In recent decades we’ve seen lots of places go up in flames. But the war in Ukraine just *seems* different. Why? For some people on the left, the answer is easy: Ukraine is “white people.” But to me, it’s something else: Ukraine – the country, the buildings, the infrastructure, the culture, the cars, buildings, fashions, the STUFF – looks like *here.* All the wars in recent years have taken place in places that don’t look like here. They look like desert countries with lax building standards, or steamy jungles, or barely iron-age villages. But Ukraine? It looks like Illinois or Iowa.
It’s also winter. When was the last time you saw war in recognizable winter, apart from grotty Afghan mountains?
And Ukraine isn’t the only place affected that looks like here. The video below is from Russia (somewhere… it seems to be a big place), the YouTuber goes from gas station to gas station checking current gas prices. And honestly, I’d *love* to find gas going for the prices he’s paying… less than two bucks a gallon? Yes please! But something that struck me was when he went into the gas station/quick mart, it looked indistinguishable from the ones that dot Americas highways.
When China launches its invasion of Taiwan, there will likely be a lot of the same “hey, that reminds me of here” that was generally lacking from middle eastern and African conflicts. And like it or not, people empathize far more with places that remind them of home.