Trump Supporters and Putin Supporters: Judged by the Same Standards or Not?

[Aštra’el]

I cut invisible things out if my life many years ago. Instead I started learning to live in this world, a world of actions and consequences where we are all interwoven together into the tapestry of Life.

That is exactly what I was saying when I said “Life is a series of invisible corridors and gateways”. I am almost surprised you did not make the correlation.

We have our responsibilities to keep things free for ourselves and others.

There is no “we”. You are not the one who decides what my responsibilities are, I am. My responsibilities are to myself and to the people and things I care about.

Not caring if someone holds pro-Putin views is not minding that someone is promoting and defending an autocrat who is so in control that his opposition and critics often end up dead or missing.

Exactly. I do not mind at all.

 

[Ponder This]

Ever since Trump's election in 2016, I've seen various explanations and justifications for supporting him, including (but not limited to) these:

- The opposing candidate is perceived to be worse.

- The Trump supporter believes Trump will address their problems better than the other candidates.

- They were supposedly misled by his promises that he failed to fulfill.

- Their politics align most with his.

- They believe he fulfilled his campaign promises as much as he could.

- He didn't start any new wars.

Now, the claim that most Russians support the war is one I have also encountered multiple times here and elsewhere. It seems to me that it overlooks how dictatorial the Russian regime is and how much it suppresses opposition, which could give a false impression that most Russians approve of the regime's actions even though the reality may be different.

This question is for those who believe Trump supporters shouldn't be condemned wholesale and that they aren't all misinformed, unethical, or apathetic to others' suffering (and I agree they definitely vary in their motives and reasons for voting for him, by the way):

If Trump supporters shouldn't be assumed to all be malicious, misinformed, or apathetic to others' suffering, does that also apply to Putin supporters? After all, Russian state media has done its best to spread pro-Putin propaganda, suppress and demonize opposition, and portray Ukraine as a haven for Nazism. Do you think anyone who supports Putin must be condemned regardless of their reasons or what they believe about Putin (whether or not those coincide with reality)?

I'm trying to see whether the same generosity and ostensible goodwill that some extend to Trump supporters also extend to Putin supporters, and vice versa.

Russian media is controlled by the state. How can we not assume that they generally support Putin because they are (mis)informed?

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

Ever since Trump's election in 2016, I've seen various explanations and justifications for supporting him, including (but not limited to) these:

- The opposing candidate is perceived to be worse.

- The Trump supporter believes Trump will address their problems better than the other candidates.

- They were supposedly misled by his promises that he failed to fulfill.

- Their politics align most with his.

- They believe he fulfilled his campaign promises as much as he could.

- He didn't start any new wars.

Now, the claim that most Russians support the war is one I have also encountered multiple times here and elsewhere. It seems to me that it overlooks how dictatorial the Russian regime is and how much it suppresses opposition, which could give a false impression that most Russians approve of the regime's actions even though the reality may be different.

This question is for those who believe Trump supporters shouldn't be condemned wholesale and that they aren't all misinformed, unethical, or apathetic to others' suffering (and I agree they definitely vary in their motives and reasons for voting for him, by the way):

If Trump supporters shouldn't be assumed to all be malicious, misinformed, or apathetic to others' suffering, does that also apply to Putin supporters? After all, Russian state media has done its best to spread pro-Putin propaganda, suppress and demonize opposition, and portray Ukraine as a haven for Nazism. Do you think anyone who supports Putin must be condemned regardless of their reasons or what they believe about Putin (whether or not those coincide with reality)?

I'm trying to see whether the same generosity and ostensible goodwill that some extend to Trump supporters also extend to Putin supporters, and vice versa.

I try not to judge a population by its leaders.