BEST OF 3/9/22 - Z is for Vendetta w. Clyde Lewis

Z is for… well that’s what everybody’s trying to figure out. The Latin letter has been placed on the sides of tanks, communication trucks, and the rocket launchers of Russian forces in Ukraine. It was also worn by the Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak who is facing disciplinary proceedings by the International Gymnastics Federation for displaying the letter on a podium next to his Ukrainian rival. The symbol is likely not to be a ‘letter’ in the traditional sense, due to Zed in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet being written more like a 3. Instead, it is a symbol meant to convey an idea more so than an alphabetic sound or expression. The letter may be used to help identify friendly forces, make sure that troops are in the right positions, or indicate different task forces. These seem most logical but there are other takes that go off the ledge. Aric Toler, a researcher at Bellingcat, an open-source investigation operation monitoring Russian military operations, said since we don’t know what the letter means, “assume the worse, I guess/fear.” According to CNN and mysterious analysts, it is the “unfurling of a chilling new nationalist movement.” These are some pretty big assumptions for admittedly not knowing. Aglaya Snetkov from University College London says essentially the opposite - the symbol should not be seen as fascist because, “There are lots of memes transforming the ‘Z’ into a swastika, but that’s done by people who want to push back against the regime.” The irony in this is that Vladimir Putin has explicitly said he was attempting to get rid of leftover Nazi networks in Ukraine. And this really is the important thing about symbols, they always have more than one meaning and can be interpreted endlessly by any number of people. Some initially thought that the letters were actually a number two, symbolizing February 22, 2022, the day Russia ratified an agreement on “friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance“ with breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine - Donetsk (do net sik) and Luhansk (la hunsk). Putin has asked for these two areas that have been under constant assault by Ukrainian forces to be recognized as independent. War has waged in this region for seven years since the installation of the Zelenskyy government after an overthrow of the previous regime. 14,000 people have died since then, many of them civilians. Putin has also requested Crimea be recognized as Russian, and Ukraine takes a neutrality stance and demilitarizes on the doorstep of Russia. Others say the letters relate to military slogans, as the V, along with Z, also appear on the official Instagram account of the Russian department of defense. Slogans like Za PatsanoV and Sila V Pravde, mean ‘for the lads’ and ‘strength in truth’. It seems like every action or thought today if in opposition to the status quo, is seen as nationalistic and the result of some fascist ideology. The same is true with every dot or line, no matter how it curves, or breaks at a 90° angle, it also is identified as part of some fascist ideology. We even had some people compare the American Eagle to fascism, not even realizing the eagle was chosen as a symbol of resurrection from the ashes, a sign of rebirth and nobility, coming from that of the Phoenix. The same people who saw the eagle as a Nazi symbol, apparently don’t recognize that both the Iranians and the Russians, for example, also use the eagle. Interestingly, if you pick up a book on runes, something Heinrich Himmler, not so much Adolf Hitler, was obsessed with you will find two symbols that are similar to a Z. Eihwaz relates to the world tree and as a symbol of protection. It looks more like an S with 90° hooks. It also indicates that you have placed your intentions on a reasonable target and if they are goals easily achievable. Any obstacle in your way can be cautiously dealt with and may even be beneficial to the final outcome.

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