©2024, William L. Brown. Westsplaining. American cultural insensitivity.
Biden administration officials told the Ukrainians that their draft age should be lowered to 18. The Americans discount Ukraine’s cultural and practical reasons for current 25-60 conscription age. “Westsplaining,” giving the western perspective on a foreign issue or counry with the assumption that the western perspective is superior, has been giving Ukraine indigestion since the war started. It’s as though the Biden administration thinks the Ukrainians are too dumb to analyze their own demographics and shape their own best policy.
See the Funny Times link below for ordering seasonal sweat-shirts and tees featuring my Krampus drawing “Naughty.” Stick it to the patriarchy’s judgy definitions!
Ukrainians did that and decided rather than follow the western model—the young dying for the sake of the old—instead the old should die for the sake of the young. I’ve not only heard this sentiment from Ukrainian government statements, but from soldier-interviews. Ukraine is fighting for its future, and the future is the rising generation. The goal is to protect them, not send them off to die. That’s one reason the average age of Ukrainian soldiers is 43.
The country itself is young, only citizens aged 33 and younger were born in sovereign Ukraine. This is the first Ukrainian generation, it is not for sacrifice.
I’m no sociologist, and my evidence is anecdotal, but in my three years in Ukraine I got the impression that the culture is more child-centered and nurturing than America’s.
Children’s playgrounds are ubiquitous in Ukraine, and every city has at least one park with what Americans would call “midway attractions” for youth of all ages: Ferris-wheels, kiddy-rides, bumper-cars, shooting galleries, arcade punching-bags, and haunted-houses.
January, 2017, a children’s public sledding park, in Dnipro, Ukraine, where a costumed character—a fairy-tale, cartoon or literary figure?—chats with children, and parents line up for hot food, mulled wine, and espresso drinks. Photos by William L. Brown.
Two months before the full-scale invasion I saw a woman seated on an overcrowded Kyiv train matter-of-factly reach out to a boy who was standing nearby and pull him down to sit beside her. I assumed from her easy familiarity that she was the boy’s mother, relative, or family friend. I was wrong. It became apparent that the boy’s parents were standing in the packed aisle, and that the seated woman was a stranger, but the situation was not remarkable. It was normal for a stranger to care for a child’s welfare.
Two of the three public playgrounds within one block of my apartment in Kyiv, 2020-2021. Photos by William L. Brown.
The previous year when I was at the Ukrainian embassy in Vienna getting a visa I witnessed a Ukrainian toddler pounding on the white waiting-room wall with a pine-cone he’d picked up outside. His mother approached. I expected an intervention, but she only loosened his coat, removed his hat and scarf so he wouldn’t overheat, then went back to the interview window as the boy resumed pounding on the wall. My eyebrows shot up, but none of the many Ukrainians present seemed to notice. Not one “tsk.”
Some of the attractions in Luna Park, Dnipro city center: a bumper-car pavilian “Autodrome,” a Father-Christmas-themed train-ride, and a shooting-gallery. Photos by William L. Brown.
I never saw a child hollered-at in Ukraine. Not in public, anyway. In private…, well, I’ll just say that a Ukrainian friend’s clashes with her teen at home were similar to those in my personal American experience, both as a teen and parent. And, I heard raised voices in my Kyiv apartment building. Though I have to say that was usually between adults. In fact the child next door to me was prone to meltdowns, but the parents seldom raised their voices in response, they kept calm and rode it out. So, maybe that’s another supporting anecdote.
I won’t list more anecdotes, fortunately for you, I’ll leave you with some other recent drawings below. Also, there’s still time to order your “Naughty” Krampus sweat- or t-shirt from Funny Times.
Holiday greetings to you, dear readers. How are you doing this season? I imagine that, like me, you may be in a constant state of nerves waiting to see just what the next US president will do. It’s not just Ukrainian-supporters who are worried sick. I hope you—and I—are able to enjoy the holiday as we gather our strength and resolve for whatever happens next month.
©2024, William L. Brown. Krampus and a Miscreant. Can you spot the third color? It’s subtle. Krampus is a popular winter-holiday tradition in Alpine countries, His chains remind us he is under the control of Saint Nicholas. St. Nick rewards good children with presents, Krampus carries away bad children in the basket on his back.
©2024, William L. Brown. The Drone of LIberty. Maybe I should hold a caption contest for this one. Ms Liberty is keeping up with the latest technology. I had NO drawing ideas that didn’t involve suffering Ukrainians and evil Russians. I wanted something more positive. This was before the news hit about drones over New Jersey. I was thinking more of new drone technology being developed in Ukraine, and how the Statue of Liberty’s crown looks a bit like whirling propellors …. So, here she is zooming over the waters, wielding the Torch of Freedom. Maybe … she’s flying while she can, before the isolationists in the next administration clip her wings. What’s your caption?
Thanks Bill. Interesting. Happy Holidays
Thanks for this, President Bill. And happy holidays to you. Woody Woodruff