Why Spadea is only filling up his gas tank at Lukoil (Opinion)

We are suffering from the worst kind of political virtue signaling I've seen in my lifetime.

"Virtue signaling" is when people express a public opinion to demonstrate how virtuous and moral they are, typically as a cover for things that they are not so proud of doing.

The worst part of today's virtue signaling is the outright shaming of people who don't go along with whatever currently dominates the groupthink narrative.

For me, this blew up over Ukraine.

For a few weeks prior to the Russian invasion, I was calling out the White House for stirring the pot and riling up a seemingly unstable and reckless dictator in Russia. I called out the danger of the American government pushing or even discussing the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO.

In a recent article written after the Russian troops started rolling, I pointed out the misinformation being reported by numerous news outlets and the facts that were being ignored as to the corruption in the Kyiv government.

The fact that the Ukrainian regime was installed after the so-called "Orange Revolution" with the help of the Obama/Biden administration was largely ignored. The fact that the Obama/Biden administration saw the Russian annex of Crimea on their watch was largely ignored. The fact that an estimated 14,000 died over the past few years as the Ukrainian government battled with an established pro-Russian government ruling the disputed Donbas region was largely ignored.

For pointing out these facts and the fact that we should have recognized the reality of the disputed region, where most people speak Russian and hold Russian passports, I was attacked as being pro-Putin.

The problem is not the attacks on me. I embrace the hate and find it entertaining to point out the ignorance of my detractors. The problem is the shaming on social media and in the community of people who don't have a microphone. This is the worst kind of bullying. Go along with whatever the latest "thing" is or we'll shun you, avoid your business and call you names publicly. The worst part is the selective outrage.

It's all the rage today to have a Ukrainian flag posted to your social media. But where is the outrage over the human rights abuses and concentration camps in China? Where's the outrage about the human rights abuses among our allies in the Middle East? How about Biden's new friends in Venezuela?

As your super-spreader of truth, I will continue to point out the hypocrisy of the virtue signalers and stand up for the new casualties of the Biden/Murphy assault on reason: Lukoil gas stations.

Listeners reported empty stations as, presumably, New Jersey drivers are showing their support for Ukraine by boycotting local American-owned small businesses.

Please stop. Keep your passion for the cause of the day to yourself and please don't burn local wage earners and employers with your need for attention among friends and family.

Sal Risalvato, executive director of the nonprofit New Jersey Gasoline, C-Store, Automotive Association explains in detail:

[M]ost if not all the Lukoil stations found in this state are not being managed or operated by the Russian Lukoil corporation, but by individual franchisees, who have signed multi-year contracts to operate these locations. These small businesses invest significant amounts of money, time, and sweat to keep these businesses open and their families fed ... Even the actual gas that they buy wholesale comes from US suppliers, Lukoil just slaps their brand name on it.

For me, I'm only filling up at Lukoil to show my support for these unfortunate casualties of agenda-driven politicians. And to show my support for the Russian people who are equally victimized by tyranny, I'll be serving Russian dressing for the rest of this week to friends and family stopping by for a meal.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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