War is an amazing thing.
More recently, among my subscribers there were both Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Each of them individually is a completely adequate, cultured, educated person. They entered into discussions with me on various philosophical topics. In some ways they agreed, in others, they diverged. It was normal human communication.
But then the war happened. Azerbaijan is at war with Armenia.
In an instant, yesterday’s friends on social networks turned into bitter enemies, they threw away decency and etiquette, and now under any post on any topic, if an Armenian and an Azerbaijani meet, a fierce dispute about Karabakh ensues.
Once upon a time, Erich Maria Remarque was similarly amazed at the amazing transformation. Just yesterday, Europeans, centuries-old neighbors who lived peacefully side by side, visited each other on weekends, and supported common European values, suddenly turned into irreconcilable enemies, and fought for several years in World War II. Moreover, yesterday’s peaceful bakers, postmen, mechanics, and plumbers, having received machine guns in their hands, turned into fascists and sadists, shooting and burning women and children alive.
What does war turn people into?
COMMENTS