No Longer

Today I found myself watching Downton Abbey, and the episode I was watching ended with a moment that corresponds with history – I know Downton is a fictional tale, but there are elements of it that are of course based on fact and truth. One of the moments in World War One, at the time known simply as The Great War, because known of us would have ever thought at the time it would have happened again – Now it seems it could happen for the third time. This is what I think when watching that episode, and the ones which followed.

The things which grab my attention more than anything is the way the media portrays that war, and the way the war between Russia and Ukraine is occurring. I would even say there is a large contrast between how the Iraq war was prorated across media platforms.

One hundred years ago the information granted to the common person was not sent in seconds, it could take days, weeks, or even months for information from the front line to pass into those ivory towers. Today I could message, text, video chat or any other way of digital communication and it could be in someone on the other side of the hand of the world in just a few seconds. Now I don’t agree with the decision of the American or British government and their action of going into Iraq, but I think if that were to occur today – I believe the backlash which Russia and its people are getting from social media would be a lot more prominent.

What is happening in Ukraine I don’t think can be compared to any other war because of the way it is being perceived in the media, the way that they can’t cover up the unjust situation because everyone can share their story with the world in just a few buttons. This is a war not only a war on the battlefield, but a war on social media, war on communication, and a war on propaganda which the world has never experienced before.

One story which I think is so important to talk about is the way that Black people are treated compared to their white counter partners when leaving Ukraine. The way they are told to walk in the cold, take the back seats of the bus, or even still be left alone because there isn’t enough room while white people get the better options, the easier transport, and more support. I think (ignoring the issues of racism that covers our history) that if this had happened at any other time this wouldn’t be a conversation that is spoken about on the world stage, but through the use of social media, and those being able to share their experiences of discrimination on the world people can see the stories can see that why what Poland is doing is amazing, they are still picking and choosing what people they help – which personally feels as if they have no learned from what history is trying to teach us. People should not be separate; people should stand united against those who which to divide us.

This war might still be won or lost on the battlefield, but now more than ever war is on a public stage with millions watching with frightened stares, with more people watching; mistakes are harder to make and the punishments for those who did wrong must be harsher. We are in an extraordinary time, not only can we hold Putin and his followers at harsher standards we can also call out our government for not doing enough, or for their past actions.

This isn’t a war like any other because this is a war where the whole world can watch, rather than just being fed misinformation through the news of government back news agencies.