Ukraine... When Will Enough Be Enough?

Hi.

As Putin continues to throw his tantrum of devastation, Ukraine still stands.

Yes, he is destroying office buildings, he is flattening hospitals and schools, he is stopping aid from getting to the Ukrainian people, his soldiers are shooting at fleeing vehicles clearly marked that children are inside. Yes, he continues to do all of this. 

But to his vast disappointment, he has absolutely made no ground in decimating the spirit of Ukraine. He has done nothing to destroy their will to defend what they have built. He has horribly underestimated the people of Ukraine on all fronts. He has not weakened NATO, he has made it stronger. He has not weakened the UN, they too, have banded together stronger than they have in years. 

The citizens of Ukraine have pushed their invaders back around Kyiv. They have captured both his equipment and his men, now using both against him. 

This tiny, feeble, old, bald, deranged, greedy, evil, psychopath has no path to victory. He knows it. His greed will be his downfall, just as it has been for every villain throughout history. For him, enough will never be enough, for the simple fact that he wants everything. All of it. Power, money, land, people. All of it. He is an insane and evil glutton.  

I saw today, that Ukraine has sunk a huge Russian ship carrying a bunch of Russian war gear. Ukraine is pushing back. Ukraine will never surrender. They can't. I'm not sure they would even know how, that's just how incredible they are. 

More sanctions were imposed on Putin and his buddies today, by multiple countries. More humanitarian aid is on its way, along with new plans on how to get it to those who need it most. New plans are being made to help get people out of danger. 

Putin's brand of tyranny can not be allowed to survive. He, and those who think as he does, need to be stripped of every power. Evil entities should never be allowed to run countries, be in charge of the safety of civilians, have a say in how we live. 

Hopefully, someday soon, a path to eliminating these horrible people from their seats of power will be made clear, and followed to a humane end. 

When will enough be enough? 

In the meantime...

To the people of Ukraine,

I can't imagine the level of exhaustion you must, collectively, be feeling. To withstand this level of fear, stress, and anxiety for so long is inhumane, is inhuman. No group of people should ever have to withstand this horror. Yet, you stand. I know your legs must be tired, your souls, weary, your hearts breaking a little more with every passing day. I know you must feel like you are a baby's breath from breaking under the weight of it all. How could you not?

Please know we are with you. The world is on your side. We all want this horror to be over for you. We want to honour you, hoist you upon our shoulders, celebrating victory. 

I don't know how to write this in a way that doesn't feel hollow. After all, these are just words. Unfortunately, words are all I have the power to offer. Other than pushing our own government, in all means available to me, to do more, that is.

Just please know, that even though you can't hear most of us, you can't see most of us, we are here. 

***************************************************************

 May the weight of all of the loss, a loss that would make Hercules knees buckle, subside.

May your children be saved from any more pain, finding warm food and a safe place to hide. 

May those who stand to fight, be given the strength of a hundred superheroes, the courage of a million lions' hearts.

May you continue to tap into your fortitude, your bad-assery, your incredible power, your unflappable spirit, all blatantly obvious from the start.  

May you, one day soon, dance in the streets, celebrating a victory, even if bittersweet.

May you, one day soon, again have peace, be left to live your lives, joyous, and upbeat. 

*********************************************************************

Ukraine...The Third Installment of Lessons In Badassery...

My heart, our hearts, hurt for the people of Ukraine. 

They are enduring a horror suffered by too many throughout history.

They are resisting, they are fighting, they are standing up, they are suffering.

Putin is evil, and he's vomiting that evil all over a beautiful people who deserve none of it. What kind of a human gives his word about setting up humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to escape the deadly bombing/shelling and get to safety, just to, then, attack those same corridors killing the very people the corridor was set up for? What kind of human? A garbage, sub-human, evil prick, that's who. 

Are the Ukrainian people the first to have to deal with such atrocities? Sadly, no.

Are they likely to be the last? Well, that just might depend heavily on how the tragedy in Ukraine ends. 

Dear People of Ukraine,

We, the citizens of democracies, need to do more to help. We are trying, but we need to do better. Our leaders are in constant communication with one another, trying to come up with better ways to assist. I wish it were faster, I wish it were more effective, I wish Putin would just get arrested already, and face the war crime charges that are inevitably, and most deservedly, coming his way. 

He's a terrified cowardly weasel, hiding. He's scared of those who prepare his food, and look after his day-to-day needs, to the point he fired 1000 of them and hired a whole new staff. Not sure how that would keep him safer, but, whatever. He's scared of his own generals, having several put under house arrest. He's scared of everybody, that's why in photos, during meetings, he sits at one end of a 30-metre-long table, with all the other people waaaaaaaay on the other end. 

He's scared because people have now seen behind the curtain. They now know without any doubt, what a small, desperate, tiny, little boy he is. 

They see the truth.

He is a pathetic, old man, trying desperately to hang on to his power. A power he is watching slip away a little more with each passing day. He's just a bully throwing deadly tantrums. It will come to an end, and Ukraine will be freed of his tyranny. It's just a matter of time. With any luck, it will be very soon.

I love the people of Ukraine. Putting a Russian tank up for sale on eBay was an epic move of beautiful defiance, and monumental badassery.  Keeping the Russian troops from advancing on the ground in any real way is incredible. Citizens, stepping to armed Russian soldiers holding a mirror to their conscience, making them face the reality of what they are doing. Making them see past the lies they are being fed by their leader. The incredible humanity with which they treat these same Russian soldiers, once captured. 

When in constant danger, when living in a perpetual state of fight or flight, when even the slightest moments of peace seem impossible, it must, at times, be tempting to give up. With no clear resolution in sight, with the endless nightmare keeping you from any real rest, it must feel, at times, impossible.

Please fight the feelings of hopelessness. Please don't quit. Please don't stop. Please don't let this mad man rob you of your spirit. Please don't let him beat you. Please hold on. 

When all is said and done, we will all watch together as Putin takes up permanent residence under some prison. Locked up like the rabid animal he is. And, we will then applaud his fall, his failure, his loss of power, wealth, and freedom. 

We will then raise a glass to all the souls who were lost, to all those who fought, to the entirety of the Ukrainian people, and every lesson of badassery they shared with the world. 

Soon. 

******************************************************

May this devastation be over very soon, without losing one more single, innocent soul.

May the people and country of Ukraine, somehow, someway, be helped, be made whole.

May the spirit of humanity come together to care for all those in need.

May we find a way to bring peace, soon, a spirit can not truly soar if not freed. 

************************************************************

Ukraine... Lessons In BadAssery 2.0... This Is How You Stand...

 

Hi!

The enormous, steadfast spirit of the Ukrainian people is so much stronger than the evil trying to overtake it. 

Putin and his minions, even though they outnumber, and outgun, fall short. Short on intelligence, short on morality, short on skills, and, in Putin's case, just... short. 

Watching citizens of Ukraine making their way to some kind of safety, any kind of safety, the courage that's on display is palpable. The grandmothers, grandfathers, fathers, mothers, children, and babies desperately, simply, trying to survive this completely criminal and unnecessary horror is equally inspiring and heartbreaking. 

Watching citizens of Ukraine battle with everything at their disposal, watching their resourcefulness, watching them tap into the strength of their history, gives those of us with limited ways to really help, hope. The confiscation of actual gear, the genius-level, cyber-war maneuvers being inflicted, taking full advantage of Putin's ineptitude. The humanity shown to captured Russian soldiers shows the depth of character and kindness the people of Ukraine embrace. 

Putin and his lies will diminish. Neither is sustainable. He has neither the support nor the resources necessary to keep this going. He's cornered. The world is against him. His own people are against him. He has already lost, he's just too much of an egomaniac and moron to see it. 

He's delusional and an idiot. and delusional idiots are dangerous.

Dearest people of Ukraine, I can't imagine how hard it is to remain hopeful when each and every day brings heartache and destruction. But, please do.

Please stay strong, please don't give up. Please remain on your feet, and fight. More help is coming. The world is with you, even if it's hard to see from where you stand, know that. 

You are fighting cowardice with courage.

You are fighting idiocy with intelligence.

You are fighting recklessness with resourcefulness. 

You are fighting overshadowing darkness with overwhelming light.

You are fighting an evil that targets children with a virtue that shows compassion.

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. I guess, I just want you to understand that we know it too.

The world needs to take heed of your lessons in badassery. We need to take notes. 

This is how you stand up to those who wish to dismantle your democracy.

This is how you stand up to those who bring devastation to your children.

This is how you stand up to lies.

This is how you stand up to autocrats.

This is how you stand up for your country and your people.

This is how you stand.

Your badassery will fill chapters, hell, volumes of our history books. You will be legends. You will be the stories that are passed down through time. You will be the example future generations look to. You are and forever will be the heroes. 

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam Slava

************************************************************

Sweet people of Ukraine,

May this horror come to an end, a swift and mighty victory for the people of Ukraine.

May you defeat Putin and the evil he spreads, causing him all kinds of humiliation and pain.

May your suffering be brought to an end, your spirit survive, this nightmare become a thing of the past.

May this turmoil be followed by blissful, enduring peace, a serenity, a tranquility that lasts and lasts. 

May you, once again, thrive, living your beautiful lives filled to the brim with joy, love, and laughter.

May your happiness become so big, so voluminous, it fills the biggest spaces to the rafters.

**********************************************************

Ukraine... A Study In BadAssery

 

Hi!

If the past few days have taught us anything, it's that we should all aspire to be Ukrainian when we grow up.

Another lesson? 

Maybe we should start modelling our democratic leaders after Mr. Zelensky.

Integrity, courage, and all kinds of badass.

The citizens of Ukraine?

I don't know if there is something in the water or what, but I've seen a little Ukrainian girl, looking to be about 7 years old, throw an actual punch at a fully armed Russian soldier, giving him shit the entire time. I've seen grandmas making Molotov cocktails, I've seen swarms of people physically putting their bodies in front of tanks to stop their progression. I've seen farmers tow away Russian armoured vehicles. All, young, old, and everyone in between, resisting, fighting back in every way possible. Fighting for their democracy. Something too many of us take completely for granted. 

I've seen captured Russian soldiers, given the opportunity to call home, cry into the phone as they are faced with the shocking reality of why they were sent to Ukraine. 

By all accounts, this invasion by Russia in Ukraine is not going at all like Putin planned. Somehow in his delusion, he fully expected the Ukrainian people to just let his take-over happen. That they would just lay down and give up the democracy they so recently shed blood and tears to achieve. 

He should have been paying closer attention to his neighbours. That is NOT how they roll. At. All.

Even though there are never true victors in a war, as there is always loss suffered no matter the side, as far as this war goes, Ukraine has already won.

This gross overreach for power by Putin has shone a very bright light on who the good guys and bad guys are in this world. 

So with the exception of an evil few, the world is supporting Ukraine. Sanctions are starting to do what they are meant to do, but the impacts are not immediate.

This needs to come to a quick end. Putin needs to put his tail between his legs and just go home. He has no right to do what he is doing. He has committed and continues to commit horrendous war crimes each and every day. 

He has already lost.

He's a joke, a clown, a scared little man. He yearns for a power he will never have. He's throwing a tantrum, escalating it because things aren't going his way. He's an evil subhuman with a Hitler complex. He's cornered and he knows it. 

He will thrash, he will destroy, he will kill along the way, but he has lost. 

My heart goes out to all those who have lost, and continue to lose their lives, loved ones, their homes, and their sense of peace. This is so evil, so wrong, you don't deserve this. 

I can't pretend to truly understand the horror of living through a nightmare such as this, it's hard to wrap my head around the utter terror. Please know that the world is with you. We are pushing our leaders to do more to help you. We are doing everything we can to get supplies to you. We need to do better. 

You are showing the world what it means to stand up. You are showing the world what integrity looks like. You are showing the world what courage looks like. You, as a people, are a study in badassery to the nth degree. 

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam Slava

****************************************************

Until next time...

May this hell be over soon, and peace surround you as you rest.

May you stay strong, stay in the fight, giving your all, giving your best.

May those who commit this evil have their feet held to the fire.

May those who like to play near the flames, be roasted, justice must never tire. 

May you, Ukraine, feel the strength, the hope, the love we send.

May you remain on your feet, standing tall, standing proud, never bend. 

*********************************************************************