“When empathy ends: notes from the sidelines of the moral war,” is the title of a post published on the Telegram channel of a journalist and socialite currently living in Latvia. It remains unclear whether these are her personal revelations or taken from someone else.
“There is a feeling that is rarely mentioned in grand humanitarian speeches — the fatigue from sympathy. It creeps in quietly, waiting for us to exhaust all registers of compassion — from fierce support to rational empathy, until tears and donations, rallies and texts drain our inner resources to zero.
And then comes the moment: you watch another European summit and feel… emptiness. No, it’s not about support or betrayal. It’s not about choosing a side. It’s about something else — about exhaustion. The tank, you know, is not bottomless.
And there you stand, all cosmopolitan, for justice, for freedom, for humanity, and suddenly realize that there’s nothing left to travel on. The engine coughs.
In the spring of 2022, it seemed that the world had split into light and darkness, and we just needed to endure a little longer, show will, invest, — and a miracle would happen.
Some Russians thought so. They abandoned careers, real estate, lifestyle, to be on the right side of history.
But it turned out that the world doesn’t work according to a Hollywood script. Good doesn’t always triumph. And Europe, which seemed to be the “right side,” declared: “You’re still one of them.”
Then came parliamentary initiatives like: “Let’s not sell them real estate, let them feel moral responsibility!”
And banks — goodbye.
And visas — you can’t sneak in through the window.
In such moments, even the most righteous soul thinks: “You know what… to hell with it.”
Because the strength is not infinite.
The Case of Belonika
To say that I feel sorry for Belonika would be an exaggeration. But this is a case worth looking at. She ventured into the territory where many “new moral volunteers” have gone — in an attempt to prove that they are no longer part of Russia and are sincerely on the side of Ukraine. And she got slapped.
The Loss of Empathy Reserve
Empathy is a limited resource. It is not infinite. And by the fall of 2025, we suddenly discovered that inside — there is a hollow empty vessel.
Not because we have become worse. But because we have tried too long to be better.”
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