Yuuuup. Mom came from a small Midwest town. Only black person was the town gardener. Incredibly sheltered and literally did not know any black people.

When she moved it was the best thing that happened to her. (Own words)

She had a black friend where she moved and was shocked to see her harassed by a store owner. When she asked her friend about it she said "girl this is every day".

Profound life changing experience but not everyone is willing to change and learn.

Small lives, small minds. Rural people live in little bubbles and have no factual context about anyone different from them.

For me it brought back memories of volunteering for a development agency as a white European in rural Cambodia.

Most people from the villages who came to the hospital I worked at had never seen a white person. Many were scared of me and my colleague because they were convinced we were ghosts. Every day people were pointing at me and shouting over the whole street or the market "Look! A white person!!" (Not in so polite words, though). And often small street stalls and businesses refused to talk to us, because they didn't stop/listen long enough to realise I try to speak Cambodian (Khmai) with them.

I'm not saying this is racism towards me, a white person. But I feel the reaction towards the "unknown" might be similar.

For just about all former soviet states, the N word is the term used to describe black people, because the word imported from Europe to describe Africans. It doesn't have the connotations or baggage that westerners attach to it. Diddo for blackface and sambo imagery, it's usually used more out of ignorance than malice.

Oh dear God, let me tell you, I feel my bones tickling when I read this. All these flashbacks of my parents meeting other Russian people and, all of the sudden, casually dropping the n word in conversations in public and me just freezing and praying no one overheard them. I mean it was with no mean intent (as you wrote, more like ignorance paired with custom) but if someone heard them, then they didn't understand the context and only heard them say n*ger.

You can not say these things do not have "the connotations or baggage" (how dismissive) that "westerners attach to it." The N word is an English word with one use, dehumanizing people of African ancestry. Blackface and Sambo imagery are also borne of white supremacist ideals and dehumanizing Africans. That is specifically where this stuff comes from. There is no alternative interpretation. You could maybe say someone is ignorant of the history of the N word, but if you are not racist garbage, the intent of blackface and Sambo imagery is very clear without needing a history lesson. Acting as an apologist for racists is functionally the same as being racist. I'm sure you've heard the expression about having dinner with 9 Nazis. 10 Nazis are having dinner.

Simple: here gun. There enemy. No turning back.

Did you hear what they're doing to men from India? They're doing the same in Africa - offering "jobs" then giving them little training and sending them to the front lines.

Total cannon fodder.

Not all "Slavic" countries are the same. Not all regions are the same. Western Slavs (Czech Republic), Southern Slavs (the Balkans), and Eastern Slavs (Russia) are all different. No one is going to call you the n-word in Prague any more than they would in America.

The issue with Ukraine is that they have no tourism from outside the region so even well meaning people will not know how to act. They might ask if you know LeBron James or whether you can play basketball, just to strike up a conversation. They literally don't know that's insulting.

Think about what you know about Ukraine:

1. They're in a war.

2. They like vodka.

3. ...