The War Doesn’t Affect Everybody

But it’s hard for me to talk to you if you’re not worried.

Photo by Kilian Karger on Unsplash

I haven’t been writing much in the last couple of weeks. I’ve barely read anything, either. It’s been too hard to do. All I’ve been able to gather energy for is staring at Twitter and the TV, looking for the latest updates on the Ukraine situation, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.

Absolutely no talking to Argentinians about the crisis, unless I already know their position. On some topics, I’m just not interested in debate.

On the few occasions people have insisted on talking to me, I’ve let them know I’m not in the mood for hearing any defenses of Putin. It’s necessary for me to advise them, because defending Putin is something pretty common around here. But if that’s your position, stay away from me.

Medium has also been out of the question. While there are some great analyses here on this topic (like Andrew Tanner’s), I just haven't had the energy to read through crypto bro or creativity porn headlines. Or analyses on Europe by people who haven’t studied European history and have never set foot on the continent. And while some of them are doing it out of genuine interest, others are just trying to make money on the suffering, using a popular tag to get views.

I wasn't even able to check my emails between the beginning of the invasion and this Tuesday. There’s no bandwidth left for normal things.

My friends here don’t feel the same way. They barely pay attention, because they don’t really have to. Not yet.

Finns Know

The thing is, most people around me still see this war as something abstract, something that happens to people on another continent, something they need not worry about. The only effect will be on gas prices and rising inflation, but it’s not an existential threat. And Argentinians are already thinking about how much money can be made with the rising prices of commodities. They are, after all, the country’s main export.

My position is different, and it’s because Finns have past trauma with an expansionist Russia. It’s because we share about 1300 km (800 miles) of border with Russia, and because we lost Carelia to the Soviet Union after a…