“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half of that you see.” – Edgar Allan Poe.

I know, I know, it sounds a little nuts. More than a little nuts, actually. Truth be told, I felt a little “click-baity” writing the title, but this is a real story that needs to be told.

One of the more persistent rumors about Russia’s seven-month-long war with Ukraine is that it is fake. Look hard enough, and you’ll find conspiracy theorists that say there is no war, that all of what we see on TV is staged and all the money going to Ukraine is ending up in President Zelensky’s private bank account. Rumors like that were bound to happen (after all, there are still people out there who believe the world is flat), and there are small but vocal groups who won’t let the fake war story die.

USA Today recently ran a story discussing the video below when it was posted on Instagram. It’s since been pulled from that social media platform but is alive and well on Twitter and probably Facebook as well. When the video was posted on Instagram, the caption supposedly read, “So far the US has given $40B to the fake war. This is Kyiv, Ukraine yesterday. They’re now asking for another $13B.” 

Ok, I don’t know WTF that has to do with an 11-second video of young people dancing outside, but we are living in strange times. For all I know, that could have been filmed at Daytona Beach, a US club, or maybe it was filmed in Kyiv, but before the war. Or, and this is also a possibility, perhaps it was filmed recently in or around Kyiv. Ukraine is a large country, similar in size to Texas. Just because people are fighting in Dallas doesn’t mean folks aren’t going to party in El Paso.

The US fought a 20-year war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and parts of Africa and we are still in some places shooting bad guys in the face very quietly.  Americans didn’t don the black cloth of mourning for 20 years and suspend anything that was fun.  America went to the mall, partied, and celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, New Year, and Fourth of July.

While American service members were dying overseas. We had our own moral scolds also telling us we shouldn’t indulge in anything enjoyable while a war was going on, but these tend to be the same people who tell us not to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas because somebody, somewhere isn’t enjoying their own.

War is a funny thing. It’s not like the entire nation is rubble like you might see in an old black and white newsreel of Dresden. To the best of my knowledge, there hasn’t been a lot of active fighting in Kyiv in quite a while. The New York Times Jeffrey Gettleman wrote a great piece about this phenomenon back in late July. I have to give credit where credit is due. The story was about nightlife in Kyiv and how it was making a comeback. He tells us there were raves, crowded bars, and something called “cuddle parties.” To each his own, I guess.

As party planners met to discuss how to get residents out and about again, the Russians launched a strike on their country, killing several innocent civilians. There was talk of canceling the party (a rave, no less) as some felt this was no time for revelry. The consensus? “No way,” reported NYT. They quoted one of the organizers saying, “That’s exactly what the Russians want.”

You see, when your everyday life is ripped away from you through no fault of your own, all you want is for things to get back to normal again. This is true whether you are 20 or 90. When you get the chance, you party tonight like you could die tomorrow.

It’s said that the Ukrainian ravers had a great time. The first great time in a long time. They tossed aside their fear and made their way to an empty factory in Kyiv’s industrial section. The folks on the inside for NYT reported that thick black curtains were thrown over the windows and huge speakers blasted out the latest European techno sounds. You know, that “thump, thump” stuff. Women wore tight black dresses; buff guys wore tight t-shirts, no doubt some of them in Zelensky green. The cocktails flowed freely, and the people drank like they were used to it.

Let’s not forget the revelers had been cooped up for months in genuine fear for their safety. Some had earlier taken off for Poland and recently returned home. And then there was COVID before that. I almost forgot about the global pandemic. For nearly two years, there were no large gatherings such as this one.

Of course, there were doubts at first. Was it Ok to go out and have a good time when others in their nation were genuinely suffering? Were they bad people for enjoying themselves? The NYT crew asked these questions of a bartender working on that first big party night. Here is what he had to say:

“But the first shift was the answer. I could see it in the customers’ eyes. It was psychotherapy for them.”

Psychotherapy indeed. Sitting around in fear is not good for anyone’s mental health. But, there was still no avoiding reality. A government curfew was in effect. The streets had to be cleared by 11:00 PM. Last call for alcohol was 9:00 PM to allow workers and partiers alike time to clean up and get home. Still, it is likely that everyone has their fill. The party began at 2:30 in the afternoon.

As the parties in Kyiv were accurate, so is the war. Just last week, the bodies of over 400 Ukrainian citizens were disinterred from a mass grave near Izium. There were dead children. Many victims showed signs of torture; some bodies had ropes around their necks. President Zelensky is calling this genocide and is pleading for the world to recognize Russia as a terrorist state. No amount of dancing and drinking can make this go away. At best, it temporarily deadens what will be, for many, a lifetime of pain.

War is a state of extremes. Terror and boredom. Parties and dullness. And excruciating waiting, never knowing when it will end.