© Zha Chunming/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire
Chinese and Russian marines hug during a joint naval drill in Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province, Sept. 14, 2016.
Does it pay 'to be good'? Is it still possible to play by the rules in this mad world, governed by brigands?
What if the rules are defined and ratified by all countries of the world, but a small group of the strongest (militarily) nations totally ignores them, while using its professional propagandists to reinterpret them in the most bizarre ways?
Describing the world, I often feel that I am back in my primary school.
When I was a child, I had the misfortune of growing up in a racist Czechoslovakia. Being born in the Soviet Union, and having an half Russian and half Asian mother, I was brutally beaten up between classes, from the age of seven. I was systematically attacked by a gang of boys, and humiliated and hit for having 'Asian ears', for having an 'Asian mother', for being Russian. During winters, my shoes were taken out into the bitter cold and pissed into. The urine turned into ice. The only consolation was that 'at least' I was Russian and Chinese. If I was a Gypsy (Roma) boy, I would most likely not have made it, at least without losing an eye, or without having my hands broken.
I tried to be polite. I did my best to 'play by the rules'. I fought back, first only half-heartedly.
Comment: It's notable how often these days China and Russia are at the center of creating peace, whether by their diplomatic efforts or through business partnerships: