The Texas man is the latest in a string of Americans lured to Russia by propaganda, yet confronting a reality that is altogether different than the utopia they were sold.
Seriously. I actually generally really like Russians I’ve interacted with directly socially, but my understanding of Russian culture inside Russia is that if you’re American they just don’t want to have anything to do with you. It’s like “You’re soft and useless and you’re not going to survive, so why would I make friends with you.” So layer on top of that someone who moved to Russia voluntarily and then signed up to be in the military, and it’s like “You’re soft and useless and you’re an idiot, get away from me before you infect me with whatever made you that way.”
Seriously. I actually generally really like Russians I’ve interacted with directly socially, but my understanding of Russian culture inside Russia is that if you’re American they just don’t want to have anything to do with you. It’s like “You’re soft and useless and you’re not going to survive, so why would I make friends with you.” So layer on top of that someone who moved to Russia voluntarily and then signed up to be in the military, and it’s like “You’re soft and useless and you’re an idiot, get away from me before you infect me with whatever made you that way.”
At least the North Korean fodder you can feel sorry for because you know they don’t have a choice.