With Putin forcing the Russian military to invade Ukraine, jokes about avoiding the draft and anxieties about America getting bombed started appearing on my for you page. But what also appeared, less frequently, unfortunately, were Ukrainians posting about their loved ones leaving to fight and the bomb shelters that they are hiding out in. 

A post by user @eliza_shik about this topic says more than anything I could write from the safety of Minnesota. I am writing from a safe room, knowing that my friends and family are safe, I do not need to fear bombings. People in Ukraine do not have these luxuries.

It shows her crying as the words “my family is hiding in [the] subway and basements from the bombs. Some friends are not responding anymore. Some friends are holding the front…” are shown. 

The World War three jokes are not funny when people are dying, fearing for the lives of their friends and family. 

The contrast between people posting about how their friends and family in Ukrainian cities have stopped responding and the videos of Americans throwing away birth control to avoid the draft is honestly upsetting and disgusting. These Americans have no idea what is happening and are just getting a laugh out of it.  They are uneducated, insensitive and self-centered. This is not about us. 

The stories from Ukraine that I have seen show incredible bravery from the everyday Ukrainian people. As well as highlighting the unique culture and people that makeup Ukraine. 

Snake island had 13 soldiers stationed on it when a Russian warship gave these men the option to surrender. Instead (and this can be heard from audio released online) they said “Russian warship, go f*** yourself” in Ukrainian or Russian. 

An old woman walked up to armed Russian soldiers and asked if they were Russian before demanding that they get off her land. She then offered these men sunflower seeds, the national flower of Ukraine and said, “Take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here”. 

These stories about the Ukrainian peoples’ bravery and strength are the things that I want to see on my for you page, not uneducated Americans posting about getting drafted.