The Sunshine Bridge

EE: Welcome again to The Sunshine Bridge. If you checked out the previous episode, this episode is just a continuation of the last show. With the situation between Russia and Ukraine going on, I decided to see what folks in the Baton Rouge area were thinking about it. So I brought my microphone and recorder with me to the Mall of Louisiana.

And one of the first people I spoke with was Michael:

Michael: To me, they really shouldn’t even be having a war. You know, regardless. You know? Let them people live like everybody else living. All it’s hurting is you know, the economy. So what are they going to do after that if they don’t have anymore Ukraine or Russia. You know? People just wanna live and enjoy their life. So, I don’t even see why they’re doing that, so….

EE: I was talking to Michael in the courtyard outside of the Mall of Louisiana, and as I made my way up to the actual mall, I found myself talking with Delmitha.

Delmitha: My thoughts on the Ukraine situation is just that I feel so sad for the Ukraine, and I feel as though some of what Russia is doing to them is not all fair, it’s not alright. There’s too much civilian life being lost over there. And of course, I don’t like what it’s causing us. It’s causing us a lot of problems with the gas right now. I just left Cost-co. I had to get out the line. I sat there for 30 minutes trying to get gas, and I’m a member there ‘cause, so it’s a little bit cheaper, but I had to leave. Just too long. And I mean, everywhere you look, the gas right now is like $4.20, $4.19, and it’s increasing. So it’s a sad, sad thing as far as the life that’s being lost there, and a sad, sad thing at the amount of increase that we’re having to be put on us.

EE: What are your thoughts on you know, big companies stepping in and, you know, cutting off stuff from…?

Delmitha: I think they should. I do. I think we should help them. I do feel that there’s a lot more that the United States needs to do for our citizens, but as far as Russia, yeah. Cut it. The only positive that I see is that I see us going out to help, and I think we need to see that. We need to help others. We need to, we need to be giving and helping because we are a great country, but in the meantime while we are doing that, we are being subjected to the inflation, and that’s a big problem. That’s a big problem for us to get our groceries, for us to get…well, just not groceries, for everything. Truck drivers now, their gas is really, really out the wazoo. So yeah, that’s the negative. It’s just really so much inflation. But I do see that…I liked…I saw that Ms. Kamala…in…I think she went to the Ukraine or Poland. She went over. So I like seeing that we’re connecting, and we’re talking, and they’re working with allies. You know, because Russia’s…that’s lowdown. It’s wrong what he’s doing. It’s wrong.

EE: Those were Delmitha’s thoughts. At this point, I’ve made my way up to the entrance to the mall. Here I find Joy. She’s waiting on her ride and just before it arrives, she stops and allows me to interview her:

Joy: I don’t like what’s going on. I am not a fan of Russia. Short and sweet…. I have a few choice words, and…because I’m a lady, I choose not to give them. It’s sad. It’s upsetting for someone in this day to be so…I get upset, and my words can’t come out, but…let us be free. You understand? Children, and that’s what I’m most upset. Just because of control. You have what you have in Russia, yet let Ukraine be Ukraine. Let them have their freedom. I’m upset, and I can’t get the words out what I really want to say, but I hope they can withstand. I hope they can withhold what they’re doing, and I hope that we can help them in any way we can, and I hope that they can take down Putin.

EE: And I can ask what are your thoughts on bigger companies like McDonald’s or Visa or Mastercard and all that kind of stuff stepping in.

Joy: Do whatever they can to help them. Whatever it takes to help them, do it.

EE: And how do you see it affecting us right now or in the future even? How do you see it affecting us?

Joy: Everything is affecting us. It’s going to affect us whether we’re here, whether we’re over there. We affect ourselves. And it’s the world. It’s the world. That’s what it is. It is what it is.

EE: As you can hear, the wind has kicked up quite a bit. I don’t want to hang around the mall entrance with my microphone, and I’ve talked to quite a few people at this point. So I start heading back to my car. Just before I leave the courtyard, I find a man eating frozen yogurt with his son. This is Adam:

Adam: My heart goes out for the residents of Ukraine. You know, them having to flee and having to leave their homes and their possessions, and um…it just feels bad for their country. And it kind of makes me worry about our country. How we’re not in tune with our politics or who we vote for and what’s their vision for our country, we can wind up like Ukraine also, you know? As far as Russia…that’s a madman, I mean, trying to attack people in another country, but I mean, sometimes they have to defend themselves. Or they have to see what’s going on. I’m kind of worried about the U.S. biolabs that were located in Ukraine that was from the U.S. So, you know, what’s going on there? You know? Then again, here we are not really knowing anything about our politicians and who they are and what’s their vision. So, like I said, I believe for the residents of Ukraine, you know? They’re having their trust in to their leadership, and look where they’re at. You know? That’s all I can say.

EE: What do think of you know, these bigger companies coming and cutting off resources?

Adam: In Ukraine? Cutting off….

EE: No, like there’s some companies like McDonald’s is cutting off resources in Russia. Visa and Mastercard also did the same.

Adam: Um…you know, you’re going more…when companies like that do that, and they go into politics, I think the companies need to be companies and provide a service instead of being political. I think providing a service for someone is business. I mean, you know, If they’re closing all their shops and everything, all they’re thinking about is their political view and their stance. They’re not thinking about the people that are losing their jobs over there. People that are working for those companies that are trying to be loyal. I mean, what are they going to do now? Now that Russia is losing their resources and everything else, so what you’re going to do is you’re gonna take away from people that have nothing to do with this war. You know? This has nothing that has to do with us. It’s something that the Russian people didn’t want. It’s nothing that the Ukraines want. And for a company to go in there and take away resources from people that are trying to survive. I’m just not with that.

EE: And finally Adam’s son, Ayden, shares how he sees the whole Russia-Ukraine War.

Ayden: Okay. So, um…Ukraine and Russia. It…to me, it was unnecessary what Putin did. People…Ukraine, it’s already bad. But Putin…him going on and trying to take it over and all of that, it’s just absurd me thinking about it because as he just said, people are losing their jobs in Russia ‘cause they had nothing to do with what’s happening in Ukraine. And in Ukraine, people are suffering because of what’s happening in Russia. It’s the same thing. Vice-versa. So, I….

Adam(off mic): We’re suffering too(laughs).

Ayden: (laughs) Yeah, it’s causing inflation, all of the gas prices. So, that’s just what I think about it. The companies? As he said as well. They’re in a way making it worse because people in there, in Russia are losing their jobs, and it’s causing Russia internally to kind of collapse in on itself. But they’re still going, and they’re still trying to take Ukraine with everything that’s happening, so.… I’m not really a working person in today’s society ‘cause, well, I’m underage. But from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty rough on people that are older than me and actually have jobs because gas prices are rising, and it’s making it harder for people to just get to like, the gas station or wherever they want to go. And here, some families, they have relatives in Ukraine. And they’re stuck there because Russia’s closing in on their borders, and they can’t get out. So, yeah, that’s what I think about it.

EE: I fact-checked in the last episode, and I need to do it again here. Adam said he was concerned about the U.S. biolabs in Ukraine. According to Newsweek, the U.S. Defense Department has never had a biological laboratory in Ukraine. Instead the U.S. has provided technical support to the Ukraine Ministry of Health to improve public health labs. Those labs have missions more like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The biolabs claim is actually disinformation that has been pushed by Russia since about 2018. If you want a link to any of the fact checks I’ve given, you can find them in the Show Description.

My battery ran out shortly after Ayden’s comments. So, that was that. It was time to head home. It was only a short experience. I was only out there for maybe half an hour to an hour, and I only encountered one group of people who wouldn’t be interviewed. And those that were interviewed all expressed concern for this country as well as for Ukraine and for Russia. Numerous times I heard it expressed that there’s a disconnect between the people, the media, and the government. And that was a sentiment expressed about this country. As I mentioned in the previous episode, I hope that hearing these opinions or anything else on this show helps to open some kind of dialogue, some greater sense of community, some better sense of sharing.

This is The Sunshine Bridge…and none of these shows happen in a vacuum. And there is nearly always some kind of conversation surrounding its making. I wanna give a special thanks to Justen Walker for his help and input for this episode and for the last.

Show music is by Arnav Srivastav. If you have questions, comments, or an idea for the show, please send the show an email at thesunshinebridge@gmail.com. As I said, this is The Sunshine Bridge, a show which embraces community and the diverse perspectives that make it possible. Thanks for listening.