Actually that is not entirely true. Rather they pursue loving Bush, dream to love Bush, sleep with thoughts about him, are obsessed with him and praise him every day.
This is a very strange phenomena for a person who doesn’t have much experience with the newest American Russians. In their majority the first generation of the recent émigrés are Jewish by ethnicity and atheists by upbringing no matter how many times they visit the local Temple. There was this biggie push to ‘Let my people go’ in the 70s and 80s. Not that the initiators of that push cared much about the Jews or non- Jews but it was a perfect plan to sting the Soviet Union where it hurt- into its multiethnic foundation. On the wave of the state- supported anti-Semitism there many Jewish people left the Soviet Union and resettled here, in the US. Here their real identity revealed itself ; they became what they really were-Russians. They have very little in common with the American Jewish Community. And that is where it all starts.
A most popular Jewish newspaper, published in Russian celebrates… the death of a young man, a second generation Russian immigrant who died in Iraq. He was the only son. The newspaper with no shame describes his ‘feat in the battle against terrorism’, praises Bush and his policy and hopes that the parents will be proud that their only son had died so honorably.
Honorable, my ass. Death of the only offspring in the immigrant family is the death of a family. The main purpose of immigration is to raise a second generation so that they could have their children. Without at least two generations in peace there is no chance for a family to procreate further. Subjecting the offspring to any mortal danger is a crime against human nature. That is unless there is a direct threat to the country which is, of course, not the case here.
But the Russian- speaking newspapers go berserk. They not only want the children of the immigrants as a cannon fodder; they also hysterically support Israel and connect the Israel’s very existence with the success of the Bush’s policy. They love Bush. He is not only wise, smart, courageous and democratic; he is also handsome, noble, stately and full of great qualities. If only the editors and journalists of those newspapers could serve Bush as sexual slaves they would have done that in a second. And as much as they love Bush and Israel they promote hate and the worst possible feelings towards blacks, trade-unions, Moslems and all the ‘damned liberals’. Pat Robertson should sign up as a trustee for those newspapers unless he is not the one already. They are not even pro- Republican; they are a ranting pro-Bush yellow media.
Ok, the more you repeat the same statement the more the people would believe it. That is understandable since Goebbels. But even if the immigrants read that stuff every day because many of them cannot read the English- language newspapers this does not explain that mass love hysteria in all the official Jewish – Russian centers and among the newly devised Jewish- Russian organizations. All those associations of the Russian- speaking people, all great and small local organizations- they all are vehemently pro-Bush. They call him a savior. They ooze love. And what is most interesting–they do that on their own, voluntarily. The GOP machine is not revealing itself in the open.
Out of many kinds of madness the most dangerous is the deliberate, self- developed one. It happens when people are vulnerable and confused. They come here with no means. They mostly do not reach enough level of success to gain independence. They cling to the community to survive. And there they are told that they are inferior, guilty. They are told that due to their twisted Soviet upbringing they lack basic moral and life qualities, that they need to become ‘good Jews”, that their children are pagans, that they owe forever to this country, that GOP especially is the shining beacon, that Israel has to be always on their mind, that unless they prove their allegiance to the cause of the American Way of life they are not worthy, neither are their children, that without repentance of their past they will perish and that the only way to repent it is to vehemently believe in that God of Capitalism and George W, the Prophet. They are also told, covertly, of course, that there is a lot of human trash around, and that trash are blacks, Moslems and other unfortunate characters who are even suspected to be genetically inferior to all those brilliant Ashkenazim to whom they belong by origin. All that crap is delivered nicely packaged in the Russian language through either the media or through on- going Russian TV conversations, interviews, discussions with the ‘prominent figures of the community’ or from Israel. Of course, when some former housewife from Kyrgyzia suddenly becomes an official in the administration of an Israeli town and openly claims the land in that area for herself, the idea that other people lived there for ages somehow does not reach the already deaf ear. That simple.
This is the push part. But there is also a shove part. The propaganda, no matter how skillful and ominous would not be so successful if the target itself hadn’t been ready to absorb it. And here we come to the ‘dark side’ per Andy Bard Schmookler’s classification. Many of the Russian immigrants are deeply disturbed people. Under normal circumstances they would need counseling. They are disturbed by the desperate desire to lean to the winning side.
In a sort of way that twist is the result of the Soviet period. The ideals of the communism were twisted by reality and anomalies flourished. By far the worst anomaly was the perception growing in the heads of the people as a result of their experience: you can survive and prosper only if you are a part of a winning group. You have to find that group and pledge your allegiance. When they left the country they took that mentality with them. They did not know what did that mean to be free because they never were free. So the group they sought and the group sought them until the unholy alliance took place. The proof is in vehemence. They do not need to be so hysterical, so violently loyal, so on the edge in their love for Bush. But in the same way as they shouted the pro- communist slogans on the Soviet meetings they roar the pro-Israel and pro-Bush rants on the rallies now. In the same way as before in reality they do not feel all those emotions. But they deliberately cultivate those feelings in themselves, nourish them, multiply them by their own prejudice, develop them into obsession and artificial fanaticism until they become bigger Zionists than Zhabotinski, bigger jingoists than Rush Limbaugh and bigger Bushists than Cheney. That transformation is complete when you meet such person in an informal setting, start a conversation on anything, say, the weather and in about a minute he /she turns it into a monologue of love for Bush and hate for blacks, liberals, homosexuals and others. You understand that you deal with the deliberate psychosis. Its source is malice, its energy is fear, its result is self- destruction.
Of course, not all the Russian immigrants are like that. As usual the real professionals, independent people, just smart and educated people see the deceit and resist. People who have the time and way to get in touch with the mainstream USA, the ones, who really want to become citizens, they see the truth. And the truth is that it is the American Way is to be independent and develop your own mind. It is the American Way to learn about other people and to learn to love them and coexist. It is important for the survival of our species on this planet and in this country in particular. And the last thing you can do is instead of learning humility and love to become so mad that not only yourself but also your children you are willing to sacrifice to the devilish totem of Bushism. He is a false God. We have to curse him, not to love him. And the real Gods of this country are Liberty and Justice for ALL. FOR ALL, for goodness sake, FOR ALL.
