Ukraine and the false narratives of good and bad people…

 

The recent incidents of ill treatment and alleged racism against Asians and Africans has led to some sort of cognitive dissonance in the minds of many people. In popular narrative the Ukrainians are the “good guys” fighting Putin and his evil Russian invaders. The idea of people we have labelled as heroes performing actions that are unjust and wrong warps the narrative in our heads, the binary definitions we have created.

The reactions I see around me led me to reflect on how we perceive the world and share a few thoughts on a better, or at least a more honest way of approaching it. 

We tend to see the world not as it is, a place of complexity, of grey, of ambiguity, but as binary because we wish to see ourselves mirrored in the choices we make, with those we align with. Most human beings are hardwired to think of themselves as “good” or “right”. We believe we are incapable of acts of evil or actions that cause harm, although history is filled with stories of ordinary people performing acts of extraordinary evil. 

Every individual or group of individuals is capable of doing wrong and we are better of focusing on the actions rather than using the actions to create narratives and judgements about the people behind them. 

It is possible for some Ukrainians to be racist and still be innocent victims in another context. It is possible for us to be critical of Russia’s actions because they are wrong in themselves, not because they are taken against a heroic or just people. 

Equally importantly, it is important to try and dive deeper into facts and context and try and understand where other people are coming from. 

I don’t condone what the Ukrainian border guards are doing. But I have to ask myself a few questions. 

Were Africans stopped because of racism or EU law or citizenship? If my country was at war and the guards prioritised safe passage for me over citizens of another country, would that be so wrong? I don’t know how to feel about this situation without knowing the facts except to feel empathy and sorry for the Africans who have been put in this tragic situation for reasons that are beyond their control and that they are not responsible for. 

Let’s take this one step further and examine the issue of ill-treatment of Indian students. If my life was at risk, my family was threatened, my country faced the risk of erasure, all in the hands of a nation that has broken international law and started an unjustifiable war, would I not feel anger against those who refused to criticise or censure my oppressors? They say that silence in the face of evil is complicity. And in a situation where my survival is being threatened would I really have the wisdom and forbearance to put aside my anger and tap into my humanity and do what is right and not express my anger against citizens of a country that I believe is complicit in the violence against me? 

Again, this is not an attempt to justify any of these actions. They are unacceptable and I condemn them unequivocally. All I am saying is let us not rush to create narratives and judge individuals or peoples because they help us make sense of the world in a simplistic way. 

Russia may be an invading nation. But thousands of Russians have been arrested for opposing the war, at greater individual cost than any nation than Ukraine itself. 

Zelenskyy is a war hero. But he was also a corrupt politician, one who was borderline incompetent until war broke out. 

America is leading the global diplomatic and financial effort against Russia. But America has invaded more countries and caused more innocent deaths than any other country since world war 2.

The Ukrainian people are innocent victims of an invading power. But they have their racist and fascists, their corrupt and their evil. Like any country in the world.

Good and bad people are myths and lies we create to feel better about ourselves. We would be better served following the Bhagavad Gita. We have to do our “dharma”. To stand up for the right thing, for the righteous and just action, regardless of the people involved. The sooner we move past binary narratives, the faster we will move past the demonisation of the other, whether on the basis of religion, ethnicity, morality, language, caste or class. And that is the only way for us to be able to build a better world.