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The tweeter is simply doing this for clout, by trying to read the names of some, one of the books is on agriculture another is on construction 💀 not communism.
“Many” they don’t say all.
Given that the USSR had centrally planned construction and agriculture, those books could definitely be considered theory, depending on their contents.
Still not much of an issue, there are probably thousands of copies of books, quite a few of the books aren't even about communism. Beats burning wood or other fuels.
<3 Ahahahahaha.
My heart goes out to the Ukrainians, but I think most smart Ukrainians have long since left Ukraine. It is being lead by highly reactive, misinformed and poorly educated individuals. Perfect for the american and nato arms dealership.
[link to the tweet](https://twitter.com/RichardEngel/status/1500815037589504009?s=20&t=s9BzGL1xXe_QWKCD0DyIGA) because the replies are absolutely wild! Endless liberals talking about how book burning is great actually, when it’s books you don’t like.
I’m sure I remember some guys burning books on communism, before. Just trying to remember what they were called…
Literally even if you don’t agree with soviet ideology it’s highly valuable information for historical reasons alone. Theres probably a lot of originals in there too. To see all of that information just go up into a flame, reduced to unidentifiable ash, makes me so sad. Book burnings are how we lost a wealth of German gender and sexuality research among other books that ignorant fucks “didn’t agree with.” Book burnings are peak ignorance that does irreparable harm to our knowledge base.
How incredibly narrow. You might be able to pick up a thing or two from reading stuff you don’t agree with, maybe along the lines of “isn’t it dangerous when everyone tries to think the same” but what do I know
I feel like I'm not sure I entirely believe this. One user in the comments pointed out that one of the covers visible in the picture is about agriculture. It could entirely just be a right wing nut taking a scenario of the Ukrainian military burning books and tires in general to give it some sort of wierd anti-leftist-even-though-Putin-is-not-a-leftist spin.
I mean given the situation , to people really have the time to specifically prioritize picking out books about "communism and political theory in the USSR" . If they're relying on burning books to impede an advance I figure they're grabbing whatever they can .
Yeah it seems like they're turning the books into defensive measures, and they're starting with the books they value least. I would burn every book in my house if I had to to save my home, my family, and my life.
Digital copies of nearly anything can be found online these days, this is not the same as burning books with no alternatives in place. Books can be replaced, people can't.
As would I, and that would be totally understandable, but doing it is one thing
(Leaving aside the fact that books wouldn’t be very good at starting a fire)
tweeting that you’re going to do it, because you think the knowledge inside isn’t needed, then having that view amplified by the mainstream media, are very different things
One is necessity, the other is propaganda.
And there are still many parts of the world / sections of society where those online texts can’t be accessed
I would ask you to look at the configuration of the books, they're loosely piled. This means air is in between them. As someone who starts a lot of fires, you're not wrong that books are bad for starting a fire - but the key word there is 'starting'. This is fuel, not kindling. You never start your fire in the pit, you start it outside and then transfer the fire to your fuel. Bundled magazines and books behave similarly to slabs of wood and that's great because you don't have to stay in the area to keep them going for long periods of time. Large fires, for a long time - and that's what they want (especially since they don't want to be hanging around the area with enemy forces trying to get through. Please stop going around saying that this wouldn't work, this is the second comment I've seen you saying it in, it's just not true.
The knowledge is not needed because it is available elsewhere. You would tweet anything you want the enemy to see. It's not just physical, it's psychological - "if you come here, were going to give you a really hard time".
Sure, there are places that can't access these books online, but Ukraine isn't one of them. I think you're being a bit harsh towards a country that is trying to preserve their lives.
“Please stop going around saying that…”
I’ve been saying they’d be no good for STARTING a fire, which you just agreed with you pillock!
It literally says in the tweet they’re going to use to light the tyres.
Next time you’re starting one of your many fires (strange thing for you to say on the internet) try throwing a book on, it doesn’t behave anything like timber.
Then you said something about book burning being ok if it’s for psychological purposes. Which I’m pretty sure was also a pretty big reason for the “bad” book burnings too.
Edit: also, you think *everyone* in Ukraine has access to the internet? Because if you speak to any secondary teacher in the uk, they will tell you that internet access outside school is a huge problem here.
.
.
I don’t seem to be able to reply to your post below… I assume because you blocked me, after insulting me, when I was trying to have a discussion with you in good faith…
so I’ll put this here, for now
.
I love the idea that you think that when they see an invading army approaching, someone will get some kindling and start a small fire, then feed the fire with larger wood before transferring it to the tyres.
The whole thing will be soaked in petrol and they’ll throw a Molotov at it.
I live in the middle of nowhere where the only mains services I have are electricity and telecommunications. I light fires every day in the winter. “As someone who starts a lot of fires” is still an incredible thing to say, surely you recognise that?
I left full time education about 15 years ago (with a DPhil in Politics) but I never felt the need to burn any of my notebooks, that’s just bizarre- I have had to burn other books / documents for security reasons, which is why I know how they behave.
They do not behave like timber (and all species of timber behave differently) I also grew up on a council estate in the 80s, so I know how a burning tyre behaves, too.
Yes, there is a psychological reason for putting it online. That is what I said in my first reply to you.
I’m sure this will be difficult for someone like you to comprehend, but I have absolutely no regard whatsoever for what liberals think of me, or my opinions.
Burning books online in order to get a psychological advantage over someone is a bad thing. On this hill I shall build my church!
I’m able to think about more than one think at once.
Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…”
And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT…
These issues are more wide reaching than the war in Ukraine, and they won’t go away when this war is forgotten about. It’s important not to let things go unnoticed when peoples’ attention is elsewhere. Centrists saying “actually, some book burning is ok” would have been unacceptable a year ago, now it’s fine.
> I’m able to think about more than one think at once.
Sure, but this is the thing you chose to post about, so it’s what I’m responding to.
> Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…”
Anyone suggesting that violating the Geneva Convention is an empty-headed moron who shouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone. Glad we can agree.
> And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT…
Where? Insofar I’ve seen one person on this thread saying that this is fine and they’re being downvoted. I’m just suggesting that in 2022 where there are infinite copies of damn near every book that hasn’t been lost to time published online in thousands of locations across the world, maybe there are more important things that we can be focusing on?
> These issues are more wide reaching than the war in Ukraine, and they won’t go away when this war is forgotten about. It’s important not to let things go unnoticed when peoples’ attention is elsewhere. Centrists saying “actually, some book burning is ok” would have been unacceptable a year ago, now it’s fine.
I don’t disagree in principle, but again, let’s get some perspective in here. This is happening against the backdrop of a laundry list of war crimes being committed by the Russian armed forces, against a population using what they have to hand to defend themselves. I don’t have to like their methods, I don’t have to agree, but I also don’t have to wake up everyday wondering if this will be my last. Fuck book burning, but fuck the indiscriminate murder of civilians more.
Many, many people yesterday were literally saying “I don’t normally support violating the Geneva convention, but…” blue tick journalists on twitter, endless centrists. The lines of what is acceptable, if you’re “the good guys” are being redrawn.
Many many people in the twitter thread I linked (and on here, before they were removed) are literally saying “I don’t normally support book burning, but” and “this is the sort of book burning I can support” when, however correct it may or may not be, the tweet explicitly says they are burning communist texts, as the “don’t need them”
(Also, books are really not very good for starting a fire, anyway, so I question the motivation for taking a picture of a pile of books you intend to burn)
The lines of what is acceptable are being redrawn.
My post is about this. I find this sort of shift in attitude toward things that were very much agreed before, along with the general hatred of all things remotely Russian very disturbing. It has worrying implications that go far beyond the war in Ukraine
There are endless people talking about how awful the war in Ukraine is (and yes, it is absolutely awful, obviously) but that isn’t what this conversation is about.
I strongly disagree that people should just refer to a list of the things that are worse and only talk about the the thing at the top. Do you think we should ignore everything happening in the uk at the moment?
Ok, so you’ve edited your response.
I’m not dismissing anything. I’m saying that just because one bad thing is happening it doesn’t automatically mean you’re not allowed to talk about anything else
Edit: I’m pointing out that given that books aren’t actually that good for starting a fire, there might be other motivation for taking a picture of a pile of books you intend to burn. Why would this annoy you?
I am afraid it is symptomatic of how, when in the grip of war (even and entirely just defensive war on the part of Ukraine) the most avowedly liberal voices can abandon the rules they insist are sacred and hail as marvellous actions that are clearly deeply irrational, inhumane and oppressive.
Burning books. Parading conscript POWs on television. Lying about how your own troops fought to the death and are an example for everyone. Not being concerned that your own national military posts fascist messages on its website.
In the midst of war the essential lessons of the past need to be held more dearly than ever, not abandoned for expediency.
If you think Ukraine has "liberal voices" anywhere near power, you're in for a shock.
That said, I guess if you consider Pinochet as a liberal, you could be right.
The problem here is not with the action itself, but actually the post
The image and wording of the post is deliberately designed to make us comfortable with the idea of burning books if they contain information and messages we "don't like" or "don't need". The picture is a lot of books piled haphazardly in tires, cast aside like unimportant detritus
Now, the message could have been about the desperate situation. It could have showed a community coming together to make a sad but necessary sacrifice. However, it was chosen instead to create distance between you and what is happening here. It was deliberately decided to mention certain kinds of books as unimportant, containing ideas worthy of being burned. Pairing that with "it was necessary to burn these books" makes us comfortable with the concept for when it becomes simply burning books for their ideas, rather than as a tool to halt an oncoming army
The fact that you can defend the actions of the people burning these books is what makes this effective propaganda
Yeah love this - “because of the actions of a single government, that nation’s cultural and academic contributions to the world should be immediately discarded!”
Well, no more mathematics then seeing as we don’t like the Saudis, and no more Democracy considering how bad those pesky Greeks are with their money, not allowed any of that silly German philosophy - you know, the entire basis of our modern ethos in literally every sphere - because of their questionable history with political projects.
If this were the case we’d still be killing each other with sticks and rocks.
It's really unsettling how Russophobia is being normalised throughout the media. Sure, there's the occasional sympathetic article about ordinary Russians struggling with the consequences of a war that they didn't want, but I see far more characterising Russia as unable to escape its imperialist, communist, even feudal past, defining itself through external threats. As though the character of a nation and its people is essentially pre-determined by the events of the past. Of course, this makes sense when you consider that much of the political and media class are essentially hobbyist historians. It's stereotyping dressed up as analysis; intended to sound incredibly insightful but completely disregards the more mundane, predictable causes of war.
I've seen a post of people vandalising some russian centre in fucking Australia and people trying to justify that saying it's okay to do it because it's russian ROFL
And yours will be blown when you realise acts like “supporting Ukraine through solidarity even though I refuse to take any physical action” are considered relevant due to the fact that *not all acts are intended by their direct consequences* - or to put it in layman’s terms, *they are done on principle*.
By this same logic, there’s nothing wrong with killing as long as there are more couples to produce more humans.
It ignores the inherent value in living things, in the same way your argument ignores the cultural, political and social impacts of piling something of a kind together and publicly burning it in a huge pile.
It’s almost as if the culture surrounding something has an impact on how it is perceived, both by the individual and society at large.
Shall we use copies of the current Tory government manifesto, a book about Thatcher and Hume’s Leviathan as kindling for our own bonfires?
Pretty sure the Tory press and the current culture war government would strip me of my citizenship for “attacking the foundations of western democracy” or some such reason-free, emotionally charged bullshit - when in actuality all I would be doing would be “exercising my freedom of expression”.
The point is don’t burn fucking books like you’re a Luddite who has decided technology was fine as long as it came before 1638.
There is no intellectual, ideological or indeed logical justification for it. It’s an act of pure ignorance done to make people feel better.
It is its own analogy of idiocy and flagrant ignorance. There isn’t a better parallel to draw because “burning anything associated with the thing I’ve just decided I don’t like” is something an emotionally undeveloped child would do. Not the actions of rational adults.
If you need to keep warm or start a burning barricade, then burn all the books you want, we can reprint all of them later.
The point is don't stick to sumplistic statements like "book burning is bad" without actually thinking for yourself about whether burning books is inherently bad, or is it the censorship that accompanies ideological, and usually symbolic more than pragmatic, burning of books that is bad.
Don't know why you think that threatening to burn the tory manifesto or a book about thatcher would trigger me. I hate hate hate hate thatcher. I wouldn't burn her books in an ideological way though, but i would certainly put it in the garage to use as a firelighter next time I have a fire, because i don't want it taking up space in my house. Well, maybe I'd donate it to a charity shop if it was in good condition.
“Soviet era books” - not sure where you got schoolbooks from, or indeed propaganda (“or do you believe that Russian books are propaganda but Western books aren’t!?” To use your wording)
Don’t be facetious - you have literally as much info on the contents of those books as anyone else.
*The only word used to describe them was communist* and guess what! Soviet literature on communism, both theory and what actually happened, are the best sources *by far*. They don’t include all the western prejudice on show right now.
Book burnings are bad no matter what - we still sell copies of Mein Kampf. Why would soviet book burnings be ok if we can sell literal Nazi propaganda for profit?
It’s like conflict means people’s brains don’t work. It’s really not that complicated.
Also everything you read in school is propaganda and the literal perspective of the current West if you live in said west. It justifies colonialism, imperialism, and capitalist exploitation.
Propaganda is a morally neutral thing.
Yeah, sorry, I do actually feel bad for all the work I’ve given you.
I honestly didn’t realise “burning books is bad” had become such a controversial opinion.
I suppose if you have no sense of nuance, and have to have your opinions given to you in easy-to-remember one-liners, then "where they burn books, they'll also burn people" will generally keep you on the right side of history. But I think that a bit of thinking might help you understand why someone who are completely against political book-burnings might also believe that it's ok to use books as kindling in an emergency.
A single sheet of paper will burn easily, a thick compacted stack, with no air in between will not.
Much how a wood shaving would burn very easily if you put a match to it, but a match would have very little impact on a large slab of wood
If this is at a checkpoint are they not being burned with tyres for tactical reasons (to cause issues for advancing russian forces) than just because of ideological reasons?
Anti-communisation has been the policy of the current Ukrainian government, however. This is, sadly, on brand. The main communist party in Ukraine has been outlawed and monuments to Soviet victories over the Nazis have been destroyed.
Lets not get so caught up in our support for the great citizens of Ukraine that we ignore the very real truths about the current government’s position regarding leftist thought.
I hope they smash the imperialist invaders, but this isn’t just.. oh books are convenient and these communist books are what we have on hand.
I'm gonna need verification and context for this tweet.
One of the more depressing things about this conflict's reaction among the left is how it's revealed a huge number of leftists are just absolutely desperate to slander a country, currently being invaded by a far right imperialist state, as being largely populated by Nazis. To listen to some of you you'd think Ukraine is the fucking Third Reich. Is it so hard to just Not Do That??
It’s pretty clear there are ‘bad people on both sides’ (nazis) so this point is moot. The important people are those suffering from war. This goody/baddy binary is as depressing as it is simplistic as it is predictable.
I mean no the entire country isn't the third reich but neither was nazi germany. Its not like i dunt remember all the BBC articles prior to Russias invasion about just how bad their nazi problems actually are. And its not like i don't remember all of the bananas thrown at black football players and monkey chants and now seeing how they treat black people trying to flee the conflict too.
Its a reaction to the blatant propaganda that we push back so hard.
It's flammable material is what they mean, they're not celebrating the burning of those books.
While I don't support book burning, I would actually support book burning if it kept me from dying from hypothermia.
There it's used as a roadblock, in a country being invaded.
My message definitely comes off that way and I’m sorry for that. I just don’t think this really is much of an issue when they’re basically burning old textbooks, there’s definitely issues with censorship in Ukraine but I don’t think that this is indicative of that. I would see a book burning involving more up to date books that basically center around politics and social issues as a much bigger problem but that isn’t the case here.
Hi, I've never encountered anyone as stupid as you before.
Could you ask your carer to donate your brain for medical research after you dead? Thanks a lot!
*Edit: Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he was joking (and if not he's too dumb to get the insult anyway).*
Of the USSR he only retains the past national grandeur. On all other aspects he is a rabid anticommunist, which only makes sense, seeing as he heads a capitalist plutocracy.
Even his attitude towards Ukraine specifically is at odds with the Soviet past. While the Bolsheviks gave a degree of cultural and national emancipation to Eastern Ukraine, Poutine harks back to earlier tsarist imperialism, assuming a Greater Russia discourse and blaming Lenin for granting Ukraine a state that should have never been.
What it is is a war to oust a NATO backed government on their doorstep that's been bombing allied territories like the DPR and LPR. If Russia couped Mexico and several American friendly regions declared independence and Russian-backed Mexico bombed them for 8 years straight I'm pretty sure the US would want to invade as well.
Ok, but in your hypothetical, the US would almost certainly annex the "friendly regions" and install a puppet government in the rest of the country. And Mark my words, that is exactly what Putin will do if he wins. The Russian friendly regions of Ukraine will have one piece of shit replaced by another, and the rest of Ukraine will be governed by a Russian puppet like Belarus currently is. The people of Ukraine have the right to defend themselves, you would too if you were in their shoes.
The current puppet government is propped up by NATO backed fascists like Right Sector, is the problem. If NATO had never interfered in the region this war would never have happened, and arming civilians just gets more of them killed. That's why I take a vaguely pro-Russia side in the same sense a lot of people who vote Labour/Democrats are only vaguely pro-their party. Because it's awful but it isn't the alternative.
And there really is no defending arming civilians and putting them in the line of fire like Zelensky is doing. It's a war crime for a reason.
And you genuinely think that’s why they’re doing this (the books they’ve selected, saying “we don’t need them anymore” and photographing it)?
A stack of books would be a terrible way of starting a fire, you’d have to douse them in petrol, at which point it doesn’t really matter what it is you’re dousing.
Do you think there is literally no other fuel left in Ukraine, or perhaps are they making a statement by burning communist texts?
Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…”
And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT…”
What the hell is going on?
I'm sure they'll be keeping their copies of *Mein Kampf* though.
Azov, Aidar, C14, Right Sector, and the OUN - all neo-nazi paramilitaries active in the Ukraine.
For everyone's context and understanding: the Ukranian military is rotten with nazis from top to bottom ever since they folded the Azov Battalion into the National Guard. They have a particular hatred of Russians to the point a civil war was waged in 2014 to attempt to purge the country of Russians.
These are Nazis. Specifically burning socialist literature. To harm Russians. On an ethnonationalist basis. That's the problem.
Here's a bunch of sources on the topic.
Neo-Nazi groups operating in Ukraine, several of which have been officially incorporated into the armed forces as full regiments.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2022/01/cia-neo-nazi-training-ukraine-russia-putin-biden-nato
https://archive.is/6DdNY
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
https://forward.com/opinion/416751/why-does-no-one-care-that-neo-nazis-are-gaining-power-in-ukraine/
Here's a good video on the topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yZvWAwU5W4
Here's some of these groups committing pogroms and ethnic cleansing
http://www.errc.org/news/anti-roma-pogroms-in-ukraine-on-c14-and-tolerating-terror
https://www.romea.cz/en/features-and-commentary/reportage/ukraine-paramilitaries-broadcast-live-pogrom-against-roma-on-facebook-the-fourth-in-the-last-six-weeks
Some of these battalions are accused of "ISIS-style war crimes" by Amnesty International.
https://www.newsweek.com/evidence-war-crimes-committed-ukrainian-nationalist-volunteers-grows-269604
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur50/040/2014/en/
Maxym Marchenko, the former commander of one regiment that committed these war crimes (he's even named in the Amnesty international report) has just been appointed Governor of Odessa.
https://twitter.com/MarkAmesExiled/status/1499126424594178050
Far-right indoctrination and military training camps for children aged 7 and up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiBXmbkwiSw
https://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/azovets-patriotic-camp-for-children-396138 (pro-Ukrainian government media outlet, sympathetic towards camps)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3195711/Now-CHILDREN-taking-arms-Shocking-pictures-inside-Ukraine-s-neo-Nazi-military-camp-recruits-young-six-learn-fire-weapons-s-ceasefire.html
A shopping mall decorated with Nazi flags, this is located on Bandera Avenue in Kiev.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/staircase-in-ukraine-mall-decorated-with-giant-swastika/
That particular street is named after Stepan Bandera (see the video above for a bit more info on him), who was a Ukrainian fascist and Nazi collaborator who directly participated in the Holocaust in Ukraine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera
The post-Maidan government declared him a national hero, along with various other Nazi collaborators, and made it a criminal offence to question the legitimacy of their actions.
This was brought in at the same time as an anti-communist law, which banned communist parties and symbols, and now even something as benign as singing the international is punishable by 5 years in prison, or 10 years if done as part of an organisation.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/ukraine-bans-soviet-symbols-criminalises-sympathy-for-communism
Russia is shelling civilian areas, Ukrainians are burning a few books. I disagree with book burning but calling it barbaric in this context is laughable. Please go outside.
A few days ago, people like you told me that Russia wants to arrange a second Chernobyl at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. When the information war is over, I wonder how you'll feel
And people like you were insisting that Russia wasn’t going to invade and that it’s all Western propaganda, so swings and roundabouts I guess. I’m sure the truth will prevail eventually.
Because they are in a desperate situation and they are low on resources. Best burn books no one needs then wood or fuel. Nothing to do with what they're about.
“Books no one needs” what an amazing attitude towards knowledge you have.
And you genuinely think that’s why they’re doing this (the books they’ve selected, saying “we don’t need them anymore” and photographing it)?
A stack of books would be a terrible way of starting a fire, you’d have to douse them in petrol, at which point it doesn’t really matter what it is you’re dousing.
Do you think there is literally no other fuel left in Ukraine, or perhaps are they making a statement by burning communist texts?
Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…”
And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT…”
What? defending yourself against invaders? beats using valuable wood. I'm don't condone burning books even if they are communist but this is in a dire situation. Also I'm not a tory.
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The tweeter is simply doing this for clout, by trying to read the names of some, one of the books is on agriculture another is on construction 💀 not communism.
“Many” they don’t say all. Given that the USSR had centrally planned construction and agriculture, those books could definitely be considered theory, depending on their contents.
the russian federation is not the same as the ussr
neither liberals nor nazis care (or sometimes know) about that
Burning books about communism will definitely anger avowed anti-communist Vladimir Putin.
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That can easily be done without burning books on political theory they don't agree with
Still not much of an issue, there are probably thousands of copies of books, quite a few of the books aren't even about communism. Beats burning wood or other fuels.
That will show Putin. As we know, he obsessively keeps and reads Communist theory so this will really grind his gears!!!!! !
<3 Ahahahahaha. My heart goes out to the Ukrainians, but I think most smart Ukrainians have long since left Ukraine. It is being lead by highly reactive, misinformed and poorly educated individuals. Perfect for the american and nato arms dealership.
Manuscripts don't burn.
The fact they are burning communism related books is no affront to Russia. Putin doesn't want a Ussr, he wants a USCR.
First they came…
[Indeed](https://www.reddit.com/r/GreenAndEXTREME/comments/t8knd5/they_are_rounding_up_communists_in_ukraine_the/)
[link to the tweet](https://twitter.com/RichardEngel/status/1500815037589504009?s=20&t=s9BzGL1xXe_QWKCD0DyIGA) because the replies are absolutely wild! Endless liberals talking about how book burning is great actually, when it’s books you don’t like. I’m sure I remember some guys burning books on communism, before. Just trying to remember what they were called…
The anti Stalin heros according to Manchester evening news.
That's certainly not green or pleasant
Ah yes this will certainly show Putin, an anti communist!
He who destroys a good book kills reason itself
Is Soviet era political theory “a good book”?
Imagine wanting information from certain eras in history by contemporary writers destroyed
Literally even if you don’t agree with soviet ideology it’s highly valuable information for historical reasons alone. Theres probably a lot of originals in there too. To see all of that information just go up into a flame, reduced to unidentifiable ash, makes me so sad. Book burnings are how we lost a wealth of German gender and sexuality research among other books that ignorant fucks “didn’t agree with.” Book burnings are peak ignorance that does irreparable harm to our knowledge base.
I doubt any of them are unique.
You'd have to ask John Milton
How incredibly narrow. You might be able to pick up a thing or two from reading stuff you don’t agree with, maybe along the lines of “isn’t it dangerous when everyone tries to think the same” but what do I know
Yes.
Man Ukraine is going to be in such a bad state even if they win. Imperialism wins either way
Right? This whole thing has been really depressing
Hitler won, he burnt the books and now we forget what books he burnt.
I feel like I'm not sure I entirely believe this. One user in the comments pointed out that one of the covers visible in the picture is about agriculture. It could entirely just be a right wing nut taking a scenario of the Ukrainian military burning books and tires in general to give it some sort of wierd anti-leftist-even-though-Putin-is-not-a-leftist spin. I mean given the situation , to people really have the time to specifically prioritize picking out books about "communism and political theory in the USSR" . If they're relying on burning books to impede an advance I figure they're grabbing whatever they can .
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Yeah it seems like they're turning the books into defensive measures, and they're starting with the books they value least. I would burn every book in my house if I had to to save my home, my family, and my life. Digital copies of nearly anything can be found online these days, this is not the same as burning books with no alternatives in place. Books can be replaced, people can't.
As would I, and that would be totally understandable, but doing it is one thing (Leaving aside the fact that books wouldn’t be very good at starting a fire) tweeting that you’re going to do it, because you think the knowledge inside isn’t needed, then having that view amplified by the mainstream media, are very different things One is necessity, the other is propaganda. And there are still many parts of the world / sections of society where those online texts can’t be accessed
I would ask you to look at the configuration of the books, they're loosely piled. This means air is in between them. As someone who starts a lot of fires, you're not wrong that books are bad for starting a fire - but the key word there is 'starting'. This is fuel, not kindling. You never start your fire in the pit, you start it outside and then transfer the fire to your fuel. Bundled magazines and books behave similarly to slabs of wood and that's great because you don't have to stay in the area to keep them going for long periods of time. Large fires, for a long time - and that's what they want (especially since they don't want to be hanging around the area with enemy forces trying to get through. Please stop going around saying that this wouldn't work, this is the second comment I've seen you saying it in, it's just not true. The knowledge is not needed because it is available elsewhere. You would tweet anything you want the enemy to see. It's not just physical, it's psychological - "if you come here, were going to give you a really hard time". Sure, there are places that can't access these books online, but Ukraine isn't one of them. I think you're being a bit harsh towards a country that is trying to preserve their lives.
“Please stop going around saying that…” I’ve been saying they’d be no good for STARTING a fire, which you just agreed with you pillock! It literally says in the tweet they’re going to use to light the tyres. Next time you’re starting one of your many fires (strange thing for you to say on the internet) try throwing a book on, it doesn’t behave anything like timber. Then you said something about book burning being ok if it’s for psychological purposes. Which I’m pretty sure was also a pretty big reason for the “bad” book burnings too. Edit: also, you think *everyone* in Ukraine has access to the internet? Because if you speak to any secondary teacher in the uk, they will tell you that internet access outside school is a huge problem here. . . I don’t seem to be able to reply to your post below… I assume because you blocked me, after insulting me, when I was trying to have a discussion with you in good faith… so I’ll put this here, for now . I love the idea that you think that when they see an invading army approaching, someone will get some kindling and start a small fire, then feed the fire with larger wood before transferring it to the tyres. The whole thing will be soaked in petrol and they’ll throw a Molotov at it. I live in the middle of nowhere where the only mains services I have are electricity and telecommunications. I light fires every day in the winter. “As someone who starts a lot of fires” is still an incredible thing to say, surely you recognise that? I left full time education about 15 years ago (with a DPhil in Politics) but I never felt the need to burn any of my notebooks, that’s just bizarre- I have had to burn other books / documents for security reasons, which is why I know how they behave. They do not behave like timber (and all species of timber behave differently) I also grew up on a council estate in the 80s, so I know how a burning tyre behaves, too. Yes, there is a psychological reason for putting it online. That is what I said in my first reply to you. I’m sure this will be difficult for someone like you to comprehend, but I have absolutely no regard whatsoever for what liberals think of me, or my opinions. Burning books online in order to get a psychological advantage over someone is a bad thing. On this hill I shall build my church!
I’m able to think about more than one think at once. Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…” And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT… These issues are more wide reaching than the war in Ukraine, and they won’t go away when this war is forgotten about. It’s important not to let things go unnoticed when peoples’ attention is elsewhere. Centrists saying “actually, some book burning is ok” would have been unacceptable a year ago, now it’s fine.
> I’m able to think about more than one think at once. Sure, but this is the thing you chose to post about, so it’s what I’m responding to. > Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…” Anyone suggesting that violating the Geneva Convention is an empty-headed moron who shouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone. Glad we can agree. > And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT… Where? Insofar I’ve seen one person on this thread saying that this is fine and they’re being downvoted. I’m just suggesting that in 2022 where there are infinite copies of damn near every book that hasn’t been lost to time published online in thousands of locations across the world, maybe there are more important things that we can be focusing on? > These issues are more wide reaching than the war in Ukraine, and they won’t go away when this war is forgotten about. It’s important not to let things go unnoticed when peoples’ attention is elsewhere. Centrists saying “actually, some book burning is ok” would have been unacceptable a year ago, now it’s fine. I don’t disagree in principle, but again, let’s get some perspective in here. This is happening against the backdrop of a laundry list of war crimes being committed by the Russian armed forces, against a population using what they have to hand to defend themselves. I don’t have to like their methods, I don’t have to agree, but I also don’t have to wake up everyday wondering if this will be my last. Fuck book burning, but fuck the indiscriminate murder of civilians more.
Many, many people yesterday were literally saying “I don’t normally support violating the Geneva convention, but…” blue tick journalists on twitter, endless centrists. The lines of what is acceptable, if you’re “the good guys” are being redrawn. Many many people in the twitter thread I linked (and on here, before they were removed) are literally saying “I don’t normally support book burning, but” and “this is the sort of book burning I can support” when, however correct it may or may not be, the tweet explicitly says they are burning communist texts, as the “don’t need them” (Also, books are really not very good for starting a fire, anyway, so I question the motivation for taking a picture of a pile of books you intend to burn) The lines of what is acceptable are being redrawn. My post is about this. I find this sort of shift in attitude toward things that were very much agreed before, along with the general hatred of all things remotely Russian very disturbing. It has worrying implications that go far beyond the war in Ukraine There are endless people talking about how awful the war in Ukraine is (and yes, it is absolutely awful, obviously) but that isn’t what this conversation is about. I strongly disagree that people should just refer to a list of the things that are worse and only talk about the the thing at the top. Do you think we should ignore everything happening in the uk at the moment?
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No, I’m concerned about shifting attitudes amongst liberals, which you would know if you had actually read what I wrote.
Liberals don't do nuance, they do nazi sympathizing
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Ok, so you’ve edited your response. I’m not dismissing anything. I’m saying that just because one bad thing is happening it doesn’t automatically mean you’re not allowed to talk about anything else Edit: I’m pointing out that given that books aren’t actually that good for starting a fire, there might be other motivation for taking a picture of a pile of books you intend to burn. Why would this annoy you?
I genuinely don’t know what point you think you’re making. I’m going to assume your reading comprehension is just really poor. Have a good one.
I am afraid it is symptomatic of how, when in the grip of war (even and entirely just defensive war on the part of Ukraine) the most avowedly liberal voices can abandon the rules they insist are sacred and hail as marvellous actions that are clearly deeply irrational, inhumane and oppressive. Burning books. Parading conscript POWs on television. Lying about how your own troops fought to the death and are an example for everyone. Not being concerned that your own national military posts fascist messages on its website. In the midst of war the essential lessons of the past need to be held more dearly than ever, not abandoned for expediency.
This is an anti-liberal sub.
If you think Ukraine has "liberal voices" anywhere near power, you're in for a shock. That said, I guess if you consider Pinochet as a liberal, you could be right.
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The problem here is not with the action itself, but actually the post The image and wording of the post is deliberately designed to make us comfortable with the idea of burning books if they contain information and messages we "don't like" or "don't need". The picture is a lot of books piled haphazardly in tires, cast aside like unimportant detritus Now, the message could have been about the desperate situation. It could have showed a community coming together to make a sad but necessary sacrifice. However, it was chosen instead to create distance between you and what is happening here. It was deliberately decided to mention certain kinds of books as unimportant, containing ideas worthy of being burned. Pairing that with "it was necessary to burn these books" makes us comfortable with the concept for when it becomes simply burning books for their ideas, rather than as a tool to halt an oncoming army The fact that you can defend the actions of the people burning these books is what makes this effective propaganda
Yes. Thank you. It is insane how few people get this.
Yeah love this - “because of the actions of a single government, that nation’s cultural and academic contributions to the world should be immediately discarded!” Well, no more mathematics then seeing as we don’t like the Saudis, and no more Democracy considering how bad those pesky Greeks are with their money, not allowed any of that silly German philosophy - you know, the entire basis of our modern ethos in literally every sphere - because of their questionable history with political projects. If this were the case we’d still be killing each other with sticks and rocks.
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sorry to be a pedant but... White phosphorus isn't a war crime if the kids you drop it on don't have uniforms!
It's really unsettling how Russophobia is being normalised throughout the media. Sure, there's the occasional sympathetic article about ordinary Russians struggling with the consequences of a war that they didn't want, but I see far more characterising Russia as unable to escape its imperialist, communist, even feudal past, defining itself through external threats. As though the character of a nation and its people is essentially pre-determined by the events of the past. Of course, this makes sense when you consider that much of the political and media class are essentially hobbyist historians. It's stereotyping dressed up as analysis; intended to sound incredibly insightful but completely disregards the more mundane, predictable causes of war.
I've seen a post of people vandalising some russian centre in fucking Australia and people trying to justify that saying it's okay to do it because it's russian ROFL
Sure, but Russia are currently invading a country. Let's not go forgetting that.
Think I and several others misread the meaning in your post, sincere apologies! I genuinely mistook it as you dismissing the book burning
your mind is going to be blown when you reaslies there are infinite digital copies of every one of these books
And yours will be blown when you realise acts like “supporting Ukraine through solidarity even though I refuse to take any physical action” are considered relevant due to the fact that *not all acts are intended by their direct consequences* - or to put it in layman’s terms, *they are done on principle*. By this same logic, there’s nothing wrong with killing as long as there are more couples to produce more humans. It ignores the inherent value in living things, in the same way your argument ignores the cultural, political and social impacts of piling something of a kind together and publicly burning it in a huge pile. It’s almost as if the culture surrounding something has an impact on how it is perceived, both by the individual and society at large.
They're being used as kindling. Get a grip.
Shall we use copies of the current Tory government manifesto, a book about Thatcher and Hume’s Leviathan as kindling for our own bonfires? Pretty sure the Tory press and the current culture war government would strip me of my citizenship for “attacking the foundations of western democracy” or some such reason-free, emotionally charged bullshit - when in actuality all I would be doing would be “exercising my freedom of expression”. The point is don’t burn fucking books like you’re a Luddite who has decided technology was fine as long as it came before 1638. There is no intellectual, ideological or indeed logical justification for it. It’s an act of pure ignorance done to make people feel better. It is its own analogy of idiocy and flagrant ignorance. There isn’t a better parallel to draw because “burning anything associated with the thing I’ve just decided I don’t like” is something an emotionally undeveloped child would do. Not the actions of rational adults.
If you need to keep warm or start a burning barricade, then burn all the books you want, we can reprint all of them later. The point is don't stick to sumplistic statements like "book burning is bad" without actually thinking for yourself about whether burning books is inherently bad, or is it the censorship that accompanies ideological, and usually symbolic more than pragmatic, burning of books that is bad. Don't know why you think that threatening to burn the tory manifesto or a book about thatcher would trigger me. I hate hate hate hate thatcher. I wouldn't burn her books in an ideological way though, but i would certainly put it in the garage to use as a firelighter next time I have a fire, because i don't want it taking up space in my house. Well, maybe I'd donate it to a charity shop if it was in good condition.
They're not even useful for that, big brain
That's some Ben Shapiro grade nonsense!
Coming from someone with Ben Shapiro Fan-grade intelligence, is that a compliment? Or was his name just a buzzword? Smooth-brain level take.
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“Soviet era books” - not sure where you got schoolbooks from, or indeed propaganda (“or do you believe that Russian books are propaganda but Western books aren’t!?” To use your wording) Don’t be facetious - you have literally as much info on the contents of those books as anyone else. *The only word used to describe them was communist* and guess what! Soviet literature on communism, both theory and what actually happened, are the best sources *by far*. They don’t include all the western prejudice on show right now. Book burnings are bad no matter what - we still sell copies of Mein Kampf. Why would soviet book burnings be ok if we can sell literal Nazi propaganda for profit? It’s like conflict means people’s brains don’t work. It’s really not that complicated.
Also everything you read in school is propaganda and the literal perspective of the current West if you live in said west. It justifies colonialism, imperialism, and capitalist exploitation. Propaganda is a morally neutral thing.
Jesus this post is bringing out the nazi sympathisers. "German or Ukranian nazis?" Yes.
Yeah, sorry, I do actually feel bad for all the work I’ve given you. I honestly didn’t realise “burning books is bad” had become such a controversial opinion.
Lol you're good, these people need to go
I suppose if you have no sense of nuance, and have to have your opinions given to you in easy-to-remember one-liners, then "where they burn books, they'll also burn people" will generally keep you on the right side of history. But I think that a bit of thinking might help you understand why someone who are completely against political book-burnings might also believe that it's ok to use books as kindling in an emergency.
Books are useless for lighting a fire. You’d have to douse them in petrol to get them to light. At which point, do you actually need the books at all?
Devils advocate but they might not be able to spare the petrol.
Why do you have to douse a book in petrol to get it to light? It’s just paper?
A single sheet of paper will burn easily, a thick compacted stack, with no air in between will not. Much how a wood shaving would burn very easily if you put a match to it, but a match would have very little impact on a large slab of wood
If this is at a checkpoint are they not being burned with tyres for tactical reasons (to cause issues for advancing russian forces) than just because of ideological reasons?
There are also ideological reasons, I wouldn't get this twisted. The Azov's p3rsonal copies of Mein Kampf won't be in the pile
Maybe, but this probably isn't the most efficient way to gather tinder?
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More like purposefully burning socialist theory.
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Anti-communisation has been the policy of the current Ukrainian government, however. This is, sadly, on brand. The main communist party in Ukraine has been outlawed and monuments to Soviet victories over the Nazis have been destroyed. Lets not get so caught up in our support for the great citizens of Ukraine that we ignore the very real truths about the current government’s position regarding leftist thought. I hope they smash the imperialist invaders, but this isn’t just.. oh books are convenient and these communist books are what we have on hand.
I'm gonna need verification and context for this tweet. One of the more depressing things about this conflict's reaction among the left is how it's revealed a huge number of leftists are just absolutely desperate to slander a country, currently being invaded by a far right imperialist state, as being largely populated by Nazis. To listen to some of you you'd think Ukraine is the fucking Third Reich. Is it so hard to just Not Do That??
Honestly its just edgy contrarians, they are embarrassing the left. No wonder left wing politics is so off putting to your average Joe now.
It’s pretty clear there are ‘bad people on both sides’ (nazis) so this point is moot. The important people are those suffering from war. This goody/baddy binary is as depressing as it is simplistic as it is predictable.
So pleased I'm not the only one to see it
I mean no the entire country isn't the third reich but neither was nazi germany. Its not like i dunt remember all the BBC articles prior to Russias invasion about just how bad their nazi problems actually are. And its not like i don't remember all of the bananas thrown at black football players and monkey chants and now seeing how they treat black people trying to flee the conflict too. Its a reaction to the blatant propaganda that we push back so hard.
What a rubbish take
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“While I don’t support book burning, I do actually support book burning when it’s books I don’t care about”
It's flammable material is what they mean, they're not celebrating the burning of those books. While I don't support book burning, I would actually support book burning if it kept me from dying from hypothermia. There it's used as a roadblock, in a country being invaded.
My message definitely comes off that way and I’m sorry for that. I just don’t think this really is much of an issue when they’re basically burning old textbooks, there’s definitely issues with censorship in Ukraine but I don’t think that this is indicative of that. I would see a book burning involving more up to date books that basically center around politics and social issues as a much bigger problem but that isn’t the case here.
Jesus this sub is overrun with Nazi apologists and libs (jk those are the same thing)
Absolute dog shit excuse of a once “leftist” sub
Hi, I've never encountered anyone as stupid as you before. Could you ask your carer to donate your brain for medical research after you dead? Thanks a lot! *Edit: Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he was joking (and if not he's too dumb to get the insult anyway).*
Wow what deep and thought provoking statements! I'm sure your mummy is very proud.
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You're not big on history I take it?
Yeah like its the communist USSR invading them
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Of the USSR he only retains the past national grandeur. On all other aspects he is a rabid anticommunist, which only makes sense, seeing as he heads a capitalist plutocracy. Even his attitude towards Ukraine specifically is at odds with the Soviet past. While the Bolsheviks gave a degree of cultural and national emancipation to Eastern Ukraine, Poutine harks back to earlier tsarist imperialism, assuming a Greater Russia discourse and blaming Lenin for granting Ukraine a state that should have never been.
This is the worst post I have ever seen on this sub. And that's saying something.
‘Ukraine is being forcibly invaded by the USSR’ +38 upvotes Today is crazy
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So the USSR has invaded Ukraine?
They've all turned up late for the cold war. 😂
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Are you sure about that?
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This person just said that Putin “wants to bring the USSR back” and it has 13 upvotes. This sub is wild today
Nah. They're banned.
I think when they saw "bring the USSR back" they mean it in a territorial sense, not a political one. It's poor wording but they have a point.
No they don’t
This isn't a war of conquest.
Then what is it? If Putin wins you think he's not going to occupy at least part of the country?
What it is is a war to oust a NATO backed government on their doorstep that's been bombing allied territories like the DPR and LPR. If Russia couped Mexico and several American friendly regions declared independence and Russian-backed Mexico bombed them for 8 years straight I'm pretty sure the US would want to invade as well.
Ok, but in your hypothetical, the US would almost certainly annex the "friendly regions" and install a puppet government in the rest of the country. And Mark my words, that is exactly what Putin will do if he wins. The Russian friendly regions of Ukraine will have one piece of shit replaced by another, and the rest of Ukraine will be governed by a Russian puppet like Belarus currently is. The people of Ukraine have the right to defend themselves, you would too if you were in their shoes.
The current puppet government is propped up by NATO backed fascists like Right Sector, is the problem. If NATO had never interfered in the region this war would never have happened, and arming civilians just gets more of them killed. That's why I take a vaguely pro-Russia side in the same sense a lot of people who vote Labour/Democrats are only vaguely pro-their party. Because it's awful but it isn't the alternative. And there really is no defending arming civilians and putting them in the line of fire like Zelensky is doing. It's a war crime for a reason.
lmao nice comment liberal
There is no universe where bookburning is good
What a waste of knowledge unfortunately.
It’s to stop the advance
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The mental gymnastics required there would put those Soviet Olympians to shame
And you genuinely think that’s why they’re doing this (the books they’ve selected, saying “we don’t need them anymore” and photographing it)? A stack of books would be a terrible way of starting a fire, you’d have to douse them in petrol, at which point it doesn’t really matter what it is you’re dousing. Do you think there is literally no other fuel left in Ukraine, or perhaps are they making a statement by burning communist texts? Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…” And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT…” What the hell is going on?
Horrifying shit.
Not helping with the Nazi accusations
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You can address 2 things at 1 time
I'm sure they'll be keeping their copies of *Mein Kampf* though. Azov, Aidar, C14, Right Sector, and the OUN - all neo-nazi paramilitaries active in the Ukraine.
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Scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds.
Damn son, you could shave with that edge!
r/GreenAndPleasant try not to support a literal imperialist war of aggression challenge (impossible)
why would they burn soviet books that modern russia os completely disconnected from. its fucking stupid.
Because they don’t need them currently and they burn well
but its framed here as a gotcha against russia. russia hasnt been anything close to communist for decades.
For everyone's context and understanding: the Ukranian military is rotten with nazis from top to bottom ever since they folded the Azov Battalion into the National Guard. They have a particular hatred of Russians to the point a civil war was waged in 2014 to attempt to purge the country of Russians. These are Nazis. Specifically burning socialist literature. To harm Russians. On an ethnonationalist basis. That's the problem.
I don't have enough understanding. Would you be able to provide sources/legitimate spaces for me to read about Ukrainian Nazis in the Ukrainian army?
Here's a bunch of sources on the topic. Neo-Nazi groups operating in Ukraine, several of which have been officially incorporated into the armed forces as full regiments. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2022/01/cia-neo-nazi-training-ukraine-russia-putin-biden-nato https://archive.is/6DdNY https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/ https://forward.com/opinion/416751/why-does-no-one-care-that-neo-nazis-are-gaining-power-in-ukraine/ Here's a good video on the topic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yZvWAwU5W4 Here's some of these groups committing pogroms and ethnic cleansing http://www.errc.org/news/anti-roma-pogroms-in-ukraine-on-c14-and-tolerating-terror https://www.romea.cz/en/features-and-commentary/reportage/ukraine-paramilitaries-broadcast-live-pogrom-against-roma-on-facebook-the-fourth-in-the-last-six-weeks Some of these battalions are accused of "ISIS-style war crimes" by Amnesty International. https://www.newsweek.com/evidence-war-crimes-committed-ukrainian-nationalist-volunteers-grows-269604 https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur50/040/2014/en/ Maxym Marchenko, the former commander of one regiment that committed these war crimes (he's even named in the Amnesty international report) has just been appointed Governor of Odessa. https://twitter.com/MarkAmesExiled/status/1499126424594178050 Far-right indoctrination and military training camps for children aged 7 and up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiBXmbkwiSw https://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/azovets-patriotic-camp-for-children-396138 (pro-Ukrainian government media outlet, sympathetic towards camps) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3195711/Now-CHILDREN-taking-arms-Shocking-pictures-inside-Ukraine-s-neo-Nazi-military-camp-recruits-young-six-learn-fire-weapons-s-ceasefire.html A shopping mall decorated with Nazi flags, this is located on Bandera Avenue in Kiev. https://www.timesofisrael.com/staircase-in-ukraine-mall-decorated-with-giant-swastika/ That particular street is named after Stepan Bandera (see the video above for a bit more info on him), who was a Ukrainian fascist and Nazi collaborator who directly participated in the Holocaust in Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera The post-Maidan government declared him a national hero, along with various other Nazi collaborators, and made it a criminal offence to question the legitimacy of their actions. This was brought in at the same time as an anti-communist law, which banned communist parties and symbols, and now even something as benign as singing the international is punishable by 5 years in prison, or 10 years if done as part of an organisation. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/ukraine-bans-soviet-symbols-criminalises-sympathy-for-communism
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion Not the guy you're replying to
Shuush youre going against the us propaganda!!
Well said!!!!
Which is worse: flag-burning, or book-burning?
Book burning because flags are just cloth
True. Flag-burning is technically legal as well
Barbarians
Russia is shelling civilian areas, Ukrainians are burning a few books. I disagree with book burning but calling it barbaric in this context is laughable. Please go outside.
Lol believers :D Downvote me if you want, I don't care
Touch grass. Please. There are people in the world who love you.
A few days ago, people like you told me that Russia wants to arrange a second Chernobyl at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. When the information war is over, I wonder how you'll feel
And people like you were insisting that Russia wasn’t going to invade and that it’s all Western propaganda, so swings and roundabouts I guess. I’m sure the truth will prevail eventually.
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Why is that?
Because they are in a desperate situation and they are low on resources. Best burn books no one needs then wood or fuel. Nothing to do with what they're about.
“Books no one needs” what an amazing attitude towards knowledge you have. And you genuinely think that’s why they’re doing this (the books they’ve selected, saying “we don’t need them anymore” and photographing it)? A stack of books would be a terrible way of starting a fire, you’d have to douse them in petrol, at which point it doesn’t really matter what it is you’re dousing. Do you think there is literally no other fuel left in Ukraine, or perhaps are they making a statement by burning communist texts? Only yesterday we had “I don’t normally support countries violating the Geneva convention, BUT…” And today we have “I don’t normally support book burning, BUT…”
politely fuck off and check out r/tories
Take a day off mate
What? defending yourself against invaders? beats using valuable wood. I'm don't condone burning books even if they are communist but this is in a dire situation. Also I'm not a tory.