I for one am glad to be in both NATO and EU. From Poland. And we were being blackmailed by Russia every winter - by slowing down pumping of gas and having "issues" when we decided policies etc. BTW Russia finally closed the gas to Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria. We had plan to go independent on Russia's Gas by the end of the year.
Without the gas Euro, the Ruskis would be utterly destitute. His customers, the nation's life blood, are now ALL looking for other alternatives. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot; people say he's a "4th dimensional chess player," honestly though, I think he's having trouble with checkers.
Whenever someone tells me that RU-vid is basically garbage, I send them the link to this channel. If only this kind of sober, reasoned thinking and discussion was the norm. Thanks, Beau.
People who think RU-vid is garbage are people who have built a YT algorithm profile that is garbage. RU-vid is kind of whatever you make out of it. YT has been one of the most powerful learning tools of my life.
@@donnievance1942 : That can be true for people who are not at risk of indoctrination. But I've literally searched for cartoons on a freshly installed OS and browser and they were already pushing alt-right channels at me. Again, I was searching for *cartoons.* YT *is* garbage. That doesn't mean there isn't great content, there is. But YT itself is not the same entity as the creators. YT is that algorithm feeding alt-right channels to children.
Have talked to actual people online asking them,(from Sweden and Finland), how they felt about joining NATO. ALL would prefer to stay neutral, Russia changed their minds.
As a Finnish person, I confirm this view. Most of the Finnish people would love to stay neutral and keep good relations with Russia. We'd love Russia to be a reliable, safe neighbor that we could have good economic and cultural relations with. Alas, this is not possible any more, so as a people we're ready to join Nato.
As Swedish person I am worried about Russia's recent history of aggression against us and Finland, I even made a video about it ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Bb0hSY1YfPM.html
@@joonaskekkonen5160 It was never possible, Joonas. It's not that Russia has changed.. it's that they haven't changed. You want to play nice with Russia, you'd have been getting in bed with a predator.
@@stevenwoodward5923May I suggest, 'Copy&Paste'. Have you seen how many STILL support a undeniable failure of a human being?? I'm worried you'll develop Carpal Tunnel syndrome!🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for covering this topic. I'm so tired of people parroting the russian talking points of "they were forced to attack because of NATO/USA/West" and "Their security was threatened". How many times has NATO or any other western country attacked Russia since WWII? Now, how many times has Russia invaded neighbouring countries during the last 2 decades? I learned to understand exactly what Beau said in this video. We can't try to understand Russia's actions trough "our" point of view. For them, everything that threatens their ability to just attack/invade countries whenever they want, they'll consider that a threat to their security.
This argument was never any better than "if she wouldn't have provoked her husband she wouldn't have been beaten". It's just victim-blaming pure and simple. A sovereign nation is free to join any alliance it wishes to join, doing so is no excuse for its neighbors to start wars of aggression.
Yeah. Russia and NATO both have ICBMs. Range doesn't matter. NATO expansion isn't a threat to Russia. What NATO membership represents is a red line for Russian military imperialism. It is only a threat to their imperialist ambitions. Someone who thinks NATO is a threat to Russia is buying into the position that Russia has a right engage in imperial conquest.
Russia sees Ukraine as a gateway for European armies to invade them. Likewise Poland, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh. They want to control those countries for their own security, and they see a sovereign Ukraine as an existential threat.
@@dont-want-no-wrench : They found him years ago. We've all been on the front lines of putins propaganda war for more than a decade now. Never reply directly to them, they are paid per each direct reply we give them.
Oh I've heard this kind of logic before.... "she shouldn't have worn that dress"... "he shouldn't have resisted arrest" etc. To a fascist the recipient of force is guilty until proven dead.
I'm from Ukraine but living abroad since 2013. I'm always baffled with the NATO expansion argumentation for the Russian invasion of my homeland (yes, people say it to my face in one form or the other all the time). There are so many facts that contradict it, but people are happy to overlook the nuances and repeat Russian narratives. For some reason, many find it difficult to accept the obvious: Russia is simply engaged in brutal conquest, just like in middle ages. Yes, in 21st century. Beau's analysis is a great explanation that the arguments used as an alternative to Russian imperialism (NATO expansion) is in fact deeply imperialistic. Keep up with great work, it really helps us debunking Russian narratives.
@@NoName-OG1 Yes, Euromaidan was a transition point from "soft" version of Russian imperialism to the military one. But really, this is just one (important) point in the string of events leading to this war. For instance, a series of "gas wars" (in 2006-2009) happened before Euromaidan, and they were meant to influence Ukrainian politics using gas as a weapon + discredit Ukraine as a gas transporter. There is a sayings in Ukraine - nothing costs Ukraine as much as "cheap" Russian gas. Soft imperialism in action. Look at Belorus. They did not have anything like Euromidan, so they did not experience Russian invasion, but they are de facto occupied by Russia at this point.
Person from one of those small powerless NATO countries, namely Estonia thanks and salutes you for your thoughts that show not all is rotten in "old west". This is great channel and I'm glad that i found it. Keep it up!
Hi Estonian. Good to hear from a regular person in your area of the world. I'm sure this is an uncertain time. Here's to a victory for Ukraine as soon as possible.
Half our country objected to American imperialism...most recently, in Iraq. We are now fighting to prevent the right wing imperialists from taking over our own country!
@@seybertooth9282 Putin literally legitimized nato's place in the modern world with the invasion. He's like an addicted gambler who was on a hot streak and kept saying "one more roll" and then lost his mortgage payment at the casino by pushing his luck wayyy past what was reasonable. Should've quit while you were ahead Putin, hope you get everything that's coming to you.
@@ZachJ-0 so, my friend, you say that he caused the Expansion? He was not even in power, when the expansion started. And defenetely not because he was agressive towards NATO! Just a short walk on the memory lane, he called the US and all the western powers “colleges “two years ago. Did they considered or rather just listen to him on his speech in the UN in 2014? Nobody was taking him seriously. And he showed them in Syria that he is not a clown! Egoistic behavior!? Imagine the situation, you have a way bigger property than your neighbors full with Oil Gas, minerals and people, under heavy sanctions. And all your neighbor want what you have but free! And think about that situation, but think hard, make peace with them, and try to protect your people? he tried and tried to talk to them, did they tried as hard as him? Yes! But with dark and capitalistic way! And here coms their arrogance in the picture. George Bush senior was talking about the rich oil reserves in the Middle East, “ it’s a shame that those stupid Arabs having so much oil. “ Other president said after his Nobel peace prize, “ we are Exeptional “ Exeptional in what category? 40 million homeless other 60 millions on heavy drugs, and both numbers are rapidly growing. Just like the defense budget does. Anybody threatened the US to overrun and raping girls women even boys? Or delivering heavy weapons to US soil? And if you can’t answer to all those facts and questions, history will!!
It strikes me that there remains a significant number of people in the United States who do believe that imperialism is OK and that is how the world should work and that Russia is doing exactly what it needs to - many of those people elected to office in Congress at the moment. Many of whom still support dismantling NATO altogether and doing away with such alliances.
I disagree with those people, but at least they have a intellectual honesty about them that so many others do not. I think we could negotiate with that crowd, but there is no talking to the people that don't think Russia is even doing anything, as if Kiev didn't predate Moscow, that the USSR did not plant people in the lands for just this excuse to be given later. Those people deny reality.
If your an American Imperialist your still trying to 'win' the imperialism, and under that logic you would want to maintaine NATO because it clearly stops the expansion of a rival imperial power. The Pat Bucanan type who were opposed to NATO expansion were only opposed because they though it would risk nuclear war in which we all lose, their oposition was entirly about US defence and that Eastern Europe was not worth fighting over. To be for NATO disolution you have to be an isolationist or a Kremlin puppet or intentionally looking to see a breakdown of international law and order to create some kind of Madmax world.
To a certain extent, it's just that "foreign policy as a poker gamer where everyone's cheating" argument Beau's fond of using. Right or wrong don't matter. Power and strategic advantage matter. You can call it imperialism if you want, but it's the same game everyone is playing. Consider the western politicians warning about Russia's response to NATO expansion in that light. It's not necessarily saying Russia would be morally right, just predicting what they would do,
I understand why America is imperialist because the world is full of imperialist countries. I know that other imperialist countries won't change anytime soon, so I'm okay (not happy but okay) with the status quo of the USA as global leader. Only because I'm not okay with China or Russia filling that role.
That’s what I was saying from the get go when I heard the nato expansion claims. Why can’t a sovereign nation make a national decision regarding who they align with on the foreign policy scene? Why should it be up to the US or Russia to dictate to Ukraine where they stand when it comes to national alliances? The only country that has the final say in the matter of Ukraine joining NATO is Ukraine, if Ukraine wants to do that and Russia’s response is to bomb innocent civilians to death then I think it’s pretty clear which nation is in the wrong. That anybody would try to excuse Russia’s war crimes is abhorrent, that they would do so using flawed and half baked logic is just plain stupidly abhorrent.
In theory, sure. As a practical matter, in that big poker game where everyone cheats that Beau talks about, you can predict other nations responding when you make alliances. Sure, Russia's still wrong and it's no excuse for the attack, much less war crimes committed during it, but whether NATO expansion played a role in the decision is a harder question.
@@teblack2 Russia would be denied entrance to NATO because of it's chronic aggression against former Warsaw pact states, both before and after the breakup of the USSR. What do you think should happen? Stop deliberately misunderstanding what was said in this video. You're one of the people Beau was talking about.
@@donnievance1942 Sir I suggest you to don't judge or tag people before you know them, I can see you are thinking something I never said. My question is a redundant one, if you can't understand why I do such a dumb question you cannot see through the message that they are selling you.
@@wayfarer_1 I'd argue that on some level the realpolitik has to be true, but it doesn't merely argue for letting Ukraine be squished. It's in US/NATO interests to help Ukraine stop Russia - weakens a competitor, deters future aggression that might spill over onto them, etc. But it's also precluding going all in and fighting Russia directly, due to the risks of the nuclear deterrent, whether or not that would "vindicate Western values". Part of understanding the poker game is realizing it's still going on even when the right move for the game happens to be the one you think agrees with our values. On some level, as I suggested, it has to be true. Superpowers have a lot more leeway, which they can abuse or use to uphold values, but other nations are more constrained, so it's more obvious there. Even superpowers though can set themselves for value if they ignore utilitarian considerations.
The idea that NATO or "the west" is somehow responsible for Russia's actions was always victim-blaming. It implies that Ukraine could have avoided being invaded by not turning towards Europe. It's no different from claiming an abused spouse could have avoided being beaten by "not provoking" his or her partner.
This is so true. Besides, Nato is not expanding, but nations out of fear of Russian aggression, are joining it. Btw, Last time a Russian neighbour joined Nato was in 2004, eighteen years ago! It really has nothing to do with this conflict
"See what you made me do? It's your fault" the classic abuse line, "I had to do it, I didn't want to but you made me do it, it wasn't my fault." and the variations on it. It's never their fault, it is always someone else, "They did everything on their side Perfectly" someone else did this to embarrass them...." and the whine goes on with the Cheese. Both need to be moved out of ear shot. :)
A couple weeks ago I saw a pickup truck that said on the rear window of the cab "Long Live the Ghost of Kyiv". Today I saw a truck with a large homemade banner that cleverly said "Puck Futin", done up in the colors of the Ukranian flag!
Interestingly enough how Finland and Sweden decided to put in their applications to join Star Fleet (NATO). Anyways, their requests are being fast tracked the last I heard.
Well considering how we have been threatened in the past , as I have recounted in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Bb0hSY1YfPM.html it has come to the point that the back of the camel has become broken.
I heard they both will be admitted by May apparently. I think I heard yesterday. Both governments have now approved to move forward. Edit: sorry guys.. I just saw yesterday that it appears Finland parliament is voting in May but seems it will be 'fast tracked ', for lack of a better phrase. Got the impression the Swiss are moving in May to vote as well. Just trying to keep things as accurate as possible :)
@@micheledimond interesting. I heard the Swedes were considering a referendum, at least. It's not like us Scandis to rush into things, we prefer to spend years (or decades) discussing and deliberating xD.
When one understands that there are significant petro-chemical reserves in East Ukraine & under the Black Sea, the rationale for Putin's invasion snaps into tighter focus.
@Richard Pierpoint And funnily enough, the US or NATO hasn't invaded them. Pretty sure they could use some kind of BS justification about human rights or overthrowing Maduro. But they haven't invaded yet. (Also, I think Canada has more, especially with the new fields discovered under the Grand Banks in the past few years.0
Russia also already borders a NATO country: USA, at least in the winter. Big Diomede and Little Diomede. When it's cold enough, you could walk from one to the other.
You could also say that the US should go back to being under UK rule the same as Ukraine should go back to being under Russian rule. Makes as much sense. Which is of course none at all.
Except I've seen people--Americans, in fact--say just that. Off topic but there's a bizarre but thriving world of pro-British Empire Americans that believe Britain is "The US, except without the bad parts" (up in the air whether they mean "less racist" or "all white meat"). There is always a crazier MFer out there.
Ukraine was once a part of the Russian Empire. That's why the Russians feel entitled to control it. That's also why the Bolsheviks felt entitled to invade Ukraine, rather than allow it to be independent after the fall of the Russian Empire.
@@jo-annegawley5027 Yes it was. Before the revolution, much of what is Ukraine today was part of the Russian Empire. Catherine The Great conquered much of central Ukraine and the Krimea peninsula during the 1760s to the 1780s. And after the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth collapsed in the 1790s, what now is western Ukraine was split between Russia and the Habsburg ruled Austria. With a very brief exception right after the revolution, Ukraine was under Russian rule for two centuries.
@@Innerspace100 GET OVER YOURSELF..You sound like an IDIOT. You know....they didn't have internet then so maybe you should "Log off" and time travel back to ancient times, you Doofus. P.S. Under Russian rule doesn't make it RUSSIAN OWNED! WHAT can't your little brain grasp? Maybe Mexico should invade Florida because wayyyyy back...pffft, Doofus.
Not gonna lie, dude, looking at all this made me think: "So, this is how the rest of the world felt when America decided to invade Iraq and topple Saddam in 2003..."
If not for American Imperialism, we would have a democratic Muslim nation (Iran), there never would have been a war on terror and Osama would just be an unfortunate Arab boy's name (it's a feminine name give to boys, think "Lindsay"), we'd have a tenth of the refugees on our Southern border (Central American meddling), who KNOWS how much better off Africa might be. We would lose ... the Panama Canal, maybe, it seems inevitable when you look at the map. Add some more, I'm sure I don't have it all down.
I would say no ...I would say that the timeline the US did it on or the cooked book of reasons is what made people angry at the US but Saddam was an evil POS and very much had violent aggressive inclinations against his own people and the region ...sooner or later Saddam was going to galvanize the world against him Bush 1&2 just made him their scapegoat
@@jcspoon573 if not for American imperialism another power would have filled that vacuum. You live in this fantasy world where you think if tomorrow the USA becomes the poster child for pacifism everything would become perfect. You have to change every country. How is that possible?
Many networks have few who've taken broadbased history, and fewer that have spent time abroad? If you look @ the aggregate education and experience of their staff, it resembles a media sales staff of a fortune 500 company? Seriously.. Yes, there's outliers..., but most could go right to Carvana and have the resume to fit in first day...((
NATO: Exists Pseudoleftists and Russian Imperialists: I see you have chosen death. It's the usual suspects. The ones that posture as if they have consistent principles, but really they're only anti-US.
Thank you for this video. This what happens now in Ukraine is the exact reason why the Baltic states and Ukraine hesitated to give back the nuclear weapons to Russia in the 90s. There is a valid reason why these countries joined NATO or want to join.
near the end what beau said about attacking a smaller country sounds to me the excuse abusers use to explain why they beat some one to death - they didn't do things I liked - its not a reason at all ever.
To the contrary. The Ukrainians in the Ukrainian-held Donbas refer to those areas controlled by Russia since 2015 as the "ungoverned zone," because there's rampant crime and corruption and almost no services or infrastructure. Like much of Russia proper. Nobody wants to live under those conditions.
My wife is A born and raised in Russia till 32. She is against the invasion. Her parents who have lived here 10 years support the invasion. Even my wife wants to occasionally find excuses for Russian behavior in Ukraine. From what my inlaws say and at times my wife is much more nuanced then the nato thing. Really don't hear them use that. It's more the Nazis stuff. Or the historical idea that Ukraine is really a part of Russia. Stuff like that. Putin and Trump are the same just murky the water with a bunch of nonsense. But some of that nonsense fits many different ideologies and view points. Watching my wife and her parents picking up on different BS from Putin is sad and disheartening.
It's seems similar to trump in the way he would do or say something really stupid and then every one around him would try to justify or explain what he meant . I am glad he's not president anymore , things could only have been worse .
Please consider that Russians have been taught for generations that Ukrainians are "lesser" Russians that Russians can do what they want with. This is summarized by that "brother nations" nonsense, which conceals a mythological genesis of the Russian state not tied to actual history and which Russians are taught instead of what's accurate (like the alternate history of WWII I'm sure you're familiar with). Your wife's relatives, and to a certain extent your wife, are brainwashed. There's no nicer way to put it. Be patient and encouraging of support for Ukraine and pro-democracy entities in Russia, and try to stay positive.
As a european and a child of the latter half of the cold war I see few around my age that didn't expect a reaction from Russia to the expansion of NATO. But this kind of reaction, if it could be called one, doesn't even benefit Russia. Todays Kremlin makes most of the soviet era Kremlin seem rational and measured.
I agree with you, Russia right now is scarier than even the soviet was and has had an history of threatening their neighbors, as I have described in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Bb0hSY1YfPM.html
Today’s Kremlin is Putin, an aging dictator who, thanks to his success in holding power internally and in influencing western politics (Trump and Brexit) has become convinced he’s infallible. The old USSR had a politburo: decisions were taken by a group of people: more chances of someone of them being in touch with reality. Maybe I am naive but when the Berlin wall fell I thought we should invite Russia to join nato. If we are all under the same umbrella no one can have the excuse of feeling threatened by their neighbors.
In 2003 I thought it was just me not understanding enough about the situation, and especially the reason, why the US and some NATO countries invaded Iraq. Turned out it wasn't me. After that, I started paying more attention.
The Iraq invasion was based on a lie in public, Arabs did not bring down the WTC, that was absolutely an inside job. There are things said in public that are just excuses and have no basis on reality. We invaded Iraq for the oil, because Saudi Arabia wanted Saddam Eliminated. The Saudi king was appointed by the USA, he has no legitimate claim to the throne. The Saudi people don’t like the monarchy because they are devote Muslims and the royal family spent a great deal of time and money on vice and debauchery. The Saudi king fears an uprising in the kingdom, and the rebels used Iraq as a safe house. You must know we are rarely told the truth. And the USA wanted to destabilize the Middle East for the corrupt plans of the secret state. Also how many hundreds of million dollars went missing? Incredible amounts! And the tanks and vehicles that were bought by US government were left behind when even simple things broke down. That was the biggest cash cow the defense contractors had seen in years. We didn’t go to bring democracy to Iraq, nor to remove a despot. We did it so the defense contractors could make insane amounts of money at the expense of the American people. We can really take very little at face value
There were some poor reasons for the invasion of Iraq but also some reasonable ones. Everyone focuses on the WMD issue but conveniently forgets about the 1 million marsh Arabs and Kurds killed by Iraq in the 10 years before. Would Iraq have stopped this killing of their own people without the invasion, I doubt it. There were both Marsh Arabs and Kurds pleading for someone to help them at the time. It’s strange how this has been forgotten. However I don’t think they would have received the help without other less humanitarian factors being involved. People really need to research the persecution of the Marsh Arabs in particular by the Iraq government to understand what was going on in this area.
@@johnharvey1786 , you really do NOT want to go there, as those people were killed as a direct result of USA encouraging an uprise against Hussein, promising them support which never came. Also, the removal of an evil dictator committing atrocities against the population within Iraqi borders was not ONCE given as a reason for the invasion. In my honest opinion, I believe that would have caused far less of an outrage than the big bowl of obvious lies served by Bush and Blair.
@@johanmetreus1268 it was definitely given as part of the reason in the UK. Marsh Arabs and Kurds appeared on our TV channels pleading for help and politicians did say that this was part of Saddam’s evil that had to be stopped. Your point that the US caused Saddam to kill them is not supported by anything I’ve seen nor did those appearing on our TV ever mention it. The US may have been meddling in Iraq but does this give Saddam the right to kill a 1 million people in his own country. Also don’t forget the Iraq v Iran war, when Iraq invaded Iran and in which so many people died, then there was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990. The way some commentators talk Iraq was such a peaceful land before the two gulf wars. There is always meddling by other powers and that’s going on today, but that’s not sufficient to go to war, invade others and kill your own people in such massive numbers, unless that’s your own intentions anyway.
We in Germany have the same Putin-appreciating, even Putin-loving, parts of society. Ukraine wanted join NATO 2008 and at this point in time it was a real perspective, and I am ashamed to say that my government as the French, refused to let them join. Nothing of today's gruesome and unhumane events would have happened if the wish of the sovereign nation of Ukraine was granted back then.
8:55 No Beau, that's not why. Those other NATO countries don't have oil & Natural gas like Ukraine has that can cripple pootin's cash cow if they were allowed to develop it. That's why pootin invaded
@@JR-playlists In other words, they have a power that could rival Russia's. Money is power, untapped resources are undeveloped sources of future monetary flows.
not really, he's completely ignoring the us led maidan coup, after which hunter biden was put in the board of burisma (ukraine's gas company) for a lot of money. tell me how that's not imperialist.
@@JR-playlists you're ignoring the us led maidan coup, training and arming nassis in ukraine, the bio labs, threat of nuclear encirclement akin to the cuban missile crisis.
YES! AH, finally! So glad ur covering this specifically. the left really needs more voices digging into the nuanced (and like, incontrovertible) nature of this.
the whole argument at 5:30 is just odd to me for another reason; on top of everything you pointed out, WE BORDER RUSSIA. their planes violate our air space every average tuesday, and we have sent tons of planes after them to escort them out. Sarah Palin (as portrayed on SNL) could see Russia from her house, remember? Russia doesnt stop at its European border, it wraps around for quite a ways and ends up 50 miles from Alaska, if you count the Aleutian Islands its (if im not mistaken) the longest maritime border in the world. and yet, we havent invaded Russia, so the justification is just weird to me.
We do. But nobody in their right mind would invade the USA. We're basically a bunch of rabid, heavily-armed, meth-addled wingnuts...with nukes. The Florida of the planet.👍 🇺🇸 'Mericuh.
As a Canadian I'm always baffled by the number of people who aren't aware that we have an entire coast exposed to them. I swear people think the map only goes East-West lol Like, they constantly talk about how they want to claim the northern arctic for themselves so they can get at the oil. Not a problem for anyone? No? Ok then just me lol
@@lj2265 RIGHT?!? and with the Arctic being ice free as a real possibility, ALL north bordering countries are exposed to potential invasion, civilian flights from Vancouver to Moscow already fly over the pole
You are well-versed in the ways of tongue-fu. By that, I mean you have an exceptional ability to speak to people in a way that guides them out of their misconceptions and disinformation. I'm trying to learn this skill as it relates to addressing the self-destructive social constructs my friends and i have been forcefed. The idea that we must suffer alone and can't ask for help and the "man's way" is to bottle everything up until we lash out and that doing the work to break those cycles is anti-masculine. I think if we measure a man's strength and worth by the amount of hard work they do, the odds they overcome, and the dedication to persevering, then I think that doing the work it takes to NOT act like a neanderthall when we're angry, sad, upset, or feel disrespected is well-worth the respect and admiration for doing that hard work. I've done quite a few physically difficult jobs in my life, and un-fkking myself has been the hardest damn job I've ever taken on. We don't get to clock out of this one, it follows us everywhere, 24/7, 365, from the womb to the tomb. The task feels truly insurmountable at times, and I think that's why so many of us resort to rage and violence. It's familiar, it's easy, and it tricks us into thinking we're powerful and in-control...but the reality is, when I lose my composure, I'm giving control of MY body and MY mind to whatever it is that got me so riled up. It takes an unreal effort at first to start breaking those cycles, but truly I say to you: it is more than worth the effort and discomfort...once you start getting wins they compound because you're picking up on when your mind makes that loop or that shift to the violence, and you start to see it for the cowardly sneaky b.s. it is, and you start to really gain control of your mind more and more and the confidence and calm that it brings is intoxicating... I highly recommend it. Anyway, thanks Beau and thanks to anyone who got through my speech. I hope y'all are well and have an excellent day. Smile at someone, you never know just how much someone could need that.🤘😁
So I'm sending you a smile 😃 😊 and a 🫂 hug. We all have our struggles, and it just helps sometimes to know that we aren't always in the struggle alone, or unseen. Best wishes & stay safe.
Generally, people aren't open to being corrected, they just want to hear that they're right. ...Yes, myself included, finding out I'm wrong isn't fun. I've gotten to where I just smack into painful crevices with others. I don't like arguing, it's pointless. But biting back my words also sucks. Easier to avoid people.
Yes. It's a struggle to be a compassionate, rational human of any gender, etc. these days. For me, due to the volume (both sound and quantity) of challenges, I have to take it on a day to day basis, and forgive myself if I fail sometimes. Sharing a smile is awesome! 👍 I also to be polite, open doors, etc, because even inadvertent rudeness can mar someone's day. (Also, have to keep this in mind bc my ADHD tends to make me an aggressive driving, fast walking, interrupting mess, Lol) ✌️😸🍀
Learning to let your head control your behavior, instead of your emotions, is an extremely difficult task. I don't know if that's what you were talking about. I think that being a man is indeed a hard road to walk if one wasn't taught, from a young age, that gentleness is a strength. From that, comes kindness, empathy, sympathy, and all the positive traits of a decent human being. Maybe I'm just blowing hot air, tho, like most people do.
Help other people. Get to know random strangers you used to look down on. Real people are different than what propaganda tries to sell us. ❤😊 I look out for people in my neighborhood who are having an emotional break of some sort, make sure they eat something, or get a ride home, or have someone to talk to when they need to vent. Because that's when people are most awkward at approaching a stranger, and its that moment they need the most help. I think of it like, as far as you know their last twelve hours has been the first half of falling down. If you can help them before they pick up that baseball bat, its a better day for everyone. ❤
This video is just as important for people who think America's the world's savior to watch and really do some hard self-reflection. Thanks Beau, as always!
@@hannahdyson7129 he thinks that he's a libertarian who represents a state that for decades has gotten more money from the federal government (i.e. the rest of us taxpayers) than paid into the system he claims to be so against - the same system that pays his salary, healthcare and pension.
Capitalists have no interest in competing in an unfixed marketplace though. Why would they? It's more profitable to stack the odds in your favour, and profit is the goal, while the market is just a means to that end.
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs i think we have conflated the theory w the practice. There are no practicing capitalists who live up to the name. They can freely be termed criminal hoarders. They call themselves capitalists but we should not join them in their delusions.
Russia getting mad at countries joining NATO is like a stalker getting mad that you put locks on your house. Are there genuinely people that think Russia isn't an empire? Do they think it just happens to be the biggest country in the world by accident?
What a great video and it was SO BADLY NEEDED... Ive seen this talking point so many times and i wanted and needed to hear this point of view. This is why i watch every video you put out.
I prefer my wars cold, and my imperialism soft. that doesn't mean I like war or imperialism. but I shure as hell have a preference if It has to happen. let's not pretend theire isn't actually a lesser of two evils here. hot wars kill more people. hard imperialism removes more freedom. I'd rather a bunch of Mc Donald's restaurants popping up and coca cola and pop tarts filling my shelves than being told I'm now a new nationality by someone with a rifle pointed at me and my family.
I'm open to considering whether it was a bad idea for NATO to expand in order to avoid Russia's aggression, in the same way one can discuss the best way not to provoke someone who's armed with a gun and willing to use it in immoral ways, but Russia wasn't forced to do anything. The Russian government bears moral responsibility for its own actions.
Russia borders the US at the Diomede islands, only 2.4 miles apart. Russia owns Big Diomede and the US has Little Diomede as part of Alaska. This has been the situation with NATO (The US) bordering Russia since 1867 when Russia sold Little Diomede to the US and the two countries have shared that border ever since. Russia has never tried to invade Little Diomede, claiming NATO is too close and they actively made it happen by selling the US the island. Therefore the NATO expansion talking point fails here.
@@fagreed3938 Here's your ruble. The Czar was Autocrat of All the Russias and any autocrat who couldn't keep the krateo (power) in their own (auto) hands or seemed weak... died an early death. This is a long tradition and explains a good deal of the assassinations at the end of the 19th century. Stalin followed this model, as has Putin since him. A single central power with a weak middle and large peasantry is actually a very accurate description of Russia.
Well, you could also say, that if the Russian imperialists are to incompetent to build a culture that anyone would want to join, their imperialist attitude will cause their neighbors to join the NATO.
So you saying that justifies all the imperialist behaviour of the USA or that simple might makes right? Or that everyone is a hypocrite so it's meaningless to complain about world affairs.
Ukraine can't be anything but a satellite state. Sorry, but that's just not possible, unless they have a plan for their own empire-building. In the presence of the larger and stronger entities, the smaller ones can only choose their masters. And Ukraine has chosen EU - which might be a wise choice, but don't mistake it for being independent.
"Russia is a capitalist oligarchy with imperialism" is a really good summation. Excellent video Beau! And the U.S. is imperialist too. Absolutely! Whether that is through economics or through diplomatic pressures, the U.S. also projects its influence around the world to get what it wants. But at least with the U.S., people aren't being blown to smithereens if they resist. Mind you, economic pressures can be almost as devastating. None of this is good.
I wonder if the people who claim that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is justified because of NATO expansion also claim that the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was justified for the same reasons?
They also argue that. Not realizing that the Bay of Pigs happened 60 years ago, and it was Cubans counter-revolutionaries who did the invading and US roles were only arming and financing them.
@@MrKockabilly no, USA had promised them direct support with armed forces.... which didn't show up. Makes me believe the whole invasion was a scam to get rid of them once and for all before they could cause more domestic problems.
I have no idea why this is even something we have to discuss. Russia has a long history of strong-arming it's neighbors to trade with it, even though the CIS has almost nothing to offer in this regard. When countries don't fold to the threats they end up doing business with the EU instead which causes the threats to escalate. At that point you're going to look for allies to help with the threat. Gee, I wonder which alliance specifically designed to counter Russia you'd go to? 🙄
Thank you for making this video. In the run up to the war and in the first weeks of it we've heard westerners use versions of this argument so many times that eastern European leftists started calling it "westplaining". No sane leftist would ever use that argument when talking about a country in Asia or South America or Africa - that it is in the sphere of influence of another country, therefore should have no right to self-determination and the other country had to invade it for trying to break off the imperial leash. Yet somehow when talking about eastern Europe it's a perfectly acceptable thing to say.
I live in the US and actually noticed that too. I think "westplaining" is an excellent description of that mess. I was horrified when I saw so many not even acknowledging Ukraine's sovereignty. And I never thought I would see the day where I would have to explain to anyone why that's such a horrible take. It completely caught me off guard when I started hearing it.
NATO admitted new members in Eastern Europe, but for decades no troops from western Europe were positioned in thouse Eastern nations, this was done intentionally to show that aggresive action against Russia was not the intent. Russia knows that NATO is never going to attack it, Russia just wants to expand by coericion or force and can't do that if nations have a defensive aliance.
Putin and Patriarch Kirill both hold the idea that former Soviet territories, especially Ukraine, must be part of the greater Russian Federation again. Even if they must destroy the country to achieve it. NATO was a handy excuse. As was denazification.
@@shadowbanned636 But then why didn't Russia attack sooner? The 2014 revolution would have been the catalyst for them to move in for direct intervention, but only went as far as the Crimea.
NATO to me is like a parallel version of the UN.. sorta. A band of countries whom share an economic space, peace and security. Russia sees this as a threat because it’s about leverage on trade and resources not cooperation in a global equity. Also they don’t want to play ball. Dictatorships don’t advocate for democracy, they believe freedom is bad, because they believe you really don’t want freedom and want stability.. law and order. You should just be a cog in the machine and do what you’re told. Get what’s given to you, because the powers know better.
You really including the likes of Turkey and Hungary in that definition? It's also not like strict law and order don't apply to the west. We can speak as loud as we want in the West, does it make a difference? Who's to say.
I've been shaking my head at Russia's reasons for invasion. The NATO reason was the worst one. The natsie reason was near as bad. Russia invaded Ukraine because Putin wanted too. Period. All that death and destruction for nothing but - "Russia can have whatever it want's". Call it imperialism if you like but it's an insult to actual empire building. And an insult to modern warfare tactics that will not go unanswered. I'm sad for both countries, but angry at Russia and inspired by Ukraine.
The real reason Russia invaded Ukraine is often missed he got real close to it but not quite. Many do not know but in the Donbas area that Ukraine still controls there is something underground that could literally make Ukraine go from one of the poorest nations in Europe to one of the wealthiest, while at the same time crippling the Russian economy. There is underneath the feet of the Ukrainian soldiers enough natural gas to supply Europe for an estimated 1200 years, all of it. So when he says the real goal is to take the Donbas Vlad actually isn’t lying, the only lying parts are to protect Russian speaking populations from Natsies. It’s all about the money, FYI that natural gas was discovered in 2010. For the hood of Europe and the world Ukraine must win, so that it one puts Russia in the poor house eventually, and Russia will no longer have the military to be imperialistic again.
@@fagreed3938 - I know! , Crazy how easy it is to get Putin to do whatever the USA says, he's easy that way. He's a sucker for apple pie and baseball. USA never runs out, we supply him for favors.
@@rylian21 Resources are always the reason. But at this point, no one in their right mind wants Russia to control Europe's gas. They are assholes about it. EU picks Ukraine to supply the gas in the long haul, NATO will secure it. Russia can sell gas to China.
Thank you for this. *_HOT FIYA_* _I hope Beau will make the rounds on leftist RU-vid and debate these stooges._ I expect this mindset from right wingers, not leftists.
IMO one reason that the word "Imperialism" is thrown around is because it is a loaded word and has negative connotations in today's world. I wonder how many people would say that it is ok for China to invade Taiwan.
To be fair, Taiwan is China and China is Taiwan in many ways that differ from other circumstances. Taiwan is basically the remnants of the losing side in the Civil War that saw the communists come to power. Much like Hong Kong - which was a straight up, no denying it, colony of the UK, there is a somewhat valid argument that Taiwan is indeed part of China - not so much their dotted line map claim over the South China Sea, which is just BS. Personally, I believe that Taiwan has existed for long enough as a functional country - tough not recognized by many others - that it should be recognized, similar with N. Korea. But Taiwan is a lot more complex than Ukraine which was recognized by everyone - including Russia - as a country.
@@ince55ant Trump nearly started a war with China when he simply took a call from the leader of Taiwan. That seemingly insignificant phone call was enough to trigger the Chinese.
In fact Cuba did have an alliance with the USSR and the US did illegally try to invade, and our invasion was about as successful as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though without all the deliberate civilian rapes, massacres, abduction.
Yep, and the world came VERY close to nuclear war. I believe it was down to a single Russian naval officer who refused to authorise his commanding officer to fire the nukes. Refusing to turn his key in the firing system. Let’s hope this conflict doesn’t end up in such a close call. There are always shades of grey and good people on both sides. But it’s hard to see Putins side in this current conflict. He seems to have made a series of tragically bad decisions. BTW: We all owe a debt of gratitude to Vasili Aleksandrovich Arkhipov.
Another view of NATO is it's a country club, you have to apply to join, meet their standards and pay to belong. No one is building you with threats to get you to do any of the things.
One small point to add: people go on and on about whether Western leaders promised not to expand Nato. Russia signed treaties stating that all those countries have a right to choose their own alliance (in accordance with the UN charter) and guaranteed Ukrainian territorial integrity. Why is a promise held up, but a treaty ignored?
I did wonder if all of this is really about Ukraine being successful and doing better on their own than when they were part of the soviet union. It's pure jealousy from putin. he doesn't want his people to look at Ukraine and say "Why do they have more than we do?".
Just because lefties don't agree with the "America good, X country bad" propaganda during any conflict the USA is involved in, doesn't mean they support the other side. That's just your blinded nationalism showing.
No child should have to deal with bombs blowing up in their backyards or worse, in their sleeping quarters. I choose the side that protects those children.
@@villageidiot8194 those weren't done under NATO, they were under UN or a coallition of western powers defending people under seige being slaughtered. Yugoslavia and Syria aren't even in the same universe of analogy. Sadam was a mass murderer who used chemical weapons repeatedly and was developing nuclear technology (see Christopher Hitchens mopping the floor against my fellow leftists who opposed the action). That comment is whataboutism. Doesn't answer Ukraine which is plain. US has done proto-imperialism in the past, see my comment below re Vietnam. But the US was never going to make any of these countries colonies or make them part of the US like Russia is doing. Russia has a pattern of using chemical weapons and invading neighbors subsuming them. They also have a Soviet style of dealing with dissidents which isn't surprising considering comrade Putin's KGB credentials.
Oh my sweet summer child. There's no such thing as a non-offensive military. No country has a ministry of offense - it's just a polite choice of words.
Actually China could stop it, by choosing sides. If two of the superpowers agree, the third has to capitulate as a general rule of how the game of politics has been played.
In 1993 Romania applied for membership to NATO, an application that most thought had little chance of happening. In 1997, at the Madrid NATO summit, the primary opponents to Romanian membership were the US and the UK! However efforts continued in this direction. During the 1999 Kosovo War and the NATO bombing of Serbia, Romania took NATO's side in the conflict, allowing NATO aircraft to fly in its airspace and banning its airspace to Russian aircraft that might want to reach Serbia through Romania. Then, after 9/11, Romania took part in operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Romania would end up spending almost 20 years and Afghanistan, being among the last countries to remove its forces prior to US withdrawal. Romania was only invited to join NATO in 2002, with its membership starting in 2004. 11 years after its application. On June 22, 1995 all parliamentary parties in Romania signed the Snagov Declaration which was Romania's application of membership to the European Union. This meant that, for once, all political parties set aside their differences and decided the only way to go was West. We're talking about "reformed" neo-communists, social democrats, liberals, Christian conservatives, nationalists, the Hungarian minority party and others putting their signatures on this document. It still took 12 years for Romania to join the EU. What anyone thinks about these actions, whether they were good or bad, is irrelevant to this conversion. What IS relevant is that Romania actively pursued the goal of Euro-Atlantic integration, this had wide political support, and efforts continued even after being initially snubbed. Nobody forced Romania to go through these long processes, which is even more remarkable seeing how many political parties in Romania have been resistant to reforms. If there was any force that acted upon and within Romania was the long, historical mistrust of Russia and the desire to never again live in the shadow and in fear of a Russian empire. The point is that any pretense of NATO (or even EU for that matter) imperialism in Romania is absurd and anyone making this claim is talking out of their ass. Russian politicians and political scientists, Putin included, can't stand the idea Russia lost its 'friends' and they've fabricated this narrative that the evil West 'stole' them from Russia, but the truth is that some countries, mine included, never saw Russia as a friend (even during the days of communist 'comradeship') and never wanted to have anything to do with them in the first place.
It hasn’t been, at least not in states I’ve lived in. Even in anti-history “red” states, schools have to use a curriculum that includes the branches of government, voting, etc- though they’re editing it as much as they can get away with.
Omg...I really love u Beau! I was having this argument with a friend the other day on this subject. He got me sooo frustrated that I haven't spoken to him for 3 days. Thank you! I'm going to send him this link!
This is another issue as stupid as the freaking out over socialism. As if public services, including military, arent some form of socialism. A collective effort
As a democratic socialist, I personally think that the Republicans calling any helpful thing the government does "SOCIALISM!" kinda... helps me. Eventually, some people are going to look at it and say: "Well, if ________ helps me, and __________ is socialist, I think I might _like_ socialism..." 😁 So, let them pitch their hissyfits.
@@crow-jane I'm beginning to wonder if she's on their side. She's had it explained multiple times that commenting to their @ gives them engagement so they should be reported without making a comment. It makes me wonder if she's *trying* to encourage them and increase their engagement statistics.
I think the most obvious rebuttal to this argument is that Zelensky was still talking about Ukrainian neutrality and pleading with Russia for guarantees AFTER the invasion started. Ukraine hadn't even applied for NATO membership, they were still saying peace and neutrality hadn't been taken off the table, and Putin was trying to make the argument it was a peacekeeping operation in the interest of Russian self defense. Beau is being very generous here. Anyone who makes these arguments are either not very smart or they're tankies and Soviet apologists. We don't have to pretend they're arguing in good faith or give them a platform.
Zelenskyy is doing everything to save his Country, including negotiation talks with the enemy invader, which is standard procedure. ALSO asking for NATO membership which he knows, practically, would incite Putin more and it would drag ALL the NATO countries into the war as per the NATO agreement and so won't be granted. But it gives him some cover for the moment. He also knows that Ukraine maybe more valuable as Neutral so that Russia might come to see it as a buffer between it and the rest of the West.
I have been challenged with those exact scenarios you mentioned. I was not as informed as you and as I am now, but I held my own. You've discussed the Mexico "what if" before so I had an easy shut down for that. Glad you bring up these topics. You give me so many topics to read about to expand my knowledge. You also give mentions and links on where to access materials. Thank you.
What's really weird too, is they're the same people who defend Putin. Saying things like, "If Mexico wanted to ally with China we wouldn't like that!" To which I answer, "That may be true. We might not like that, but why do we get a say?" Then I watch them squirm as they realize thet swallowed the hook, line, and sinker from their cult masters. Anyone who says Russia has a say it what Ukraine does, is supporting imperialism and Authoritarianism. Plain and simple.
Actually, I seem to get the citizens of other countries shouting, "Whatabout IRAQ!" To which I say, "I marched and tried to stop that war. I'm against this war too. I think I'm being consistent." ... We're an imperial power, but nobody is taught that in our schools, because then we wouldn't be the good guys, would we? Which is a helluva thing. We admit the immorality of what we do by the fact that we won't proclaim ourselves the imperial power that we are.
Absolutely incorrect. I and most of the people I associate with actively opposed the American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan just as we oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Most of the people supporting Russia seem to be saying that Russia gets to do this because America did similar things in the past. In reality, these people are supporters of Russia's right wing government, Russia's anti-lgbtq official policies, and it's granting of official status to the Christian Russian Orthodox Church. They are fans of fascist imperialism. Many of them hope that a similar form of authoritarianism will be brought about here-- MAGA world.
