i think not enough people understand there’s a difference between empathy and sympathy. i can look at the russian soldiers and have empathy for that they are poorly educated, exist in a constant media environment that tells them that they need to be scared of all Ukrainians, and that often they are poor and desperate and think they are doing what they need just to survive.

this does not mean i sympathize with them. it just means i’m trying to take the effort to understand how a fellow human could have turned out this wrong. i largely do so to make sure i don’t let the children around me become the next generation of uninformed, easily maniputed, violent masses it requires to carry out atrocity.

in case it isn’t clear to anyone reading this comment,

• empathy: the ability to analyze and understand how someone came to be
• sympathy: the act of adopting or co-signing someone elses thoughts, positions, or actions