Seeing Miss Ukraine at the Miss Universe contest made me think. How does she feel sharing the stage with Miss Russia? Yes, Miss Universe is supposed to be about:
The Miss Universe Organization exists to advocate for a future forged by women with courage to push the limits of what’s possible, who are curious in the discovery, and the audacity to do it again. We know how important it is to reach gender equity for the good of all people.
But how do you smile and try to get along with someone whose family members may have attacked and killed members of your family? And is actively doing so even as the pageant is going on?
Edit: Yes, I know your/my father’s, brother’s, uncle’s, friends, actions aren’t supposed to affect my opinion of you. And you may be a far better person than I, but I would find it difficult, if not impossible not to have at least a bit of anger.
In your example, my guess is that they aren’t friends, more likely frenemies who tolerate each other for the sake of the pageant. Their desire to compete, and perhaps even win, outweighs their hatred and/or distrust for each other.
You might not be able to pull it off, but apparently they can, at least in front of the cameras. What happens in private is another story.
If anything, I’d think that the case you describe would be even more extreme, given that both are there as official representatives of their respective countries.
I was working on a vessel with both Argentine and British crew during the Falklands conflict. There was a large production/welding room near the bow where each side kept a running scoreboard of the conflict (just “we’re winning!”, “No, we’re winning!” Kind of lighthearted cheering) They worked together just fine and I never saw any outward hostility.
When the Belgrano was sunk, but Brits took down their sign as a show of respect. The Argentine’s did the same when the Sheffield went down a few days later. For some reason, it seemed more real after that and neither side re-hung their banners. As far as I could tell, they all remained respectful to each other afterwards and even expressed sympathies for each others’ respective losses. I saw no animosity for the remainder of the voyage.