Idiots

Little time will pass, and they will be ashamed to think about it.

There are more than 10,000 kilometres from Minsk to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. However, sometimes it seems to me that we all somehow moved there unnoticed. The local Torajans have a peculiar attitude towards death and the dead - you might probably hear and see shocking pictures of it (for example, a mummy wearing a combat jacket and sunglasses).

Torajans do not arrange a funeral after death. They gradually get used to the fact that a loved one is no longer around in the same form and meaning. The body can stay in the house for weeks or even months. One cares about it: - wash it, bring food, take a piece of advice. On 9-11 August, we witnessed agony in Belarus, which ended in political death. Now the process of leaving and life without it is in full swing. The whole country is involved in it. We are suffering a lot.

The Torajans live modestly, but they leave this world in style. Huge sums of money are spent on funerals; sacrifices are practised - mainly pigs and bulls (one believes bulls take the deceased to the afterlife). The Belarusian current process is also expensive, although it has not been finished yet. Brain and investment leaks, forthcoming EU sanctions and the downturn of the national economy will backfire on us. However, one important difference is remarkable: if the Indonesians sacrifice only the cattle, Belarus practices ritual human sacrifices.

We are talking about a letter from athletes for Lukashenka.

Activists of this address say they sign for sports outside politics, although in reality, they change their loyalty for those who retain political power by force not to reduce their financial support. Now let's consider this "out of politics". There is a feeling that our Olympians are even brave about their "apolitical nature". In this regard, the word "idiots" came to mind. However, do not to take it as an insult. After all, I have only remembered it so far, but I have not addressed it to anyone.

Idiot now is a rough nickname or a definition of severe mental retardation. In general, ancient Greeks used the word. They used it with some neglect concerning people who were only interested in their private lives and didn't care about political processes or the affairs of their home policy. That is, three thousand years ago the Greeks thought it was not a good thing to live in that state.

One says Belarusians have woken up. They took an interest in developments in the country and remembered their self-esteem. If one considers the notions of the ancient Greeks, many of us have stopped being idiots. However, someone defends one's right to be an idiot and signs a pro-governmental letter, talking about sports outside of politics, as if a politician does not head the National Olympic Committee.

"The address of Belarusian sportsmen "Concord in the name of creation and peace" is a real human sacrifice. It is like a black hole that sucks in those who are afraid and cannot cope with fear, who are deluded or who still hope to get something from this power. The last category is the most unpleasant, but I don't think it's small. They are poor athletes and incompetent leaders who are afraid of change. They are afraid of turning useless. They will tell you that they don't give away a loved one, but in reality, they abuse the one they love. They will continue to do so until it cools down because Aliaksandr Lukashenka promised that he would not give a nice and warm Belarus to anyone.

A pro-government letter is a candle attracting moths to scorch them. It is a carriage many people take as the last one. However, it is on fire. People sacrifice their names, reputation even not knowing for what or whom. I forecast that little time will pass, and they will all be ashamed to remember it. Few people want to talk about the letter even now. It's a weird behaviour when one believes that one's right and conscience is clean.

The situation in Belarus weans us from surprise. It teaches us not to idolize people, even if they seemed wise and strong. It teaches us to look at deeds. Only deeds matter. No former merits. When one started to put pressure on Mikalai Kozeko, Tribuna called his famous student Anton Kushnir. He refused to comment, saying that he was not aware of the situation. Deed? Deed. When Kushnir signed the letter for Lukashenka (in fact, he took the side of those trying to smash his teacher) and voiced a mantra about sports outside politics. I was no longer surprised. Kushnir wants to succeed as a coach. Who will bother him now?

Until recently, athletes were widely criticized for their silence. One said that it was below the rock bottom to be silent when compatriots were killed, beaten, or imprisoned. However, it turned out that it's not a bottom. Nowadays silence no longer looks like such a big sin. The most reckless have found a deeper alternative.

Let's observe, remember, and stop wondering.

Oleg Gorunovich, Tribuna