Bias Of A Different Kind – The Tear Drop.

My friend Conrad has posted a remarkable story in his blog “Leveraged Intelligence” about a memorial that the people of Russia have given to the people of the USA.

Here is, at least in my opinion, demonstration of bias of a different kind. For many of us of my generation, Russia meant cold war, the Berlin wall, Poland, Hungary, the Cuban Missile crisis, Communism and all kinds of negative images. I was among those that celebrated with joy the breaking down of the Berlin wall. I was in Europe at that time, and it was an unforgettable experience.

The USSR was pictured to be a dark and menacing entity and a lot of negative emotions would come to surface whenever it was mentioned. USSR and Russia have always been synonymous and so, something that Russia does today, also perhaps generates the kind of negative bias that the USSR used to.

I can think of no other plausible explanation for the total blanking out of this magnificent gesture by the people of Russia. Given the kind of coverage that it deserves, it would have gone a long way towards removing some of the negative images that many of us carry, and at the same time, build bridges between two peoples who had been suspicious of each other.

I urge other readers with their own blogs to give this story a push so that at least through our efforts, more people get to know about this, what I call ‘fantastic story’. Thank you.