Take that, Russian Swine!

Flower power.

A recent article in Forbes (good Lord, what’s happened to “Capitalist Tool” Forbes? ) tells the tale of a young, handsome Ukrainian artist named Daniel Skripnik. The poor fellow is caught in a terrible bind. Owing to his being LGBTQ (no specifying which one of those letters he claims, but no matter; it’s sufficient to establish he’s not white cisgender), he wants to flee his country because if the Russians win and and take over “it will un-do years of progress in the LGBTQ community’s fight for acceptance” in Ukraine.

Unfortunately for Mr Skripnik the Ukrainian government says he cannot leave, that he is fit to fight and must stay to do battle with the Ruskies to prevent their re-implementing restrictions on LGBTQ folk (among a few other things). However, because of an illness, not specified, and regardless his not showing any obvious signs of disability, Skripnic claims he is not only unable to fight, but also cannot assist in non-military, but critical tasks like clearing away rubble from bombed streets, pulling corpses from wrecked buildings, volunteering at hospitals where the bombed and bloodied survivors of Russian aggression are brought in, nor any other such activity that might put him in harm’s way.

Eager to serve in some capacity, Skripnik has happily found a way to aid and show solidarity with his comrades under fire from Russian bullets and bombs, while remaining safe himself; he paints pictures of sunflowers, the symbol of Ukraine. No doubt channeling the ’60s, Skripnik calls his wartime service “painting for peace” and who cannot be inspired by it as thousands of his fellow Ukrainians, many no doubt LGBTQ also, die in the slaughter?

Speaking of the ’60s, Daniel Skripnik’s heroic efforts of painting for peace bring to mind the song by the classic comedian and mathematician of that decade, Tom Lehrer: “The Folk Song Army.”