doomer

You are swallowing a narrative

With respect, I am not. My stances on the imperialist project in basically every other sphere (especially the Middle East and Sputh America) are incredibly skeptical and critical.

But what appears to be confusing everyone is I choose to apply those same standards and lenses to everyone

Yes, you actually should understand the context of this war, even if that means that Russian atrocities are also going to be put in context and complicate your feelings about it.

Exactly, thank you. I think the "if the USA is involved its always the invading force" bothers me so much because it wipes away that cognitive dissonance with delusional dogma.

If your position is to sit by the sidelines and condemn any state actor because states are oppressive/expansionist/monstrous then you've maintained a moral high ground that you've eliminated any chance to turn into a project for actually advancing a political goal.

I assume this is a hypothetical "if your position is" and not an accusation, because I totally agree.

I do not sit on the sidelines, Ukraine has a full and complete right to defend itself. (As does Palestine, as does (did) Hong Kong, as does any sovereign nation who is not the aggressors and who's boldest demand is a return to previously agreed upon boundaries from before the invasion.

The Western imperialist bloc must be stopped. That requires the cooperation of everyone in the world that understands the true nature of imperialism to contribute in the struggle against imperialism.

We remarkably agree on the premises here. It's surprising to me we go so opposite to each other.

When I look at the Russian Ologarchs and all the people falling out of windows and that they all have bank accounts in the same offshore places that Western bourgeois were showing up.

If you are open heartedly telling me that Putins Russia is an ally on eliminating inequality and distributing capital back to the producers then I don't get where that is coming from.

When Mao fought against the Japanese imperialists alongside Chiang Kai Shek, he had to make a moral compromise that was necessary to actually achieve the goal, to liberate China. Modern day anti-imperialists are no different.

China and Russia are highly different beasts.

Is it your genuinely held belief that Putin is making the right compromises in the right places to liberate Russia?

Setting aside Russia's moral right to the invasion, let's look at their economy since. It's tanked! Are you really suggesting that the Ukraine war was a strategically sound idea?