*TRIGGER WARNER: THIS POST DISCUSSES VIOLENCE FROM THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR*
Today marks 11 months since Russia invaded Ukraine.
I will be the first to admit that after the initial media attention subsided, I mostly forgot about the war. Every few weeks, an update about the war would be shared in the news, but I have not kept a close eye on the progress of the war or what action world leaders are taking to end the war.
However, earlier today I stumbled onto a subreddit titled r/CombatFootage. I have seen videos from this subreddit floating around in the past, but I never took the time to do a deep dive. What I found in this subreddit were hundreds of videos taken first-hand by soldiers that illustrate the absolute brutality and violence of war.
These videos are not for the faint of heart, and I don’t recommend looking them up unless you’re interested in learning more. Most of the videos show things from a distance: airstrikes, explosions, bombings, and so on. But some of them are more haunting. One video shows a Russian soldier shooting two Ukrainian soldiers at point blank range. Another video shows a Russian soldier getting hit by shrapnel, and being unable to move, pulling the pin in his own grenade, ending his life.
At first, I had a visceral reaction to this media being shared publicly online. This is someone’s son, someone’s brother. How could this be allowed? Their death should not be for my or anyone else’s entertainment viewing.
However, after some consideration, I decided that it is important to show the harsh reality of war. For the first time in human history, people are able to see—in real time via social media—what war is actually like. This is critical for two reasons: 1) it reminds the world that this war is ongoing and should not be forgotten, 2) if enough young people see the true nature of war, we will hopefully be able to avoid such conflicts in the future.
Perhaps it is a bit naive to think this way. But I don’t think it is. All over the world, there are young men and women who are watching videos of soldiers dying in real time. Eventually, some of those young men and women will grow up to be leaders themselves. Hopefully, they will remember the brutality of these videos and avoid putting lives at risk.
You would think that after the countless mistakes of the 20th century, humanity would have learned its lesson. But unfortunately, violence and war seem to be a fundamental characteristic of how we function.
I feel deeply sorry for all the soldiers fighting in this war because I have to assume that most of them, including Russians, do not wish to be fighting in this war.
Or at the very least, they don’t wish to die a senseless death, posted on Reddit, for the world to see.
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*TRIGGER WARNER: THIS POST DISCUSSES VIOLENCE FROM THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR*
Today marks 11 months since Russia invaded Ukraine.
I will be the first to admit that after the initial media attention subsided, I mostly forgot about the war. Every few weeks, an update about the war would be shared in the news, but I have not kept a close eye on the progress of the war or what action world leaders are taking to end the war.
However, earlier today I stumbled onto a subreddit titled r/CombatFootage. I have seen videos from this subreddit floating around in the past, but I never took the time to do a deep dive. What I found in this subreddit were hundreds of videos taken first-hand by soldiers that illustrate the absolute brutality and violence of war.
These videos are not for the faint of heart, and I don’t recommend looking them up unless you’re interested in learning more. Most of the videos show things from a distance: airstrikes, explosions, bombings, and so on. But some of them are more haunting. One video shows a Russian soldier shooting two Ukrainian soldiers at point blank range. Another video shows a Russian soldier getting hit by shrapnel, and being unable to move, pulling the pin in his own grenade, ending his life.
At first, I had a visceral reaction to this media being shared publicly online. This is someone’s son, someone’s brother. How could this be allowed? Their death should not be for my or anyone else’s entertainment viewing.
However, after some consideration, I decided that it is important to show the harsh reality of war. For the first time in human history, people are able to see—in real time via social media—what war is actually like. This is critical for two reasons: 1) it reminds the world that this war is ongoing and should not be forgotten, 2) if enough young people see the true nature of war, we will hopefully be able to avoid such conflicts in the future.
Perhaps it is a bit naive to think this way. But I don’t think it is. All over the world, there are young men and women who are watching videos of soldiers dying in real time. Eventually, some of those young men and women will grow up to be leaders themselves. Hopefully, they will remember the brutality of these videos and avoid putting lives at risk.
You would think that after the countless mistakes of the 20th century, humanity would have learned its lesson. But unfortunately, violence and war seem to be a fundamental characteristic of how we function.
I feel deeply sorry for all the soldiers fighting in this war because I have to assume that most of them, including Russians, do not wish to be fighting in this war.
Or at the very least, they don’t wish to die a senseless death, posted on Reddit, for the world to see.
