Dennis Hackethalhttps://blog.dennishackethal.com/Comments on post ‘Ukraine’ on Dennis Hackethal’s Blog2024-03-28T21:56:02+00:00dennis<p>Everyone suddenly pronouncing the Ukrainian capital ‘Keev’ instead of ‘Kiev’ is another thing that should make us suspicious.</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-334Comment 334 by dennis2022-04-07T08:23:42Z2022-04-07T08:23:42Zdennis<p>Grammarly, an online writing tool, has also changed the colors of its logo to resemble the Ukrainian flag:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/grammarly_ukraine.png" alt="Grammarly logo"></p>
<p>And they have added a banner at the top of <a href="https://archive.ph/KtrTT" rel="ugc">their homepage</a> saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>Grammarly stands with our friends, colleagues, and family in Ukraine, and with all people of Ukraine.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They also link to a <a href="https://archive.ph/lSMve" rel="ugc">statement</a> about the war. Judging by that, Grammarly’s case seems to be more genuine and less about seeking approval since “Grammarly was founded in Ukraine; [their] co-founders are from Ukraine, and [they] have many team members who call Ukraine home”. However:</p>
<blockquote><p>We have also made the decision to block users located in Russia and Belarus from using Grammarly products or services.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s not clear to me what good that does. It seems to only punish the citizens of Russia and Belarus, who are not to blame.</p>
<p>Grammarly’s favicon (the little icon in browser tabs) is also in the Ukrainian colors, but for some reason the archiving site did not capture that.</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-354Comment 354 by dennis2022-04-19T21:05:41Z2022-04-19T21:05:41ZNick<p>“I know virtually nothing else about these countries, so I won’t comment further, except to say… ” - but this does not mean that those who express support for Ukraine are just as little informed. Everyone has the opportunity to learn more and the right to be guided by their knowledge.</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-410Comment 410 by Nick2022-08-19T22:54:38Z2022-08-19T22:54:38ZMoritz Wa<p>Interesting that you call it “blood money”. I haven’t heard of that phrasing. I think for clarity, you should clearly define it (and make it italic/bold) or link to an external source that does.</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-412Comment 412 by Moritz Wa2022-08-22T10:05:11Z2022-08-22T10:05:11ZMoritz Wa<p>This article’s observation feels very shallow if one has already read the book. “The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense” by Gad Saad. I’d also recommend linking a source that explains virtue signaling or expanding on the phenomenon in this text. It is at the heart of the entire dynamic. Lastly, I think it would be interesting to consider that virtue signaling sells more product by creating trust and thus is a capitalistic act which I think is harder to criticize than the parasitic nature of the meme.</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-413Comment 413 by Moritz Wa2022-08-22T10:42:15Z2022-08-22T10:42:15Zdennis<p>I’m not a native speaker but AFAIK ‘blood money’ is a common term <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blood%20money" rel="ugc">meaning</a> “money obtained at the cost of another’s life”. See, for example, the <em>Breaking Bad</em> episode titled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Money_(Breaking_Bad)#Title_reference" rel="ugc">‘Blood Money’</a>.</p>
<p>Speaking more loosely/figuratively, it’s money obtained through violence. (Although, referencing Ayn Rand, when it comes to taxation it’s not as figurative as it sounds because “the man who has no right to the product of his effort has no means to sustain his life”. See <em>The Virtue of Selfishness</em>, chapter 12.)</p>
<p>But I’ve <a href="/posts/ukraine/history#revision-1" rel="ugc">modified</a> the article to link to the above definition just in case.</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-417Comment 417 by dennis2022-08-22T10:31:51Z2022-08-22T10:31:51Zdennis <blockquote><p>[…] I think it would be interesting to consider that virtue signaling sells more product by creating trust and thus is a capitalistic act […].</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To be clear, are you criticizing capitalism?</p>
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/ukraine#comment-418Comment 418 by dennis2022-08-22T10:44:33Z2022-08-22T10:44:33Z2024-03-28T21:56:02+00:00