I've been struggling to figure out why I'm so troubled by this whole "badge of honour" thing over Russia banning certain Canadian politicians from traveling to Russia. John Baird here. Irwin Cotler here. Everybody else here. There are just so many reasons why this is an insane thing to do.
I think first and foremost, our politicians actions have shown us how ridiculously useless our own sanctions on Russia are. We ban you and you make jokes so you ban us and we make jokes. Nobel Peace prizes for everybody.
Next, everybody hates childish name calling. Worse, everybody hates childish name calling from politicians. Now have politicians throw down childish name calling while there's a real international crisis going on and it's just a gigantically ridiculous enterprise. I expect these jackasses to take things seriously and this doesn't give the impression that they are.
Third, and last...don't poke the fucking bear, you know? You're...literally...poking a bear. We're Canada. Our fighter jets saw action in WWII. We can't afford to poke a bear.
I disagree. Russia isn't a great place to live in or keep your money, particularly if you're a rich person who risks running foul of the regime and like to travel to rich countries. It isn't just Canada banning these highly influential people, it's multiple developed countries and it seriously affects their lives. A bunch of oligarchs who just had their standard of living adversely affected is something that may influence Putin.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand Russia banning people in return IS a joke. None of those people likely wanted to travel to Russia, and even if they did there are plenty of other countries to travel to. As for poking a bear the point of the bans is we're not the only country doing it, which is why it's potentially effective.
I hear you. I just don't like the tone of the debate. It is called diplomacy, after all.
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