We are the Bad Guys

 Have you ever watched a movie where a couple groups of people are fighting and you wonder, "who are the bad guys?" Or maybe you've read a book that doesn't reveal who the villain is right away and you ask yourself, "is he the bad guy?" I'm having that moment right now. Perhaps, others are, too.

"We" are America. "Bad Guys" are usually immoral, selfish, tyrannical, dictators or terrorist groups that threaten innocent lives for no better reason than "they can". After watching the many videos of what transpired in the Oval Office today between our President, Vice President, and visiting dignitary, Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, I have reason to believe my title is true. 

Aside from the fact that our President and Vice President assaulted Zelenskyy with false information, they weren't even polite. You invited him to come and discuss the war with you as well as a "deal" for mineral rights. You couldn't even be polite. You threatened him and basically bullied him. And JD Vance who could have been a better man simply sunk to Trump's level of bullying. You couldn't even treat him with the respect due of a GUEST in YOUR HOUSE. Patrons at Mar-A-Lago get treated better than that, I suspect.

But then, it's all for show, right? Trump admitted as much. He said, it's good for the American people to see this. I'm waiting to hear all the fall-out. I'm waiting to hear how the Republicans can spin this thing into a positive. I would have thought that Vance had been there to try to salvage something and instead he accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful and disrespectful. In fact, you both couldn't shut your mouths long enough for him to even answer your concerns. I would think that if you want some resources (like grain, and rare earth minerals) you wouldn't want Ukraine to think you're just a couple of untrustworthy assholes.

See, we don't live in a vacuum. This is a GLOBAL economy. The land mass of the US has a lot of resources, but not everything. It's in our best interest to be courteous to countries that can provide resources that we require and can trade for. But I suppose it doesn't really matter as Trump intends to let Ukraine hang in the wind and when Russia overtakes her (possibly), he'll simply trade with Putin. Trump is like a dementia patient who lives in his own little world in the present time and anything that distorts that view is fake and not real and agitates him.

And to top it all off, Linday Graham makes a statement to the press about it that says Zelenskyy was disrespectful to the office. He totally backed Trump up and thought he did the right thing. What a lackey! He recited a narrative like the American public hadn't seen it for themselves in real time. 

I. just. can't.

Everyone seems to think that without the US, Ukraine is just gonna fall apart. But I don't think so. Europe can't afford that. The EU will rally everything it's got to defend Ukraine and Russia has already been failing at this war. If they weren't failing, they wouldn't have brought in North Korean troops. They would have finished this already. Russia is just trying to save face at this point. Trump accused Zelenskyy of wanting to start WW3 but in fact, it is Trump's own policies that are driving this. He's gung-ho about peace as long as he's got something to gain. Like Gaza, he wants a piece of the pie. He's not about peace to help people, he's got to make a profit on it. He'll own Gaza. He'll get a kick back from Putin on Ukraine.

Is that how we do things now? Is that our foreign policy? The same policies of Russia and North Korea? We do stuff to other countries to feather our nest?

There are people in this country that say we give too much to other countries. That we push too much money out there. That we stick our nose into other country's business, and it costs us money. And I used to feel the same. Why did America have to be the World Police? Why not let countries figure out their own shit since we had enough to deal with? But I've changed my mind in recent years. The aid and money we send overseas helps people. It gives them a positive impression of the US and that means maybe they won't join some terrorist group that's hell bent on blowing us up. We also have embassies and military bases around the world and how will any of them be safe if we just behave like assholes? All of the aid that goes overseas and beyond our borders IS national security. And it ends up being way cheaper than expanding our military. And it saves a lot of lives, including our own. Lastly, the amount of money given isn't even 5% of the TOTAL FEDERAL BUDGET. 

I think that this disaster was in fact carefully planned by Trump. Vice Presidents never show up to these things in front of the press. I think he's looking for a way to justify abandoning our support for Ukraine and this is it. He's gonna piss and moan about how disrespectful Zelenskyy was and he'll harp on how he never even said thank you. Then, he'll pull all support, and the Republican congress will follow suit. Or maybe Trump is hoping for a cease-fire to buy time for Russia to figure out how to finish off Ukraine. Then, when the Congress finally pulls the plug on the life support, Russia can move in, take over, and give the US whatever Trump asked for in his little dealings with Putin. If all the Republicans want to make a big deal out of Trump's Deal Making skills, then they better have a good explanation for the kind of deal he strikes.

I also think that this is why District 21 in NY is still not ready for a new representative. Elise Stefanik is our representative and she is supposed to be our new UN Ambassador as Trump has selected her for the post. She has neither been confirmed nor vacated her seat. NY can't set a date for a vote until she is officially confirmed and vacates the seat. If that seat flips along with the other 2 Florida seats, there is no majority in the House anymore. Which means that it'll be damn hard to push through a suggestion of pulling support back from Ukraine. 

Democratic party, get on the stick. Let's get District 21 on the ballot, huh?

All of this to say, "We are the Bad Guys."

And what happens to the Bad Guys at the end of all those action movies, those superhero movies, those sci-fi and fantasy movies...they LOSE.

-Wy

I Stand With Ukraine