In Australia a Mural for Peace Deeply Offends People Suffering War Fever

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, September 4, 2022

The headline showing up around Australia reads: “Artist to paint over ‘utterly offensive’ Melbourne mural after Ukrainian community anger.”

The mural, by an artist who was apparently raising funds for World BEYOND War (for which we thank him), depicts a Russian and a Ukrainian soldier hugging. Presumably, it could be replaced with a tasteful depiction of one of them carving out the other’s insides with a knife and all would be well.

Some, however, want the Ukrainian and Russian flags removed, so that the mural can be an image for peace, as long as it’s not peace anywhere where there’s, you know, a war.

Mostly, the response reported seems to be that of Ukrainians claiming it’s Russian propaganda, just as presumably Russian war supporters would claim it was Ukrainian propaganda. This nuttiness is at such a level that the artist is pleading to be comdemned as a naive hippie fool rather than falsely accused as a war propagandist for whichever side the war-fever victims are not on.

 

 

 

6 Responses

  1. This is a disgusting painting that is extremely insulting to Ukrainians and clearly purports the z-nazis as peace-loving angels that entered Ukraine with best intentions. The fools at #worldbeyondwar has so little respect for others that they do not consider (or care) about the harm done to others.
    The murdering z-nazis INVADED Ukraine and are currently murdering and raping tens of thousands of peaceloving civilians in their cities!!

  2. This mural depicts the common humanity of two soldiers from opposite sides. It depicts the equivalence of our common humanity, regardless of what “side” purports to represent us. To call that a “false equivalence” is to deny and diminish our common humanity. It is a fanatical misinterpretation of this artwork.

  3. So, apparently, Ukrainians who are suffering from the genocide being inflicted on them right now by Russians that think we should be completely eliminated as a nation, Ukrainians who lost their homes and their loved ones to russian shellings are “war-fever nuts” for daring to be offended by a piece that depicts a Ukrainian hugging and forgiving an aggressor that brought unimaginable pain to our land and took peace away from us.

  4. There is no equivalence of our common humanity when the aggressor (Russia) uses the Geneva convention list of war crimes as a list of what to do. When they gang rape 14 year olds (male and female) in front of their parents, then kill the parents in front of the children. When they intentionally shoot more rockets at civilian targets than military targets. When they retreat how they set up hand grenades in civilian houses so that when people return and open a cupboard a grenade goes off. Or the one in the piano, or the one between a living child and the dead mother which they had tied together. They use TOS-1 thermobaric weapons against civilians (banned weapons) and so on and so on. What about the torture the Russian soldiers do to POWs – like the guy they castrated on camera, then tied his bleeding body to a car and towed him down the road until he was torn to shreads? There is much much more. These are not random cases. Ukraine do not do this. They attack only military targets in order to free their country. The only way to end this war is for Russia to go home – which they could do right now. In Australia we tend to look for the good in everyone, which is a great quality, but watching this war and learning about soviet culture and history has taught me how propaganda and hate need to be stopped, even if it means war, else the most evil people take over and life becomes terrible.

    In writing this and looking for links to explain what is being missed here I have become too emotional myself. Instead I will just suggest one site where you can learn what is going on. It is heavy, but if you don’t understand the problem with this picture and you want to learn, you should read. https://war.ukraine.ua/russia-war-crimes/

    1. In reality things are almost exactly the opposite of what you claim. Apart,from all the false stories that appeared at the beginning of the war, such as the bombed out apartment building that was in Gaza, the “Ghost of Kiev”, and of course Snake Island, the Ukraine special prosecutor had to be fired for making false rape claims and later admitted on television that “it worked” in bringing arms and money for Ukraine. You will also find that it is the Azof Brigade soldiers killing and torturing Russian soldiers. Watch the interview of a French volunteer on Radio Sud about his experiences in western Ukraine.
      It is WMD all over again Anthony. Check it out for yourself.

  5. Why can’t this depict close relatives who just happened to live on opposite sides of the national boundaries, who found themselves shooting at each other?

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