Through decades upon decades of Western civilization, history has shown that it has seen its fair share of war. From pillaging to colonizing, corruption and more, leaders of the Old World remain deeply connected to the intricate details that lie within the obsession with power itself. The war in Ukraine, by extension, should fall within the deeply disturbing although practical parts of Western reality. Yet countless Europeans and white Americans seem surprised at the repeating events of history, highlighting a land of people who cannot learn from its mistakes.

Reporters, analysts and civilians alike have bonded together with maternal-like support and worry for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “disgrace” and “shocking” conflict across the continent. However, this important sentiment proved itself mysteriously missing for similar and statistically worse conflicts within the rest of the world; the issue primarily amplified itself to an unbearable degree once the suspicious nature of these attacks occurred.

“I’ve seen too many white countries invade black and brown nations and the media turns a blind eye, but suddenly the sight of war invading white countries sparks outrage that nations with POC just didn’t receive,” junior Aniyah Narcisse said.

Colonization also remains a staple within the history books of Europeans, with the atrocities spurred on by white supremacist ideologies of social Darwinism and the “White Man’s Burden” dominating Africa, Asia and the Americas. Any educated person from those countries could give a minimal list of the consequences of Europe’s undying urge to control any sort of beneficial property. From the spread of religion to false legends of gold, psychological warfare along with the total and utter suffering of the persecuted masses will never wash away from the communities of the beheaded. This sentiment holds true no matter how persistent certain nations ignore them. 

“As a first-generation immigrant with parents from Caribbean countries once ruled by European nations, the impact that colonization had on me, on us is undeniable. Families still struggle due to prior generations not being able to grow under the foot of the monarchy and being left to rebuild the country without proper reparations,” Narcisse said.

Granted, the bonds created by the horrors within the smokescreen of Kyiv remain more than merely admirable. Dozens of support groups, fundraisers, and missionaries have flocked to support the horrifying conflict. Ukraine-born actors Mila Kunis and Aston Kutcher have raised over a whopping 3,000,000 dollars in the span of one month alone, and donations have yet to stop. Nevertheless, the efforts invoke bittersweet feelings from people of color, reiterating the double standard held amongst the public.

“We didn’t see none of this with [the] Afghanistan [invasion].   It was “thoughts and prayers” and that alone. Why are we just ‘thoughts and prayers,” magnet junior Miya Everage said.