Opinion of Russophobia

[Upper Canada Tory]

'Russophobia' is not a thing. I can't have an opinion on something that doesn't exist.

[Upper Canada Tory]

'Russophobia' is not a thing. I can't have an opinion on something that doesn't exist.

     Sorry, but this is ridiculous. Numerous Western-aligned sources have reported on the spate of anti-Russian hate crimes that has followed the invasion of Ukraine:

https://news.sky.com/story/russians-assaulted-threatened-and-abused-in-uk-as-hate-crimes-linked-to-ukraine-war-surge-12821923
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/07/antirussian-hate-putin-europe/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/01/us/nyc-russian-orthodox-church-red-paint

     And I could easily go on with these. This hate is a very real thing; pretending that it isn't will if anything help push many Russian immigrants who are otherwise sympathetic to the plight of Ukrainians into Putin's arms by convincing them that the West is indeed an existential enemy of their people.

There have also been plenty of anti-Ukrainian hate crimes in the West. In fact,  Ukrainians in Germany are physically attacked more frequently than any other nationality - but police won't reveal if these attacks are hate crimes ('politically motivated') or not, even though they have this information at their disposal.

Why don't we hear concerns about 'Ukrainophobia'? Why don't we hear about how attacking random Ukrainians (many of them refugees fleeing war torn areas) is wrong?

The use of woke politically correct terms such as 'Russophobia' is always selectively applied for political purpose - sure, I'll say there is 'Russophobia' when someone brings attention to hate-motivated attacks against Ukrainians, which are often more common.

[Upper Canada Tory]

'Russophobia' is not a thing. I can't have an opinion on something that doesn't exist.

     Sorry, but this is ridiculous. Numerous Western-aligned sources have reported on the spate of anti-Russian hate crimes that has followed the invasion of Ukraine:

https://news.sky.com/story/russians-assaulted-threatened-and-abused-in-uk-as-hate-crimes-linked-to-ukraine-war-surge-12821923
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/07/antirussian-hate-putin-europe/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/01/us/nyc-russian-orthodox-church-red-paint

     And I could easily go on with these. This hate is a very real thing; pretending that it isn't will if anything help push many Russian immigrants who are otherwise sympathetic to the plight of Ukrainians into Putin's arms by convincing them that the West is indeed an existential enemy of their people.

There have also been plenty of anti-Ukrainian hate crimes in the West. In fact,  Ukrainians in Germany are physically attacked more frequently than any other nationality - but police won't reveal if these attacks are hate crimes ('politically motivated') or not, even though they have this information at their disposal.

Why don't we hear concerns about 'Ukrainophobia'? Why don't we hear about how attacking random Ukrainians (many of them refugees fleeing war torn areas) is wrong?

The use of woke politically correct terms such as 'Russophobia' is always selectively applied for political purpose - sure, I'll say there is 'Russophobia' when someone brings attention to hate-motivated attacks against Ukrainians, which are often more common.

     I'm happy to denounce hate crimes against any ethnicity; Ukrainians should not be persecuted because of who they are and where they come from either. Part of the reason why people talk about "Russophobia" is because you will actually find apologists online for hate crimes against Russians, like the creator of this topic. When the war started, I remember seeing internet lefties saying that these events were necessary to motivate Russians to oppose Putin and agitate for regime change.

     I respect your point that we shouldn't be playing political games with these terms, but making statements that seem to imply that hate crimes against Russians don't exist is a game from the opposite direction. Instead we should be able to agree that both Russians and Ukrainians are being targeted and that neither should be victimized.

Fine. I will agree with you that no one should justify hate crimes/hatred against Russians.