Mariella Gattini

There is nothing you can say to an irrational mind, but there is plenty to tell to those who valiantly are fighting for the right to speak for themselves, those who oppose autocracy in any of its forms. Specifically, I’m referring to Ukrainians in their quest to defend their independence and individualism.

First, I can assure them that what they are fighting for is worthy, since our reason to be, as human beings, is having the ability to articulate what is in our minds without the fear of retribution.

It is so painful to see so many Ukrainians dying in this intent, a worthy endeavor, no doubt, but hurtful and, for many, their last resort to be heard before their definitive departure.

There is nothing to meditate about war, because it’s vile, nonsensical, and lethal. War does not deserve room in our lives, let alone those who promulgate it. However, as it happens in this case, we have to stand up against it with all our might because our survival as a species depends on it.

Much has been said about Putin and his delusion of grandiosity, but very little has been really done the past twenty years. He has behaved like an abusive husband, and the rest of the world has reacted like an old-fashioned abused wife, afraid to lose her standing in the world and hooked on self-interest and fear.

It’s very easy to criticize women who find themselves in this situation, not imagining why the heck they don’t extract themselves from that state. Now that we have the past twenty years to reflect on, we can see why: (1) The need for the oil supply coming from Russia, that in a household would be the income provided by the abuser. (2) The gaslighting coming from Putin’s propaganda pointing at the flaws of democracy, which, at a personal level and directed to a woman in an abusive relationship, makes it very easy to manipulate since the entire society is in it to make her doubt about her own value as an individual. (3) The avoidance of analysis at a micro-level, in our everyday lives, because if we don’t talk about it, it’s like nothing bad is happening. Deep down we know that the world is a dark place, and we are afraid that it can become even darker if we bring it up in conversation.

An irrational human mind like that of Putin’s is, by definition, unable to think beyond its basic instincts. It’s worse than that of an animal, because animals do not have a complex mind, so they feel and they act as a consequence; there is no ill-intention from their part, and there is no pernicious plan in them. In a human being, aggression is an act to do harm, which is unacceptable since we do have a prefrontal cortex that provides us with our ability to think and solve problems with our intellect. Overriding our ability for thought is, in humans, done by deliberate choice, therefore, completely preventable.

I remember that, in the early 90’s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and after Pinochet were ousted by the referendum of 1989, a Russian commission went to Chile, and we were all curious to know what they were doing there, especially Chilean journalists, because the brain-washing words coming from Pinochet during the seventeen years of his dictatorship had been against those “Socialists-Leninists”, as he defined them, and at that point we knew very little of what was happening in Russia after the Perestroika.

This Russian commission said they were not there to see the newly-appointed, democratically elected Chilean president Patricio Aylwin, they traveled to Chile specifically to have a meeting with Pinochet. Journalists asked why, because we surmised that since Pinochet was out of the picture, Russians would be happy to have access to a country that had recently reinstated democracy. We were all surprised by their answer: They wanted to know how Pinochet had been able to grow the Chilean economy so successfully.

I was skeptical of Russians in power at that point, because since I had awareness of the world around me, the Soviet Union, directed by the Russians, had been in competition with the United States and I thought that at that point they didn’t have much to compete with, so they were gathering economic strength to go back again, but this time, as we can all see it, it’s not just against the United States, it’s against the entire Western world and republics that foster democracy. They learned from Pinochet’s playbook how to grow economically, a plan very easy to implement because there is not such a thing as dissent in the playbook of an autocrat.

Autocracy hates women, other races different from the dominant, gays, and writers and artists of independent minds. Autocrats only support writers and artists who are there to provide entertainment as puppets that can expand their autocratic propaganda.

We can see now that Putin’s criticism against the United States came from envy and his desire to emulate George W. Bush, a former U.S. president relegated to painting the portraits of dogs today.

The fundamental mistake made by the Soviet Union was to believe that they could maintain different cultures, located in their respective countries, together and under the control of one big, unmanageable, imposed Russian government. Sooner or later, it had to fail, just like it did, because different cultures have different ways of seeing things and different ideas to solve problems in their particular countries located in a very specific geography.

The big difference with the United States is that this country is the making of individuals from different origins who, despite all of our flaws, come here to create something better than we have experienced before, because we know what autocratic governments do to quash individuals’ liberties and for that reason we do not want them in our lives. The might of the individual is strong, especially when it has the well-being of an entire and diverse society as a priority. The imposition of an autocratic government only yields fear, suffering, and submission, which looks very much like respect, but it’s far from it. Respect is earned, not imposed, therefore, no matter the resolution of this Putin’s war against Ukrainians, he has already lost all credibility and respect, especially from the West.

There is so much we have to learn from women who have been in abusive relationships, and it’s a question of paying attention to the ones who have been abused and have been able to get themselves out to safety. For instance, in the documentary Phoenix Rising, Evan Rachel Wood explains how she got out of the relationship she had with Marilyn Manson, her abuser, whose real name is Brian Warner. She asked herself: “How do I get out of this, (a) alive, (b) with the least amount of damage, and (c) making him think he won?” And she did, she got out of that pernicious relationship, not unscathed, but stronger than before, restructuring her life in ways and direction that only she has defined since then.

Power corrupts, it makes those in power believe that they are not only better off, but also better than everybody else, which is, of course, a delusion. The problem with that lack of intelligence is that it can lead to a complete and irreversible destruction of all life. Irrational minds should not have access to power because, by definition, they are not apt to lead, let alone contribute to the development of societies in their entirety. Real leadership has never been imposed, it comes naturally to individuals who understand that the richness in a society is in the strength and talent of individuals who participate freely in that society’s dynamic, supported by a natural leadership that fosters creativity.

This piece is dedicated to all those who keep fighting in favor of the Ukrainian independence in defense of their autonomy as a democratic country. My intent here is to speak up, because I deem primordial to acknowledge the suffering of populations victims of this unprovoked attack in Ukraine.

I’m not an activist, but I’m always going to be part of the promise for a better future for all of humanity, which implies respect and support for human diversity and personal freedom. For that, we need to remember that autocracies are not inescapable, and, at the same time, the power of NO to autocrats is still strong and loud, no matter what.