Letter: Muggings and the Russian invasion

A man is hit in the head by a mugger who yells, "Give me your wallet, jewelry and car keys or you're dead." You just bought the car after saving for years and you're wearing your great-grandfather's wedding ring. You have no weapons on you. What do you do?

You can unwisely try to fight to keep your things or you can realize the odds are so stacked against you that it's highly likely you will be shot and possibly killed if you don't comply.

Putin is an evil, inhuman thing, like Hitler and Stalin. What he's doing against the Ukrainian people is an act of genocide. He doesn't care if women and children are tortured, wounded or murdered indiscriminately by his soldiers.

I know what I'm about to say will be unpopular, but there are times in life when you have to swallow your pride, put things in perspective and minimize your losses for the greater good of humanity. Yes, Ukraine is putting up a fight against the Russians, but at what current and future costs?

Major Ukrainian cities have already been demolished and turned into piles of rubble. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died and millions of people have been displaced and are barely existing; and for many there is no home or livelihood to go back to.

In addition, this war is being severely felt in economies around the world.

Sometimes you must realize when you can't win, no matter how hard you may fight, giving in, sad as it is to say, is the best and only viable option to truly win as much as you can in life. The Russians won't run out of soldiers or massive weapons of destruction and Putin will never give up. It's not too late to stop the hemorrhaging of blood in this unwinnable war.

Bruce Handler

Highland Park