PROPAGANDA

What does an “I stand with Ukraine” t-shirt mean?

We must not let our compassion be manipulated

It’s admirable to feel compassion for people who are suffering, like people whose country is under military attack. But we should be very very careful that our feelings aren’t being manufactured or manipulated to make us support policies that will only cause more suffering. Such as more military attacks under the disingenuous banner of “humanitarian intervention.”

There’s a bunch of t-shirts like this available online now, with various designs in this same style. I’m reminded of lots of other patriotic schwap, and that’s what this is, ultimately. It’s printed with the words, “I stand with Ukraine” but it also says, “USA! USA!”

A search for “I stand with Yemen” t-shirts yielded NO results. That means something.

So let’s be careful out there. Yes, let us cherish our compassion; after all, it’s fundamental to our humanity. But we can’t let other people use it to lead us down the wrong path.