m pretty sure that you’re the one being racist.

                Ah, the good old alt-right defense of “I can’t be racist if I didn’t think about it. In fact, if you think aboutit, you’re the racist”-defense. 🙄

                • hitwright@lemmy.worldOP
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                  5 days ago

                  I guess you see Putin and think all Russians. Sad. You should really try to meet some. Quite interesting people with their own culture and traditions.

                  Also I’m pretty sure quite a lot of them right now would feel quite attacked by you grouping them with the Ape that decides it’s a good idea to casually launch ICBMs and risk preemptive response.

              • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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                5 days ago

                Caricaturing people of other ethnicities look like monkeys to degrade them has a looong, racist tradition. About 100 years ago, russians were considered a backwards, horde of uncivilized asian/mongols in Europe.

                I simply see these kinds of caricatures as racist. And I’m not alone in this.

                It’s about as cool as depicting him as a kraken (antisemitic), or as a drag queen, to “own” him.

    • sepi@piefed.social
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      5 days ago

      You mad? You russian? If the answer is yes to either, thank you for making my day.

        • thericofactor@sh.itjust.works
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          4 days ago

          Wait until you find out about the Xi Jinping Winnie the Pooh images. If you think this is what racism is, you need to go back to school.

          • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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            4 days ago

            Is there historical precedent of racist caricatures depicting a group of people as cute cartoon teddy bears?

            • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              There is no historical precedent of racist depiction of russians as monkeys. there is however a history of racist depiction of russians as bears, including teddy bears.

              • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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                4 days ago

                From Wikipedia:

                However, Russians have also used it to represent their country, where it has been used as a “symbol of national pride”

                • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
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                  4 days ago

                  It has also been used as a racist depiction by western media for a long time. These things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, using animals/animal symbols a cultural holds in high regard, as a racist caricature towards those cultures, is very common. But yes, the drunken, wild animal, bear depiction of russians has been used as a racist caricature for a long time. Bear toys are often used to emasculate a particular figure going with this theme.