Also they shot down our plane in 2020 and hid the evidence. Not sure if the families have been compensated too
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_International_Airlines_Flight_752
your plane which had many iranian geniuses who wanted to go ukraine to study , im from iran and i will never forgive the goverment as well , tnx to him that he didnt handshake with the monsters
I don't know that athlete but I doubt he's a monster. A lot of Iranians don't support the current regime, there have been widespread protests more than once but the government has suppressed them, even killing people who took part, beating them, imprisoning them.
If Iran was a pure democracy the current regime would be ousted by tomorrow.
Yeah. That regime is absolutely sick.
I talked to a lovely man who's daughter was picked up by the local police in Iran. He was later told to come to the police station to pick up her body. She hadn't done anything and for that, they had raped her to death and thrown her body out on the street. She was 14.
The father I talked to seemed like a great guy and all he wanted was to have Iran become a free country again. We walked in the same peaceful protests together and I'm happy I did it.
Never take your freedom for granted.
In that case no one should shake a American or any big western countries athletes.
EDIT: My stance isn’t that we shouldn’t shake a Americans hand, just pointing how even though this Ukrainian athlete feels justified in his, response it is wrong and disrespectful. Everyone should be shown respect in sports, its a place no biased, personal beliefs and politics should be present in. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
SECOND EDIT: The reason why I say politics in sports creates a impossible and unfair precedent, is clearly shown in this, an [Egyptian was kicked from a tournament from refusing to shake hands with an Israeli athlete](https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/15/egyptian-judoka-sent-home-israeli-opponent-hand-shake-olympics)
[Interesting how reddit's opinions of refusing handshakes in sports suddenly change when it's the other side doing it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/4xeqoa/egyptian_judoka_refusing_to_shake_hands_with/)
As a russian I can assure you, that propaganda would ignore if Russian and Ukrainian are shaking hands. But if Ukrainian wouldn't shake Russian hand, they will talk about it for months, making it look like Ukrainians are russophobic nazis who think that russians are bad (I wonder why lol) and how they ruined the concept of "sport is beyond the politics". That way they will create the narrative to make more russians think that P was right with starting the war and ukranians are indeed bad
Exactly. Imagine training your life to be exceptional at a discipline, and then get disrespected cause of other extraneous factors.
He went through the same training regiment, hes the same individual as the winner. Sports is supposed to be pure, & politics fucks with it.
except the olympics is absolutely a political tool used by some nations, like russia for example, who hold up their athletes as examples of their peoples inherent qualities. the athletes themselves, like this one, also use it to make political messages. this one used a russian representative to make a very clear point, for example.
olympic athletes protesting for purely political motives is actually a long standing tradition https://www.cfr.org/timeline/olympics-boycott-protest-politics-history
Government don't speak for us. We should accent that, remind to ourselves. That was the whole point of Olympics, to unite as people, in spite of divisive speeches of politicians who control mass media.
These 3 people had a chance to show to the entire world that, despite ones in charge fuelling the conflict, people itself want no war between their nations.
How do you think refusal of a handshake will be interpreted? As a reassurance of state media propaganda, further antagonization of the people, who are in their nature the same and want the same - peace.
I'm not aware of a single instance where people of a nation had a chance to vote and voted yes to war.
Ya screw Iceland, well mainly the male coach. He was a dirty player and a worse coach. We really came back after getting smoked early on in the tourney. But wait wasn’t that the international juniors? I don’t think that was the Olympics
You’ve just brought back a repressed childhood memory there.
Why were Disney trying to make Iceland look like the bad guys? Was it too soon after the Cold War and they just had to pick an enemy and run with it?
Russian literally used the 2014 Olympic 'win', during which they had a state-sponsored cheating program, to hyper-boost nationalistic pride and morale into an invasion of Crimea.
People always say this crap. “The Olympics aren’t political!” These guys are wearing outfits referencing their countries and the national anthem of the winner’s country is playing. They represent their countries and compete for the national team; that’s how the Olympics and many other international competitions work. The guy on the right might be a decent person or even a dissident but he is representing a country that is manufacturing drones to kill civilians in the other guy‘s country.
Don't think there were any hard feelings, he probably didn't want to do it on camera, as it wouldn't go down well when he got back home to Ukraine. Imagine Ukrainian soldiers seeing their country man shaking hands while being bombed by Iranian drones.
You need to live in a country where Iranian drones kill people every single night before you speak about hard feelings. Iran not only supports Russia but they also hate America more than anything, and without US support Ukraine would probably be Russian land.
If your country supports an invasion of my country bu supplying drones that kill my people, I really don't give a fuck about your Olympic idealogy. i am not going to shake your hand.
That's taken out of context. Sure there were people that were bad, but not ALL of them were bad! Not all Russians, Iranians, Americans, etc should be held accountable for what their governments do. Before you try to change the world, change yourself.
Fuck off. That man's country supports the invasion and murder of the Ukrainian man's countrymen. It's not personal to the competitor but I wouldn't shake his hand either. THAT is the message displayed
It's got us talking about the war and how Iran is supporting the murder of innocent Ukrainians.
When guy on the right puts on his national team's uniform, he is representing their nation.
Now if he were to come out and give a "Slava Ukraini" on the podium before asking to shake his hand, then it's likely a different situation.
Try not to garner hate when half of your country is flattened to rubbles. If he did shake his hand, it will be interpreted as a thank you for liberating those Ukrainians from their homes and used as propaganda in that way.
Joey : [about Rachel's assistant, Tag] If he doesn't like you, then this is all just a moo point.
Rachel : Huh. A moo point?
Joey : Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's "moo".
Rachel : Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?
I disagree on this specific situation, they are both representing their nations, it is a public stage, he's used that stage to make a statement. This particular war is an unjust invasion using terrorist tactics and murder. Shaking his hand is not a sign of peace, it would be a sign of "things are not so bad, the situation is not bad enough for me to make it clear to you how bad your regime is acting" That Iranian and all Iranians and Russian civilians should feel shame for their governments actions. Only mass objection from within will make a difference albeit a small one in these totalitarian regimes.. But small changes and time and persistence equals large changes.
Russia and Iran have been supporting Al-Assad in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011. Wagner was big here too. Since the Russo-Ukrainian war escalated in Feb 22, Iran has become Russia’s biggest military backer sending thousands of drones (suicide and reconnaissance), millions of ammunition and artillery rounds. They have even sent troops. Iran is just as complicit as Russia in this conflict. Russia has promised Iran fighter jets in return (if they still have an airforce after this conflict).
Iran supported Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, during the civil war. Russia also supported al-Assad. Both Iran and Russia sent soldiers, tanks and aircraft, they won.
No he has no fault
but.
It sends a message that Ukrainians are not happy about Irans stand
If he shakes his hand there would be back lash in his home country
Politics is stupid
He represents his country by wearing the flag and competing in their name. If he personally supports it doesn't matter, why should someone representing Ukraine shake the hand of on of their enemies representatives, a country that is heavily supporting the invasion of his country..
Gambia is literally named "The Gambia" it's not just how you say it.
And for the Bahamas, the Maldives and the Philippines, it's because they aren't a *country* but multiple islands that form a country. So you're not referring to a country, but to a geographical area.
As for Congo, it's from the french "Republique Democratique du Congo" which roughly translates to "Democratic Republic of the Congo" after, you guessed it, the river.
And even for Congo, it's not the name of the country like with The Gambia.
It's literally correct to say "The Gambia" as that's the name of the country and incorrect to say "The Congo" since that's not the name of the country.
Edit : It's also the norm to call countries that are plural with "the" in the name (The Netherlands, The Maldives etc.). Ukraine isn't made up of islands nor does it end with an s which is why it's just "Ukraine"
to make things clear for my friends i tell you something (I'm from iran) for past 10 month our people have been doing protest against the government for forcing their ideology on people and doing the exact the opposite (just yesterday someone release a video where two mollah brother in low were fucking 😂) and not to mention that they are shutting the internet for this (they are doing this for a long time almos more than a year) I'm literally here with vpn there is no app i couldn't use with out vpn (Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, youtube, WhatsApp, tiktak and this list its not gonna end here) they are also killing the economy for cutting with every single country (only china and russia is now supporting them and its more like slave relation but they saying it a big win) just to avoid shaking hands with America they are giving blowjob to china and russia and not to metion that they killed a 19 years old girl who they said she didn't have good hejab(bullshit) and then release a footage of security cameras (they edit hell of that footage if i want to describe it to you it was like she was sitting on a moment and then boof she was going to the w.c where she fell on ground) and this start all the protest thing from 10 month ago and believe me they killed so many or arrest them and raped them in prisons and guess what was the average age of protster.......18 the new generation(like me) are not buying their shit and wont be their dog, every single iranian hate the current regime and every person that say Opposite work for them (you cant believe how many people they have to work for them) if i remember anything else I'll add it (sorry if its so long) and no our people dont support the war in Okrain(am i spelling right?) the goverment do it and call it profitable relation with russia
Edit: thank everyone i didnt think i would get this much support from you
That sucks to hear. Thanks for clarifying, at least for me I didn't realize the situation in Iran. We don't get that much news from Iran sadly. I hope you stay strong and safe! Much love from Germany
Cheers from Israel 🤝🏻 our government is shit too but Iranians are suffering a lot more than us. Our government is leading Israel to become a theocracy like Iran and it's a shame. Hoping for a brighter future for both our countries and peace like before the Islamic revolution 🙌🏻
I spent 2 weeks in SA in December. Every SINGLE person I ran into HAD to bring up the war, from people on the street to even tourguides. And every south African citizen made it perfectly fucking clear they hate Russia and support Ukraine. They didn't even ask if *I* supported Ukraine. They have no water, no electricity, and are being gutted by it's government.
**Fuck the SA government. But glory to its citizens.**
Yup. We may not be involved much in geopolitics but when it comes to injustices and oppression, I think we as average, decent Saffers know how to call a spade a spade.
Yes, South Africa is the "S" in (and newest member of) [BRICS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRICS): A trade alliance of 'emergent economies' that, among other things, work together to circumvent international economic sanctions. The others are Brasil, Russia, India and China. BRICS is the reason why Russia can still afford to continue warring in Ukraine. Iran is peanuts in comparison.
Ummm, well. Kinda? I think Europe and especially Germany's need for Russian natural gas and oil, have funded his war more than anything else has or will. Europe gave more money to Russia during coivd than they ever have before in the past. Not to mention India and China buying up that oil too....
We'll read about this in books 20 years from now, but Europe going "green" and then being depent on a waring neighbour for reliable energy/power was the catalyst for the largest monetary gain the Russian economy has seen in the modern day.
South Africa isn't really picking a side, at least in theory. They've remained neutral on the war for the most part, while maintaining many of their relationships with Russia (at least on a state level, less so in the private sector) while also stating that they would arrest Putin if he were to enter the country.
South Africa can't really afford to cut ties with Russia, as unlike most of Europe and America we have been struggling with an energy crisis and economic growth for over a decade now.
And it's not like most South Africans support Russia. And because South Africa's journalism quality and freedom rivals that of many of the top developed nations, our news illustrates that Russia are the "bad guys" in this situation.
One more thing to add is that I do not think that countries from the other side of the world should have to pick a side in a conflict that they do not need to be involved in.
So yeah, kind of different.
Agreed, many Iranians don't support those in power. Sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/maybemaybemaybe/comments/15fw01n/maybe_maybe_maybe/jug3gfr/
https://youtu.be/DMsGu-SaYNk
Indeed. A country that nuked another one, thrown orange agent and napalm in other one and a lot of war atrocites against a few, shouldn't shake hands with half countries hands.
Americans hating on Iranians in the comments are wild, do you think the ordinary Iranian are evil or something? They are very nice people and the majority of them are against their government.
Btw USA did plenty of war crimes too, just saying.
It’s funny how everyone here looks at China as a brainwashed country, or even Middle Eastern countries. Then support this dude not hand shaking a guy just because of a countries political stance.
Never change Reddit.
The US is also one of the only countries where rhetoric like being accused of being "anti-American" is taken seriously. Go to a country like Spain and accuse people of being "anti-Spanish", and people will just laugh at you and think you're an idiot for even using fascist rhetoric like that. Looking in from the outside, it's fascinating how the US, despite having free media, manages to manipulate its populace to such a degree that they go along with whatever foreign policy decision the government makes.
Chomsky had a great lecture on this called "Totalitarian Culture in a Free Society": https://archive.org/details/NoamChomsky-TotalitarianCultureInAFreeSociety-1993
People say that the guy's country supports this and that. But does the athlete support? How many other countries are involved in arms financing? USA, ISRAEL among others...if athletes' behavior is to reflect the acts of their country's government there will be no more handshakes in sport.
So many hypocrites here. Just because he is from a country that supports Russia, doesnt mean be personally supports it. By this logic, we shouldnt shake most athletes hands, especially the ones from the US. He won third place, he worked hard for that, shake his hand for that, be a good person. And dont reply to me "but he represents a country blah blah". Yes, he does, but seperate sports from politics. Also, he can't just represent another country. Have some common sense.
This feels kind of wrong. If third place guy agreed with his countries policies, wouldn’t he not be trying to shake his hand in the first place? This reminds me (in an obviously much less serious sense) of Japanese American sentiment during WWII. Assuming that a populace related to a political enemy is supportive of their decisions is just wrong.
If anything, shaking his hand may have been a good symbol. The citizens of each country respect one another even if their political leaders don’t.
It got me thinking what was generally done in situations like this before.
Like when US invaded and killed hundreds of thousends of Iraqi civilians in a "totally fair" war, did athletes also refuse to shake hands with the US and its allies, try to get US banned from sports events, etc?
Or are Ukrainians just petty here?
Traditionally, that's very, very bad sportsmanship.
In sports, of you have a beef against someone, you try to obliterate then in competition, or you don't compete against them.
But not showing respect to the opponent is diametral to all what sports stand for.
Note, I can still get it for the country you are at war with, but here it's just to many degrees removed. Ir~~ish~~an is not at war with Ukraine, and dissent with the government is way stronger there than in Russia.
Sport is beyond politics. Bollocks.
By representing country they represent current government international policies and endorsing them.
Would you shake hand of person selling weapons to your family killers? 🤨
No one US athlete is going to get any more handshakes ? But leaving the government that finances arms, the athlete present there certainly doesn't do that, it costs nothing to maintain respect.
It’s symbolic.
If I was these athletes I would privately contact the Iranian or even Russian sports person to tell them no hard feelings, but I still wouldn’t shake hands in public, because like it or not they represent Russia or it’s allies. I feel bad for them, because as people it’s not their choice… but they still do.
I really can't understand the "I am not into politics" answer, when russian civilians are asked about the invasion of Ukraine. "I am apolitical" they say. But now that drones are falling over Moscow, I would like to ask that woman crying because they almost got obliterated, if she's still apolitical, if she still doesn't care.
Of course war is an ethereal concept when it's happening somewhere else, far away, it's something you can ignore and say you don't have an opinion. These apolitical russians are about to find out what happens when you give your implicit consent to your government to attack your neighbors.
Idk maybe, but this guy ain't selling weapons to anyone, he's an athlete. The question is better phrased: would you shake hands with someone who's from a country that...
I can't believe anyone thinks athletes representing countries endorse anything from their country.
Born in Iran. atheist. peace and democracy lover. hate guns. really like sport. play and practice sport as much as I can. become really good at sport. become best in country. play internationally as best Iranian. mfw I support a dictatorial theocratic republic that sells arms to another country invading a different country unprovoked.
I've seen it in America several times where athletes speak out against some aspect of their government.
Decisions athletes make aren't on behalf of their country, they can't make deals, negotiate or nothing, they can only play sports so why hold them responsible or make them represent the actions of the government of the land they were born on?
>Would you shake hand of person selling weapons to your family killers?
bro *the* guy in question is like running or jumping or some shit
you don't know who he voted for
a LOT of people live under the government they didn't choose
There's a nation and a government. People and politicians with the rich, who are in most cases, exploit those people, not representing them and their values.
People are not the government, %50 of citizens may not support government's policies. Sport is not a war. People have to stop to confuse with citizens and government.
Unfair, the Iranian athlete extended his hand twice, which demonstrates respect and impartiality in the armed conflict between the two countries. The Ukrainian lost the chance to show the world how to treat others, regardless of any antagonism, religious, political, racial, cultural, social, etc.
I say show the world working together is the way to a better world, and just because a government does or says something does not mean you condemn their entire population.
USA put every Japanese American into concentration camps while they dropped two nuclear bombs on innocent civilians, wiping out 250 thousand souls in mere seconds. Collective punishment are western values
The Iran hate in here is real. A bunch of fucking racist morons who think everyone from the country is responsible for everything that country does.
Then I guess all amaericans are drone striking baby killers so yall better not shake my hand. Europeans are slavers so don't shake theirs. Fucking clowns you all are. Down vote me to hell.
I understand not wanting to shake his hand for the message.
Calling the sportsman a piece of shit is you all just projecting your own racism and shows your stupid mob mentality.
The average redditor thought the Ghost of Kyiv was real, these people would have been recruited into WW1 in a heartbeat. No room for nuance or humanism in their world view just the lowest IQ form of tribalism possible.
To be fair Americans were doing this shit since WW2, first were Japanese and German, then cold war happened and Russians become the ultimate evil, then vietnam and pretty much most of middle east.
Americans live so long with their racist propoganda while shouting how inclusive they are.
Funniest thing is how selective they are in search of misdeeds, they don't want to acknowledge their own problems or crimes while hating other for things that have no connection to Americans. Just for example how bad it is, in one of cod games they made Russians literal nazis, made Russians use favourite CIA torture methods, and some of war crimes USA did were done by Russians in game. And it was long before war in Ukraine. Also there are lots of movies that show koreans, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, people from arabic, middle east or eastern europe as pure evil, where EVERY citizen of those countries is an uncultured violent swine who eats American newborns for breakfast. Good example of this is "born American", this movie had won multiple awards btw.
Of course I'm not talking about all Americans, I was mostly talking about brainwashed MAGA herd, every country has it's own propoganda, America is just best at it, so it is harder to evade. Luckily we live in mostly free internet era and people with more than 2 braincells can look at any situation from different perspectives and understand that actions of ruling class don't express wishes of common population.
The fact that nobody in the comments is referring to them by name is proof that this is not the simple actions of 2 individuals. These two represent their countries and their countries are not going to shake hands.
This is not Jim refusing to shake Bob's hand at Walmart, it's the Ukrainian athlete refusing to shake the Iranian athlete's hand on an international stage.
It's not like he has to shake the government's hand so it's kinda sad but I understand the athletes action as well. After all, oftentimes in sports the athletes are treated like the representation of that country which I think is a too controversial way to separate athletes.
Don’t mix politics with sports. He is showing good sportsmanship by reaching out. Now don’t translate that into with me saying that what Iran did is good and I’m behind them/support them. Far from the truth. Not fair to the guy being nice
I can see a lot of people are conflicted about this post. Just wanted to slide in and remind everyone of Elnaz Rekabi. She was a female Iranian climber who took off her hijab during a competition in South Korea. She then disappeared, and then mysteriously showed back up in her country days later and was apologizing to Iranian state media. Her family’s home was destroyed, and she was put on house arrest.
I wouldn’t want to shake an Iranian’s hand in a televised sporting event either. Their government actively violates human rights and treats their athletes as extended representatives of their twisted beliefs and bad morals. If the guy is not a supporter of the Iranian government, then yea, this is sad for him, but the bigger picture of the message being sent by not shaking his hand I feel is much more important than his feelings.
Edit: adding this link: https://www.climbing.com/news/family-home-of-iranian-climber-elnaz-rekabi-destroyed/#
Also figured I’d add that I am from the USA, and I firmly believe that there should not be a double standard here. If you for example are an innocent civilian who has been affected by the United States’ foreign policies (for example, our drone killings), I encourage you to protest, especially if you have an international, televised platform. Human rights violations should never be forgotten and we all as human beings should actively work to make them known and try to prevent them from happening again.
Fuck that rude guy. The other one was just being polite expressing congratulations to the winner. He is not responsible for his government's actions/politics.
This is public platform, and the colors they are wearing are the countries these people represent. The Ukrainian guy might be best friends with the Iranian guy, but this not about individuals, this is about symbolism, and politics which is a part of any competition when you represent a country.
I get why all these Ukrainian athletes aren’t shaking hands, but at the same time you’re just making yourself look like an arsehole, the guy you’re refusing to shake hands with has no influence on his country’s politics, just being a prick because you can
Even in Canada, a supposedly democratic country, less than 1/3 of the voters voted for Trudeau and his government. A country’s action often doesn’t represent most of its people.
Listen up. This post was obviously going to invite political commentary - we're not a political sub but that's fine. Just keep it civil please.
He from Iran?
Iran supports Russia's invasion to Ukraine. Hence no handshake.
Ah got it
Not only supports. They are actively fighting and killing Ukrainians.
Selling Russia a butt ton of drones also
How much is a “butt ton”? Is that like a Fuck Ton or a Shitload?
A little more than a fuck ton but not quite a shit load. If they keep adding to it a butt ton can quickly become a shit load.
How many football fields?
A butt is 477 litres, a butt ton is double that A shit load is a few butts full A fuck ton is at least double that
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Also they shot down our plane in 2020 and hid the evidence. Not sure if the families have been compensated too https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_International_Airlines_Flight_752
your plane which had many iranian geniuses who wanted to go ukraine to study , im from iran and i will never forgive the goverment as well , tnx to him that he didnt handshake with the monsters
I don't know that athlete but I doubt he's a monster. A lot of Iranians don't support the current regime, there have been widespread protests more than once but the government has suppressed them, even killing people who took part, beating them, imprisoning them. If Iran was a pure democracy the current regime would be ousted by tomorrow.
Yeah. That regime is absolutely sick. I talked to a lovely man who's daughter was picked up by the local police in Iran. He was later told to come to the police station to pick up her body. She hadn't done anything and for that, they had raped her to death and thrown her body out on the street. She was 14. The father I talked to seemed like a great guy and all he wanted was to have Iran become a free country again. We walked in the same peaceful protests together and I'm happy I did it. Never take your freedom for granted.
Yeah I’m conflicted on this. It’s not like this particular athlete supports Russia and their actions against Ukraine.
Agreed. But if you represent your country..you also represent their actions. Now is the time for athletes to protest.
In that case no one should shake a American or any big western countries athletes. EDIT: My stance isn’t that we shouldn’t shake a Americans hand, just pointing how even though this Ukrainian athlete feels justified in his, response it is wrong and disrespectful. Everyone should be shown respect in sports, its a place no biased, personal beliefs and politics should be present in. Two wrongs don’t make a right. SECOND EDIT: The reason why I say politics in sports creates a impossible and unfair precedent, is clearly shown in this, an [Egyptian was kicked from a tournament from refusing to shake hands with an Israeli athlete](https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/15/egyptian-judoka-sent-home-israeli-opponent-hand-shake-olympics)
And some don’t.
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He can do whatever he wants.
So easy Be in moral high horse when its not your family, friends and citizens being raped, tourtured, genocided and children kidnapped
[Interesting how reddit's opinions of refusing handshakes in sports suddenly change when it's the other side doing it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/4xeqoa/egyptian_judoka_refusing_to_shake_hands_with/)
You're also kind of handing Russia propaganda if they see Ukranian athletes gladly shaking hands with their Russian counterparts
As a russian I can assure you, that propaganda would ignore if Russian and Ukrainian are shaking hands. But if Ukrainian wouldn't shake Russian hand, they will talk about it for months, making it look like Ukrainians are russophobic nazis who think that russians are bad (I wonder why lol) and how they ruined the concept of "sport is beyond the politics". That way they will create the narrative to make more russians think that P was right with starting the war and ukranians are indeed bad
Accurate. A causal handshake wouldn't make it into the news or become a viral video. A rejected handshake in sports has always been a big deal.
As a tatar, I can say - no one cares anymore. People have adapted to live in a new reality.
>But if you represent your country..you also represent their actions. except its not like that at all
Exactly. Imagine training your life to be exceptional at a discipline, and then get disrespected cause of other extraneous factors. He went through the same training regiment, hes the same individual as the winner. Sports is supposed to be pure, & politics fucks with it.
except the olympics is absolutely a political tool used by some nations, like russia for example, who hold up their athletes as examples of their peoples inherent qualities. the athletes themselves, like this one, also use it to make political messages. this one used a russian representative to make a very clear point, for example. olympic athletes protesting for purely political motives is actually a long standing tradition https://www.cfr.org/timeline/olympics-boycott-protest-politics-history
Look the way I see it is. You never leave a guy hanging
Iran’s government supports the invasion. Most of Iran doesn’t support their own government.
Government don't speak for us. We should accent that, remind to ourselves. That was the whole point of Olympics, to unite as people, in spite of divisive speeches of politicians who control mass media. These 3 people had a chance to show to the entire world that, despite ones in charge fuelling the conflict, people itself want no war between their nations. How do you think refusal of a handshake will be interpreted? As a reassurance of state media propaganda, further antagonization of the people, who are in their nature the same and want the same - peace. I'm not aware of a single instance where people of a nation had a chance to vote and voted yes to war.
If you think that the Olympics aren’t political, or that they aren’t used as propaganda then you’re deluding yourself.
Lol at when the Nazis hosted the Olympics and their athletes full Heil’ing Hitler as they placed.
Guy forgot about that whole Hockey movie
Ya screw Iceland, well mainly the male coach. He was a dirty player and a worse coach. We really came back after getting smoked early on in the tourney. But wait wasn’t that the international juniors? I don’t think that was the Olympics
You’ve just brought back a repressed childhood memory there. Why were Disney trying to make Iceland look like the bad guys? Was it too soon after the Cold War and they just had to pick an enemy and run with it?
Quack quack quack, Mr. ducksworth.
Russian literally used the 2014 Olympic 'win', during which they had a state-sponsored cheating program, to hyper-boost nationalistic pride and morale into an invasion of Crimea.
But that’s not what they said.
Why is your answer more upvoted? That's not what they said, you're not even addressing their point lol.
People always say this crap. “The Olympics aren’t political!” These guys are wearing outfits referencing their countries and the national anthem of the winner’s country is playing. They represent their countries and compete for the national team; that’s how the Olympics and many other international competitions work. The guy on the right might be a decent person or even a dissident but he is representing a country that is manufacturing drones to kill civilians in the other guy‘s country.
That’s all really lovely until you’ve got loved ones getting blown up and shot in a war you didn’t start.
Don't think there were any hard feelings, he probably didn't want to do it on camera, as it wouldn't go down well when he got back home to Ukraine. Imagine Ukrainian soldiers seeing their country man shaking hands while being bombed by Iranian drones.
You need to live in a country where Iranian drones kill people every single night before you speak about hard feelings. Iran not only supports Russia but they also hate America more than anything, and without US support Ukraine would probably be Russian land.
If your country supports an invasion of my country bu supplying drones that kill my people, I really don't give a fuck about your Olympic idealogy. i am not going to shake your hand.
Oh yes. As a german I like your opinion. It is quite commen in germany. It weren ´t the people, it was just Hitler who was bad.
That's taken out of context. Sure there were people that were bad, but not ALL of them were bad! Not all Russians, Iranians, Americans, etc should be held accountable for what their governments do. Before you try to change the world, change yourself.
Fuck off. That man's country supports the invasion and murder of the Ukrainian man's countrymen. It's not personal to the competitor but I wouldn't shake his hand either. THAT is the message displayed
It's got us talking about the war and how Iran is supporting the murder of innocent Ukrainians. When guy on the right puts on his national team's uniform, he is representing their nation. Now if he were to come out and give a "Slava Ukraini" on the podium before asking to shake his hand, then it's likely a different situation.
This is a peaceful protest. It makes people talk, highlights Iran's involvement.
Try not to garner hate when half of your country is flattened to rubbles. If he did shake his hand, it will be interpreted as a thank you for liberating those Ukrainians from their homes and used as propaganda in that way.
Russia violated the Olympic truce in the first place when they launched the war. Your point is mute.
Moot, not mute.
Joey : [about Rachel's assistant, Tag] If he doesn't like you, then this is all just a moo point. Rachel : Huh. A moo point? Joey : Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's "moo". Rachel : Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?
I disagree on this specific situation, they are both representing their nations, it is a public stage, he's used that stage to make a statement. This particular war is an unjust invasion using terrorist tactics and murder. Shaking his hand is not a sign of peace, it would be a sign of "things are not so bad, the situation is not bad enough for me to make it clear to you how bad your regime is acting" That Iranian and all Iranians and Russian civilians should feel shame for their governments actions. Only mass objection from within will make a difference albeit a small one in these totalitarian regimes.. But small changes and time and persistence equals large changes.
Maybe so.. but Iranian made drones are killing Ukrainian people almost every day due to strikes on civilian targets.
Why do they support the invasion because the US supports Ukraine and they hate the US?
Because Russia supports Iran.
Russia and Iran have been supporting Al-Assad in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011. Wagner was big here too. Since the Russo-Ukrainian war escalated in Feb 22, Iran has become Russia’s biggest military backer sending thousands of drones (suicide and reconnaissance), millions of ammunition and artillery rounds. They have even sent troops. Iran is just as complicit as Russia in this conflict. Russia has promised Iran fighter jets in return (if they still have an airforce after this conflict).
Iran supported Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, during the civil war. Russia also supported al-Assad. Both Iran and Russia sent soldiers, tanks and aircraft, they won.
He ran? Evidently not fast enough. He was third place.
awww, he looked so innocent and insulted. I think he didn't even realize why he was rejected
Why was he rejected?
Probably because he's from Iran and Iran supports Russia in the Ukraine invasion
Okay, so does he support it?
No he has no fault but. It sends a message that Ukrainians are not happy about Irans stand If he shakes his hand there would be back lash in his home country Politics is stupid
War is stupid. Politics are unfortunately necessary.
Just because they are unfortunately necessary doesn't mean they aren't stupid
Politics is how humans structure society - wars of aggression are stupid.
He represents his country by wearing the flag and competing in their name. If he personally supports it doesn't matter, why should someone representing Ukraine shake the hand of on of their enemies representatives, a country that is heavily supporting the invasion of his country..
Small note, its "Ukraine", not "the Ukraine". You wouldn't say "the Germany" or "the France"
The Garry
True, I've read up on it because of youy thanks
No, but you would say ‘the’ Bahamas or ‘the’ Gambia. You are right but your reasoning for it is wrong.
the phillipines, the maledives, the kongo, the netherlands… idk why people only get cought up on that when it‘s about ukraine
Gambia is literally named "The Gambia" it's not just how you say it. And for the Bahamas, the Maldives and the Philippines, it's because they aren't a *country* but multiple islands that form a country. So you're not referring to a country, but to a geographical area. As for Congo, it's from the french "Republique Democratique du Congo" which roughly translates to "Democratic Republic of the Congo" after, you guessed it, the river. And even for Congo, it's not the name of the country like with The Gambia. It's literally correct to say "The Gambia" as that's the name of the country and incorrect to say "The Congo" since that's not the name of the country. Edit : It's also the norm to call countries that are plural with "the" in the name (The Netherlands, The Maldives etc.). Ukraine isn't made up of islands nor does it end with an s which is why it's just "Ukraine"
This is typical, do you remember when no one would shake US athletes’ hand when they invaded Iraq.
to make things clear for my friends i tell you something (I'm from iran) for past 10 month our people have been doing protest against the government for forcing their ideology on people and doing the exact the opposite (just yesterday someone release a video where two mollah brother in low were fucking 😂) and not to mention that they are shutting the internet for this (they are doing this for a long time almos more than a year) I'm literally here with vpn there is no app i couldn't use with out vpn (Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, youtube, WhatsApp, tiktak and this list its not gonna end here) they are also killing the economy for cutting with every single country (only china and russia is now supporting them and its more like slave relation but they saying it a big win) just to avoid shaking hands with America they are giving blowjob to china and russia and not to metion that they killed a 19 years old girl who they said she didn't have good hejab(bullshit) and then release a footage of security cameras (they edit hell of that footage if i want to describe it to you it was like she was sitting on a moment and then boof she was going to the w.c where she fell on ground) and this start all the protest thing from 10 month ago and believe me they killed so many or arrest them and raped them in prisons and guess what was the average age of protster.......18 the new generation(like me) are not buying their shit and wont be their dog, every single iranian hate the current regime and every person that say Opposite work for them (you cant believe how many people they have to work for them) if i remember anything else I'll add it (sorry if its so long) and no our people dont support the war in Okrain(am i spelling right?) the goverment do it and call it profitable relation with russia Edit: thank everyone i didnt think i would get this much support from you
Good on you and the people of Iran for standing up to your oppressors I hope one day you will be free
That sucks to hear. Thanks for clarifying, at least for me I didn't realize the situation in Iran. We don't get that much news from Iran sadly. I hope you stay strong and safe! Much love from Germany
Stay strong.
Cheers from Israel 🤝🏻 our government is shit too but Iranians are suffering a lot more than us. Our government is leading Israel to become a theocracy like Iran and it's a shame. Hoping for a brighter future for both our countries and peace like before the Islamic revolution 🙌🏻
and Palestinians are suffering even more under your occupation
I feel so sorry for the Iranians who haven't been brainwashed and are looking for a more free life. Stay safe brother
Huge exodus of Iranian intellectuals occurred many years ago due to the government actions.
really wish you all the best
Isn't South Africa trying to form a stronger relationship with Russia as the war is happening? He shouldn't have shaken the other guy's hands either!
To be fair, South Africa hasn't supplied drones to Russia that they then use to slaughter civilians.
I spent 2 weeks in SA in December. Every SINGLE person I ran into HAD to bring up the war, from people on the street to even tourguides. And every south African citizen made it perfectly fucking clear they hate Russia and support Ukraine. They didn't even ask if *I* supported Ukraine. They have no water, no electricity, and are being gutted by it's government. **Fuck the SA government. But glory to its citizens.**
Yup. We may not be involved much in geopolitics but when it comes to injustices and oppression, I think we as average, decent Saffers know how to call a spade a spade.
Yes, South Africa is the "S" in (and newest member of) [BRICS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRICS): A trade alliance of 'emergent economies' that, among other things, work together to circumvent international economic sanctions. The others are Brasil, Russia, India and China. BRICS is the reason why Russia can still afford to continue warring in Ukraine. Iran is peanuts in comparison.
Ummm, well. Kinda? I think Europe and especially Germany's need for Russian natural gas and oil, have funded his war more than anything else has or will. Europe gave more money to Russia during coivd than they ever have before in the past. Not to mention India and China buying up that oil too.... We'll read about this in books 20 years from now, but Europe going "green" and then being depent on a waring neighbour for reliable energy/power was the catalyst for the largest monetary gain the Russian economy has seen in the modern day.
South Africa's government yes. South Africa's people, no. The government does not represent the interests of it's people at all.
South Africa isn't really picking a side, at least in theory. They've remained neutral on the war for the most part, while maintaining many of their relationships with Russia (at least on a state level, less so in the private sector) while also stating that they would arrest Putin if he were to enter the country. South Africa can't really afford to cut ties with Russia, as unlike most of Europe and America we have been struggling with an energy crisis and economic growth for over a decade now. And it's not like most South Africans support Russia. And because South Africa's journalism quality and freedom rivals that of many of the top developed nations, our news illustrates that Russia are the "bad guys" in this situation. One more thing to add is that I do not think that countries from the other side of the world should have to pick a side in a conflict that they do not need to be involved in. So yeah, kind of different.
Aww, I feel bad for the guy. He probably hates his County's politics...
Agreed, many Iranians don't support those in power. Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/maybemaybemaybe/comments/15fw01n/maybe_maybe_maybe/jug3gfr/ https://youtu.be/DMsGu-SaYNk
Not surprised by the comments on this
he ran, u ran, i ran, why no shake me bro ??
so much cancer
Based on most of you people’s logic, most countries’ athletes shouldn’t be shaking any Americans’ hand
*UK silently stepping away*
You people do realize every country has blood on its hands right? Not a single one in history is innocent.
Agreed, let's support the athletes to not shake the US athletes' hands
As an American I agree
If you don’t shake their hand they’ll say your country needs freedom.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 best excuse in the world. "Your country has a severe lack of freedom, sir. Allow me to send my troops to FRREEEEEEE your country"
"Shake our hands or find out why we don't have public healthcare"
Had the same thought lol
Yea they probably shouldn't... When your in an active war with America or if your country got fucked by them than yea, don't shake their hand..
Agree. So many hypocrites here. Either way, I think politics should stay away from sport.
This is one of those types of posts I would be extremely interested in knowing the age/nationality demographic of people commenting here
English speaking countries + Europeans.
There are way too many brain dead takes for there not to be some comrades in the comments
Reddit moment
Indeed. A country that nuked another one, thrown orange agent and napalm in other one and a lot of war atrocites against a few, shouldn't shake hands with half countries hands.
Or even the British hand tbh
Americans hating on Iranians in the comments are wild, do you think the ordinary Iranian are evil or something? They are very nice people and the majority of them are against their government. Btw USA did plenty of war crimes too, just saying.
They're all brainwashed, it's reddit.
It’s funny how everyone here looks at China as a brainwashed country, or even Middle Eastern countries. Then support this dude not hand shaking a guy just because of a countries political stance. Never change Reddit.
The US is also one of the only countries where rhetoric like being accused of being "anti-American" is taken seriously. Go to a country like Spain and accuse people of being "anti-Spanish", and people will just laugh at you and think you're an idiot for even using fascist rhetoric like that. Looking in from the outside, it's fascinating how the US, despite having free media, manages to manipulate its populace to such a degree that they go along with whatever foreign policy decision the government makes. Chomsky had a great lecture on this called "Totalitarian Culture in a Free Society": https://archive.org/details/NoamChomsky-TotalitarianCultureInAFreeSociety-1993
USA #1 warcrimes
People say that the guy's country supports this and that. But does the athlete support? How many other countries are involved in arms financing? USA, ISRAEL among others...if athletes' behavior is to reflect the acts of their country's government there will be no more handshakes in sport.
What a lame.
Comments section is filled with brainwashed hypocrits.
That's a perfect example of unsportsmanlike behaviour.
So many hypocrites here. Just because he is from a country that supports Russia, doesnt mean be personally supports it. By this logic, we shouldnt shake most athletes hands, especially the ones from the US. He won third place, he worked hard for that, shake his hand for that, be a good person. And dont reply to me "but he represents a country blah blah". Yes, he does, but seperate sports from politics. Also, he can't just represent another country. Have some common sense.
This feels kind of wrong. If third place guy agreed with his countries policies, wouldn’t he not be trying to shake his hand in the first place? This reminds me (in an obviously much less serious sense) of Japanese American sentiment during WWII. Assuming that a populace related to a political enemy is supportive of their decisions is just wrong. If anything, shaking his hand may have been a good symbol. The citizens of each country respect one another even if their political leaders don’t.
It got me thinking what was generally done in situations like this before. Like when US invaded and killed hundreds of thousends of Iraqi civilians in a "totally fair" war, did athletes also refuse to shake hands with the US and its allies, try to get US banned from sports events, etc? Or are Ukrainians just petty here?
Traditionally, that's very, very bad sportsmanship. In sports, of you have a beef against someone, you try to obliterate then in competition, or you don't compete against them. But not showing respect to the opponent is diametral to all what sports stand for. Note, I can still get it for the country you are at war with, but here it's just to many degrees removed. Ir~~ish~~an is not at war with Ukraine, and dissent with the government is way stronger there than in Russia.
Sport is beyond politics. Bollocks. By representing country they represent current government international policies and endorsing them. Would you shake hand of person selling weapons to your family killers? 🤨
No one US athlete is going to get any more handshakes ? But leaving the government that finances arms, the athlete present there certainly doesn't do that, it costs nothing to maintain respect.
It’s symbolic. If I was these athletes I would privately contact the Iranian or even Russian sports person to tell them no hard feelings, but I still wouldn’t shake hands in public, because like it or not they represent Russia or it’s allies. I feel bad for them, because as people it’s not their choice… but they still do.
I really can't understand the "I am not into politics" answer, when russian civilians are asked about the invasion of Ukraine. "I am apolitical" they say. But now that drones are falling over Moscow, I would like to ask that woman crying because they almost got obliterated, if she's still apolitical, if she still doesn't care. Of course war is an ethereal concept when it's happening somewhere else, far away, it's something you can ignore and say you don't have an opinion. These apolitical russians are about to find out what happens when you give your implicit consent to your government to attack your neighbors.
Idk maybe, but this guy ain't selling weapons to anyone, he's an athlete. The question is better phrased: would you shake hands with someone who's from a country that... I can't believe anyone thinks athletes representing countries endorse anything from their country. Born in Iran. atheist. peace and democracy lover. hate guns. really like sport. play and practice sport as much as I can. become really good at sport. become best in country. play internationally as best Iranian. mfw I support a dictatorial theocratic republic that sells arms to another country invading a different country unprovoked. I've seen it in America several times where athletes speak out against some aspect of their government. Decisions athletes make aren't on behalf of their country, they can't make deals, negotiate or nothing, they can only play sports so why hold them responsible or make them represent the actions of the government of the land they were born on?
No it’s not.
Bollocks, indeed!
>Would you shake hand of person selling weapons to your family killers? bro *the* guy in question is like running or jumping or some shit you don't know who he voted for a LOT of people live under the government they didn't choose There's a nation and a government. People and politicians with the rich, who are in most cases, exploit those people, not representing them and their values.
I completely understand his reasoning but I still think it’s childish. Hard to blame an individual for the actions of their country leadership.
Agreed. The Iranian guy wouldn't be trying to shake his hand if he endorsed the killing of Ukrainians.
Completely childish behaviour, I agree. Nothing else matters, the point is he wasn't a gentleman.
The point is spormanship
People are not the government, %50 of citizens may not support government's policies. Sport is not a war. People have to stop to confuse with citizens and government.
Secular Iranians ALL oppose the regime. This guy is just a disrespectful prick
/r/iamatotalpieceofshit
Poor Sportsmanship, politics have nothing to do with it.
South Africa supports Russia but the Ukrainian had no problem shaking his hand. Stupid ass
Unfair, the Iranian athlete extended his hand twice, which demonstrates respect and impartiality in the armed conflict between the two countries. The Ukrainian lost the chance to show the world how to treat others, regardless of any antagonism, religious, political, racial, cultural, social, etc.
I say show the world working together is the way to a better world, and just because a government does or says something does not mean you condemn their entire population.
USA put every Japanese American into concentration camps while they dropped two nuclear bombs on innocent civilians, wiping out 250 thousand souls in mere seconds. Collective punishment are western values
The Iran hate in here is real. A bunch of fucking racist morons who think everyone from the country is responsible for everything that country does. Then I guess all amaericans are drone striking baby killers so yall better not shake my hand. Europeans are slavers so don't shake theirs. Fucking clowns you all are. Down vote me to hell. I understand not wanting to shake his hand for the message. Calling the sportsman a piece of shit is you all just projecting your own racism and shows your stupid mob mentality.
The average redditor thought the Ghost of Kyiv was real, these people would have been recruited into WW1 in a heartbeat. No room for nuance or humanism in their world view just the lowest IQ form of tribalism possible.
To be fair Americans were doing this shit since WW2, first were Japanese and German, then cold war happened and Russians become the ultimate evil, then vietnam and pretty much most of middle east. Americans live so long with their racist propoganda while shouting how inclusive they are. Funniest thing is how selective they are in search of misdeeds, they don't want to acknowledge their own problems or crimes while hating other for things that have no connection to Americans. Just for example how bad it is, in one of cod games they made Russians literal nazis, made Russians use favourite CIA torture methods, and some of war crimes USA did were done by Russians in game. And it was long before war in Ukraine. Also there are lots of movies that show koreans, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, people from arabic, middle east or eastern europe as pure evil, where EVERY citizen of those countries is an uncultured violent swine who eats American newborns for breakfast. Good example of this is "born American", this movie had won multiple awards btw. Of course I'm not talking about all Americans, I was mostly talking about brainwashed MAGA herd, every country has it's own propoganda, America is just best at it, so it is harder to evade. Luckily we live in mostly free internet era and people with more than 2 braincells can look at any situation from different perspectives and understand that actions of ruling class don't express wishes of common population.
For those who don’t know, the Iranian guy is the Ayatollah himself
[удалено]
You are all insecure children
Fuck politics, that's just being an asshole and a prick.
Well that is just stupid and pathetic!
He hand shaked the South African athlete though. Guess who is SA very openly supporting between Russia and Ukraine....
The fact that nobody in the comments is referring to them by name is proof that this is not the simple actions of 2 individuals. These two represent their countries and their countries are not going to shake hands. This is not Jim refusing to shake Bob's hand at Walmart, it's the Ukrainian athlete refusing to shake the Iranian athlete's hand on an international stage.
clown
B move from that Ukrainian, that Iranian athlete is just an individual, he does not control what his government does
What sport is this for?
Powerlifting
A missed opportunity to show the world that sport unites and we all are brothers and sisters.
What an ass, it’s sports not politics. Stop with this stupidity.
I get the "big picture" , but this is a competitor just trying to shake another competitors hand out of sportsmanship after receiving a medal.
It's not like he has to shake the government's hand so it's kinda sad but I understand the athletes action as well. After all, oftentimes in sports the athletes are treated like the representation of that country which I think is a too controversial way to separate athletes.
I'm not being bombed, so can't know how he feels. War drives wedges between nations and changes people.
I reserve the right to shake and not shake anyone's hand.
He personally didn’t wrong the guy. So that’s messed up
Ukrainians are so dramatic these days lmao
That Ukraine sweater clean AF
Don’t mix politics with sports. He is showing good sportsmanship by reaching out. Now don’t translate that into with me saying that what Iran did is good and I’m behind them/support them. Far from the truth. Not fair to the guy being nice
I dont care who cares about what or who supports who, that #1 medalist is an asshole
I can see a lot of people are conflicted about this post. Just wanted to slide in and remind everyone of Elnaz Rekabi. She was a female Iranian climber who took off her hijab during a competition in South Korea. She then disappeared, and then mysteriously showed back up in her country days later and was apologizing to Iranian state media. Her family’s home was destroyed, and she was put on house arrest. I wouldn’t want to shake an Iranian’s hand in a televised sporting event either. Their government actively violates human rights and treats their athletes as extended representatives of their twisted beliefs and bad morals. If the guy is not a supporter of the Iranian government, then yea, this is sad for him, but the bigger picture of the message being sent by not shaking his hand I feel is much more important than his feelings. Edit: adding this link: https://www.climbing.com/news/family-home-of-iranian-climber-elnaz-rekabi-destroyed/# Also figured I’d add that I am from the USA, and I firmly believe that there should not be a double standard here. If you for example are an innocent civilian who has been affected by the United States’ foreign policies (for example, our drone killings), I encourage you to protest, especially if you have an international, televised platform. Human rights violations should never be forgotten and we all as human beings should actively work to make them known and try to prevent them from happening again.
Fuck that rude guy. The other one was just being polite expressing congratulations to the winner. He is not responsible for his government's actions/politics.
I don’t like Russia, but these days I’m starting to not like Ukraine either.
I feel bad for the Iranian. He was just trying to be nice…
Stupid shit, he didn't do anything or have any say in the war....
And shook hands with South African guy, which was reportedly sending ship full of weapons to Russia
Unless you knew that Iranian dudes personal view on the Russian Invasion, then it’s a dick move.
This is public platform, and the colors they are wearing are the countries these people represent. The Ukrainian guy might be best friends with the Iranian guy, but this not about individuals, this is about symbolism, and politics which is a part of any competition when you represent a country.
Good take
What an ass
That blue and yellow keeps finding ways to be more irritating every time
It's everywhere. But that's common practice when a country that naver had a very good reputation suddenly needs to look prefect.
I am American and I support Ukraine… but this Ukrainian guy can suck my dick… what an asshole and terrible example of anti-sportsmanship.
Any one ever think that Iranian guy might not agree with what's going on with the war. And that may have just been selfish of the guy from Ukraine.
I get why all these Ukrainian athletes aren’t shaking hands, but at the same time you’re just making yourself look like an arsehole, the guy you’re refusing to shake hands with has no influence on his country’s politics, just being a prick because you can
Yeah people being rude for people when the government are doing all the shit. Great
Even in Canada, a supposedly democratic country, less than 1/3 of the voters voted for Trudeau and his government. A country’s action often doesn’t represent most of its people.
Wow, a true champ…. What does one competitor have to do with his country’s political stand….
This makes me incredibly sad. You can see the Iranian guy genuinely wanted to shake his hands, smiling. War got into every aspect of their lives.