[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

* As an aside, I think I'm the only one on this board who has criticized Ovechkin for chumming around with Putin, a leader who is far worse even than Trump. And yet I'm confident that if an American NHL star expressed support for Trump and exchanged Christmas presents with him, he would be subject to a tidal wave of criticism and denunciation.

Oh, Come On.

Originally Posted by Locke

I am far from 'outraged' but this is a big deal. There are people who genuinely believe that Putin rigged the US election for Trump, and Putin has a shadow over him. He is not the nicest person in the world by all accounts.

Its not as though I can blame Ovechkin for being patriotic, its just that his fierce loyalty not just to Russia, but Putin specifically, seems....I just dont know, theres just something off there.

Originally Posted by Beninho

Except our Prime Minister doesn't kill political opponents and Journalists while invading sovereign countries.

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

What "narrative". Are you resentful of facts? Am I allowed to believe that Putin is a psychopathic Machiavellian autocrat and also believe that "we" are not a beacon of good?

Not outraged at Ovechkin but I think he's an idiot and I've lost a lot of respect for him. Dumb political opinions are a good enough reason for me not to cheer for a hockey player. When you make your political support vocal and public, you open yourself up to criticism for your political opinions. Too bad. Ovie otherwise seems to have a big heart. Sad to see him wasting his voice and his energy on supporting Putin.

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

To be fair though, Ovechkin is a meathead hockey player. I doubt he even has a high school level education. Putin is smart going after these uneducated fools.

and LOL to the Putin is not evil. Harper was 'evil' but he never poisoned opponents or journalists, nor killed his own citizens to start a fake war with Chechnya.

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Originally Posted by Beninho

Ah so because we are allies with the United States it's no problem that Putin invaded Ukraine. How about his jailing of political opponents and human rights activists? How about his active oppression on Gays in Russia. He's a dictator and anyone who supports him deserves criticism.

Here's a recent law Putin just passed, explain again why we shouldn't criticize his supporters? https://www.google.ca/amp/www.telegr...inalizing/amp/

Originally Posted by icecube

If I were a Russian the last guy I'd go around criticizing is Vladimir Putin, lest you end up "disappeared".

You gotta know what side of the bread your butter is on.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Has anyone in this thread actually indicated that they think as such? There is a massive difference between bureaucratic corruption that infects Western democracies and the megalomaniacal regime of Vladimir Putin.


Not remotely level. There are huge differences between levels of corruption and evil that need to be acknowledged.

Originally Posted by rubecube

You have to be completely ignorant of international politics or a Putin-bot to actually believe that Canada and the U.S. are equivalent to Putin's Russia. Jesus Christ, people.

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

The issue is not which country is worse. I would venture to say that the US has done more worldwide harm than Russia. But a rich athlete living in the US for 12 years using his fame to prop up someone like Putin has little to do with love of country. I wouldn't care for vocally pro-Trump athletes either.

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Ask any Eastern European, or read The Black Book of Communism. The Soviet regime was responsible for killing more people than Nazi Germany, and it's not even close. That was Russia.

The ignorance of your statement beggars credulity.

That was all within the first 40 posts of one thread on the topic of Ovechkin and Putin. You were not the sole critic you are now claiming to be.