Russian, Ukrainian ballet stars to dance together in Naples

AddfwynApr. 5  12:09 pm JST

That's a nice gesture if nothing else, and hopefully at least some people can maybe adopt a tinge of nuance from it.

Arts transcending politics. You hate the enemy government, not the people themselves. And Putin is a jerk!

The photo of these two ballerinas are a rebuke to Russian chauvinism and symbolize the unbreakable cultural bonds between Ukrainians and Russians that will outlive this sudden outburst of barbarity inflicted on a whole people by a bunch of Kremlin psychopaths. Just as Jefferson called on the blood of patriots and tyrants to water the tree of liberty, so the Ukrainians' very own national bard, Taras Shevchenko, speaks for all his people in his "Zapovit" (Last Testament):

...Bury me on Ukraine's vast, rolling steppes so I may look down from the Dnieper's steep banks and listening to the river's mighty roar see its waters bear away from our Ukraine to the blue sea the wicked blood of the enemy. Rise and break your chains, watering your new liberty with blood for rain. Then, in the mighty family of all men newly free, and in quiet, faithful remembrance, do not forget to speak my name.

(my translation)

Not even worth commenting. The much bigger damage is done, the global community again quasi militantly divided, new iron curtain virtually installed, all involved populations and even families internally divided , all available propaganda machineries activated and at severe overload over that whole development , probably already enough for the next decades. It’s of absolutely no significance if they dance their stupid little ballet together or separated in Naples.

“Not even worth commenting.” You should have stopped there.

Not even worth commenting. The much bigger damage is done, the global community again quasi militantly divided, new iron curtain virtually installed, all involved populations and even families internally divided , all available propaganda machineries activated and at severe overload over that whole development , probably already enough for the next decades. It’s of absolutely no significance if they dance their stupid little ballet together or separated in Naples.

That's a nice gesture if nothing else, and hopefully at least some people can maybe adopt a tinge of nuance from it. Not sure how much it will mean long term, probably little, but it is something that needs to become commonplace sooner rather than later.

Despite that description, the prospect of Russian dancers dancing on the same stage with Ukrainians reportedly angered Ukraine’s consul in Naples. The Italian daily La Repubblica quoted the consul as telling fellow Ukrainians in the southern Italian city to shun the performance.

Of course they did, we almost had a nice thing for once, can't let that happen. So much for that tired line of "blame the government, not the people".

A gleam of hope. These Russian celebrities are important in getting the truth back to Russia.