“You know neither me, yourselves, nor anything.”
—Menenius, Shakespeare’sCoriolanus, Act 2, Scene 1
It’s never a good idea to start a persuasion attempt by calling someone a fool.
Russia loves it when supporters of Ukraine tell a Trump voter or a Brexiter that Russia fooled them. Why? When elected leaders and elites ignore the demands of the people, it’s easier for Russia to entice the people onto its side. Russia profits from increased division in the West. Don’t give Russia that opportunity.
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From Tirana, Albania, to Paris, France—both places I have incidentally visited the past months—violent riots are creating havoc. Here in the UK, where I just visited the depressed city of Bradford, people increasingly feel the government doesn’t care for them. As a result many have a hard time caring about Ukraine.
Russia is expertly stoking these frustrations.
Russian propaganda doesn’t only spread lies. It finds real concerns, such as prices, borders, and the feeling of being ignored, and steers those concerns toward destructive ends. Then it waits for the elite to sneer at the “common folk.”
Whenever we dismiss genuine concerns as Kremlin talking points, the people who hold them conclude that only Moscow takes them seriously.
The Kremlin believes in nothing except power, so it can flatter everyone. We in the West, from the left to the right, believe in bedrock virtues, so we argue with each other about them. This makes it harder for us to defuse propaganda. The fact that we care about our values makes it harder for us to understand those with whom we disagree. Russians are a nation of nihilism, thanks in many respects to the legacy of communism. As a result, the Russians can be anyone to anyone long enough to pull people onto their side.
The answer isn’t to shout louder, or stop talking about our domestic political problems. But a soldier can’t yell the drones out of the sky and neither can we stop propaganda with labels and shouting. We win by taking people’s concerns seriously, and showing them that Russia is a stoker and a not a solver of problems.
If you wish to be understood, you first have to understand those whom you seek to reach.
This week’s actions:
**Understand in order to persuade:**Before you call anyone a Russian dupe, ask what concern brought them to their position, and answer that concern.**Back the Russian Transfer.**Most of Russia’s frozen assets sit in Belgium, and Moscow pressures and threatens Belgium’s government to keep it locked up. The fix is simple: Move the money out of Belgium into EU hands.
Moscow will have much more difficulty pressuring all of the EU than it does with Belgium. Once the funds are held by the EU the pressure will be taken off the Belgian people, and the Russian funds can be used to fund Ukraine’s defense, while saving money for Europeans.Read the plan, share it, and ask your representatives where they stand.
Say “Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Never say “the Ukraine war” or “the war in Ukraine.”
Avoid the words “stalemate” and “escalation.” The rhetoric of “avoiding escalation” creates an acceptance of a never-ending war. Well, a proper “escalation” is the way out of a “stalemate.”
Ukraine is striking the oil refineries that fuel the Russian war machine. Russia is striking the schools, homes and bridges where Ukrainians live.
“Make Russia pay instead of Western taxpayers.”
“Make the war expensive for Russia.”
“Make imperialism expensive.”
*JP Lindsley, an American journalist based in Ukraine, is co-founder and editor-in-chief of UnderFire.News. *
This is a massive effort to undertake, and we request your support at $10 a month. We need a council of persuaders, and we want you on it.
**U.S. Missile Warnings Resume as Ukraine Rejects Limits on Its Defenses—**President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidU.S. warnings of incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes have fully resumed, restoring intelligence critical to Ukraine’s air defenses after recent disruptions. He also confirmed that Starshield connections had operated at movement speeds of up to 420 kilometers per hour since early October 24, following restrictions imposed earlier this month. Zelenskyy credited discussions with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo for both improvements.
Washington has been pressing Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian refineries, arguing that they worsen high energy prices ahead of November’s U.S. midterm elections. Zelenskyy outlined alternatives that could enable Ukraine to stop: Russia ending attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure, Washington allowing Starshield use over Russia to identify ballistic missile launch sites, or additional Patriot missile supplies. Ahead of November’s technical talks with Russia and the United States, he ruled out negotiating limits on Ukraine’s armed forces or accepting enforced neutrality. He also renewed his call for a leaders’ meeting with Putin, reserving territorial questions for that level.
