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Originally Posted by PepsiFree
The differences might be numerous, but they don’t make it a poor comparable. Taking a completely objective view of both conflicts they’re also incredibly similar.
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The differences are more significant than you seem to think they are.
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That isn’t going to save anyone, though. At what point does are we asking him to do what we think is right because it makes us happy instead of doing what is right because it makes a difference?
Are we now pretending changing your profile photo is activism now?
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When did I ever say anything about activism? I just think it's not ok for a celebrity and role model (which he undeniably is) to have a smiling, friendly picture of himself standing next to a murderous psychopath and one of the most conniving conmen to ever walk the earth. It's not so much question of activism as it is a question of basic decency.
And as much as you insist it doesn't matter, I would contest that it absolutely does matter. In a world of confusion, disinformation, competing narratives, and widespread distrust in things like science and government institutions... what people in positions of public influence (ie: celebrities, etc) decide to say and do in regards to various political matters, such as the current war, does have an impact on public perception on said matters. Putin's ability to continue massacring Ukranians in his efforts to illegally annex territory from a sovereign country hinges on his ability to continue bamboozling his people/military into thinking he's "de-nazifying" Ukraine, or that what he's doing is justified for some other reason. When one of the most high-profile, successful Russians of all time keeps his instagram profile picture as something that clearly comes across as pro-Putin, it would seem that it does have an impact on the Russian population in regards to their loyalty to Putin.
And the other thing is, I have yet to see any evidence that he's no longer pro-Putin. Removing that instagram photo and replacing it with something more recent would be that evidence that I'm looking for. Not some kind of big activism thing, just a simple basic gesture that shows he's no longer supporting that madman.
And maybe you'd argue he can't do that either because it's too risky. Well in that case I hope Ovie doesn't pass Gretzky because doing so would only raise his profile even more so than it currently is, raise his level of fame, and expose even more people (especially kids!) to the idea that it's totally cool to be either pro-Putin, or neutral in regards to Putin.