My Prayers for Ukraine

[spectrumbot]

“Just to put it bluntly, these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from neighboring Ukraine. That, quite frankly, is part of it. These are Christians, they are white, they're very similar to the people that live in Poland.” NBC correspondent Kelly Cobiella initially caught flack for this statement that seemed to legitimize the underlying racist tropes at play during the crisis in Ukraine. However, the full clip revealed that she was not herself endorsing this sentiment. However, she was very honestly answering her colleague’s question asking why those fleeing from Ukraine were being welcomed more readily than refugees from Syria. And Cobiella told no lies. It’s blatantly obvious that discrimination and bias are at the heart of why this crisis is being viewed so differently by so many.

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://spectrummagazine.org/node/11675

[Guardyerhart (Yellow Ruby)]

The most effective sanction we could call for is to not buy any fuel or oil or gas from Russia. But Biden will not call for it. Instead, his first week in office he shuts down an excellent pipeline resulting in a sudden gain for Putin, to the tune of $700,000, 000 per day. Action speaks louder than mere words.
Just think, all of this could have been prevented with proper leadership and a plan that was explained to the White House but was refused, to rent our fighter jets of recent years.
Of all the times, this presidential term needed the great leader we did have, but fraudulent elections result in fraudulent leaders who lead with corruption. Many Democrats have switched and will vote wiser next time around.
Guard your hearts during these days of hades. Grow wiser! Continue to pray for our fellow-man in Ukraine.

[Sirje]

Class on REALITY #101.

My Christianity directs me to be gracious and accepting, even loving, towards all people - individual people I come into contact with on my daily walk. It does not direct me, necessarily, to accept or respect, or even like, all cultures or all religions (which are just one part of a culture).

Culture is a “way of life,” made up of a conglomeration of things, including dress, diet, religion, attitudes - toward myriad situations of everyday life. This globe is made up of all kinds of cultures, depending mostly on the location on this globe. Cultures are informed by climate, types of governments, land use and the kinds of crops that can be grown on the land, which, in turn, determines diet etc. The list of things that go into forming of a culture are endless, each factor forming other factors, and it’s very complicated.

As transportation evolved, more and more cultures were confronted by differing cultures. Historically, different cultures often clashed. The different ways of doing religion, government, life in general, was not always accepted by another culture. It’s not always about race, the current issue “du jour”.

“Globe trotters” have enjoyed experiencing different cultures. If the unfamiliar culture impinges on yours, however, you are likely not to like it. Case in point - Europe, as a whole has recently been overrun by people from vastly different cultures because of political unrest and wars, as well as, climate changes that cause all kinds of problems. There was very little regard for where people from very different cultures ended up living; as a result, clashes between cultures caused a rise in crime - and the focus was placed on race and everything became racist. Political opportunists have come to use race as way of controlling the conversation. It’s not about race - it’s about culture, but if one wants to make it about race, there’s your opportunity.

[aa5adriver (Thomas J. Clark)]

I agree. It is about cultural differences.Even though as Christians, we are directed to be gracious, accepting and even loving, towards all people, we are also directed to go into all the world, baptizing all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All of this implies a “cultural superiority” of our Christian “culture” to all other cultures, religions, etc. Perhaps this is why there has been so many conflicts and wars over the last 2000 years, the perceived superiority of whatever “version” of Christianity over other forms of Christianity, and certainly over all other religions, spills over to other elements of cultural differences. We must convert or annihilate those different from us, especially when it comes to religion. This is the will of God?? Do we create God in our own image in this regard? Certainly, we lack humility, and we would do well to observe how Jesus lived and worked. He said that the Kingdom of God was/is at hand, was all around us, and if we would but look after and love each other, we could have “Heaven on earth”. It is wise to be aware that we do not save the souls of people, but that is the jurisdiction of Jesus/God/Holy Spirit. We can only be passive participants and make no claims of religious or cultural superiority. It is my belief that God works with the Islamist, the Hindu, the Jew, the myriad other religions throughout the world revealing Himself to each as He sees fit, to be incorporated culturally in each instance. For us as Christians, this has been through the person of the Lord Jesus, and are no more or less worthy to claim fellowship with God than any of the others. We should walk our lives with humility.

[vandieman (jeremy)]

@Guardyerhart

Of all the times, this presidential term needed the great leader we did have, but fraudulent elections result in fraudulent leaders who lead with corruption

there was nothing fraudulent about the 2020 presidential election, except the efforts of the loser to overturn it, with those efforts including clear illegalities…hopefully he’ll be successfully prosecuted and put away for a long time…

but i do agree that shutting down Keystone was a mistake…while it’s true that Biden has approved 35% more drilling permits on public lands in his 1st year of office than Trump in his 1st year, Keystone would have ensured N. American oil independence and eliminated any possibility for Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Venezuela to use their oil supplies against us (Iran and Venezuela are basically circumventing U.S. sanctions, and the U.S. is turning a bit of a blind eye for now)…Germany, and Europe in general, are also discovering that it’s never wise to depend on sources for oil that don’t share our values…

but never say never: Keystone can be revived…Alberta is applying pressure through a lawsuit of $3.1 billion in compensation for lost revenue…this is a drop in the bucket of Alberta’s GDP, but it is sending a clear message…this Ukraine crisis is sharpening that message…who knows what Biden will end up doing…Senator Manchin wants Keystone, and Biden wants Manchin’s vote for Build Back Better…something tells me we could eventually see a deal between these two that opens up Keystone again, and relatively soon…Biden has only a little over two yrs left in his term, and Manchin has only three yrs…the fact that we aren’t hearing any talk of Keystone likely means it is being discussed…

[Magdalena (Magdalena Bock)]

There is one quite important point missing in this article, and I do not know why it has been omitted. If you, the author, are unaware of it, it proves bad research. If you omitted it on purpose, it shows you are biased.
It is a fact that in 2015/2016 the refugees reaching Europe were mostly young men. Now any sociologist can explain to you, citing crime statistics, that young men are more prone to violence (outside their homes) than older men or women (whereas older men tend more towards domestic violence, if you believe German statistics). Due to factors such as age, lack of occupation, culture clash, mental illness etc. some (by far not many or most) young refugees were involved in crimes such as theft, robbery, drug trafficking, rape and murder, in several European countries. I do not contest that these things could have happened with any group of young men, their “misbehaviour” not limited to a special culture. Additionally, cultural factors led to “misunderstandings”, as girls and women were not accustomed to dealing with young men with a cultural background that different, sometimes resulting in abuse and other cimes. Statistics show that most “recipients” of violence at the hand of refugees were other refugees, though, but this is nothing to rejoice about. The “welcome mentality” changed over the years.

The refugees coming in from Ukraine are women and children. They are not perceived as dangerous. Their husbands and fathers, who sometimes bring them to the borders and then return to fight the aggressors are admired for their bravery. Sure, Ukrainians are more similar to most Europeans than let’s say people from Afghanistan. But you should have seen Germans welcome Afghans, Syrians, people from the African continent some years ago in Munich, throwing teddy bears as a sign of their enthusiasm towards the refugees - it did not matter at all that the refugees looked different. Katrin Göring-Eckardt, a German politician (Green Party) declared in November 2015 that the German population would become more colourful, diverse and religious because of the refugees. That does not sound like racism to me.

Instead of insinuating that a whole country (“I’m praying for Ukraine… to stop being racist”) or a whole continent (Europe) is displaying racism, you should recognize that 1. the sad racist behaviour you describe at the beginning of your article has been displayed by some Ukrainians or Europeans, but not by ALL of them, and that you have absolutely no idea how racist any population besides the U.S. population is, because you live in the U.S., and 2. that Europeans might have reasons from experience to rather welcome women with children than young men with a different cultural background.
In these times, it is not beneficial to display arrogance and judgement, living thousands of miles apart and not being really involved in the situation. Instead, you should rejoice in the fact that people are so freely willing to help, that Russians are donating for Ukrainians, that Russians are risking their freedom and health demonstrating against war (over 7500 Russians have been arrested so far, if you believe German press), that a couple (she from Russia, he from Belarus) living in Germany took a Ukrainian refugee and her children into their home (as shown in German television Friday 4th of March). What are you doing besides saying prayers which sound more like a reproach?