Interesting analysis by eugyppius.

The black, sulphurous fumes emanating from the Atlanticist, more-weapons-for-Ukraine NAFO corners of Twitter never fail to surprise me. We’re not talking here about the natural emotions one can only expect in warfare, because Germany is not a direct party to any armed conflict. It’s additionally remarkable because the bloodthirsty Germans writing this stuff are not fringe lunatics, but staunch supporters of mainstream politics. Many of them have EU flags in their bios, and when they are not dancing on the graves of their imagined enemies, they often find time to express their passion for all that is liberal, peaceful and democratic. You could be forgiven for wondering if the strong pacifist currents of postwar German culture haven’t bottled up some very dark energies, which since the Russian invasion of Ukraine have finally found a socially acceptable release.

Late-stage, forward-thinking liberalism has at least one further unexpectedly radicalising quality. This arises from its ‘popular sovereignty’ model of politics, and the concomitant tendency of committed liberals to elide the distinction between state actions on the one hand and the disposition of the people on the other. Western liberals, when contemplating illiberal enemies, can assume one of two attitudes towards the people of these nations. In lower-stakes conflicts, like those arising from neoconservative campaigns to spread democracy, it may be possible to cast the people as the helpless captives of their evil dictatorial leaders. In this case, they are mere victims who require liberation. In higher-stakes conflicts like that in Ukraine, however, it becomes impossible to disentangle the people from the state. Ordinary Russian civilians, because they have failed to protest the war and overthrow their leaders, are thus all assigned some degree of complicity in the Ukraine war. This makes their deaths less regrettable at least, and an occasion for celebration at most.

The long peace that has reigned in Europe since 1945 only further encourages this unbridled bloodlust. We have no recent experience of war to temper the violent fantasies of our politicians and their popular supporters...