You needn't be so kind as to throw snow in my face

Two days ago (October 20th) it snowed. Even the Russians were a bit surprised. I was walking to work, and I saw two children, probably brothers, enjoying the snow. The older one picked up a chunk of snow and tossed it directly into the face of the younger one. You can imagine what happened next. In English, there would be a scream of "STOP IT!" or "DON'T DO THAT". In Russian, though, they don't say anything like this. Instead, they say: "IT'S NOT NEEDED!" It's technically unclear what is not needed and for whom; this could mean anything from "I don't really need snow in my face" to "our parents don't need you to make trouble" or even "the universe does not need your assistance in creating chaos." I once asked an English teacher from Russia what I should tell my students when they're being mean to each other, and this same phrase was all she could suggest. I wasn't surprised when it proved ineffective--it seems far too vague and indirect.

So Russia has been in the news and most countries are looking on it as something like the Big Bad Wolf trying to blow down the straw house of Ukraine, or something like that. Most of my students don't really care to talk politics with me, perhaps because the US doesn't exactly have the best reputation either. One student did mention last night that the media is full of propaganda, and suggested that the Russians who are radical in their support of the violence in Ukraine are being misled by the media. But this student also said that most people were busy just trying to live a decent life, and for some this means just trying to survive. Regardless, the troubles haven't had any visible effect on my life, aside from causing a huge drop in my salary.