3 ms·

I am a frequent volunteer on poverty and homelessness issues. But, that wasn't really my point. My comment was more about my opinion of the US military industr

I am a frequent volunteer on poverty and homelessness issues. But, that wasn't really my point. My comment was more about my opinion of the US military industrial complex; I believe that, in general, working for the war machine in any capacity is actively harmful to the world. Matt clarified what he'll be doing there (I think; at least, he mentioned things that are being done there that sound nice...presumably he was implying he would be working on those nice things, rather than on more effective ways to kill brown people), and I have conceded that I was assuming the worst and could have been wrong about that assumption.

PunchTornado 10y ago
"working for the war machine in any capacity is actively harmful to the world" <- that's the kind of absolutist statement that is never right and always poisoning a debate. It also does a disservice to thousands of people in the military who really well intended and risk their lives to save others.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  To quote myself: "in general" There are exceptions, sure. But, on the whole, war brings death, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of families and communities, and overall negative results for both the human condition and the environment. There are probably valid reasons to wage war; but the US is a nation of hawks and war profiteers at the highest levels, and has been for decades (refer to Eisenhower's military industrial complex speech, and nothing has changed since then except the numbers, both monetary and in human lives, are bigger and the wars more frequent).
CamperBob2 10y ago
I believe that, in general, working for the war machine in any capacity is actively harmful to the world. Says a guy on the Internet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET
- krapp 10y ago
  To be fair, that's not working for the war machine, it's working with the war machine. But that is a good point - we have the militaries of the US and Britain to thank not only for the internet but the computers accessing it. And the military industrial complex has Silicon Valley to thank for its ability to conduct mass targeted surveillance through social media and browser exploits, and to kill people with metadata.
  - CamperBob2 10y ago
    Another interesting dilemma would be, would it have been OK to work on the GPS system, back when it was implemented under the auspices of the Reagan Administration? It must have sounded like the creepiest thing imaginable to young people who were already concerned about the US's saber-rattling posture, but like the Internet that grew out out of the work done at ARPA, it's now an indispensable public utility.

PunchTornado 10y ago

"working for the war machine in any capacity is actively harmful to the world" <- that's the kind of absolutist statement that is never right and always poisoning a debate. It also does a disservice to thousands of people in the military who really well intended and risk their lives to save others.

SwellJoe 10y ago
To quote myself: "in general" There are exceptions, sure. But, on the whole, war brings death, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of families and communities, and overall negative results for both the human condition and the environment. There are probably valid reasons to wage war; but the US is a nation of hawks and war profiteers at the highest levels, and has been for decades (refer to Eisenhower's military industrial complex speech, and nothing has changed since then except the numbers, both monetary and in human lives, are bigger and the wars more frequent).

CamperBob2 10y ago

I believe that, in general, working for the war machine in any capacity is actively harmful to the world. Says a guy on the Internet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET

krapp 10y ago
To be fair, that's not working for the war machine, it's working with the war machine. But that is a good point - we have the militaries of the US and Britain to thank not only for the internet but the computers accessing it. And the military industrial complex has Silicon Valley to thank for its ability to conduct mass targeted surveillance through social media and browser exploits, and to kill people with metadata.
- CamperBob2 10y ago
  Another interesting dilemma would be, would it have been OK to work on the GPS system, back when it was implemented under the auspices of the Reagan Administration? It must have sounded like the creepiest thing imaginable to young people who were already concerned about the US's saber-rattling posture, but like the Internet that grew out out of the work done at ARPA, it's now an indispensable public utility.