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Let's not overlook the toll that murder takes on those pressured and conditioned into being willing and able to do so. PTSD rates among recent Iraq and Afghanis
by firethief 10y ago
Let's not overlook the toll that murder takes on those pressured and conditioned into being willing and able to do so. PTSD rates among recent Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are about 20% [1]. More veterans commit suicide after coming home than are KIA.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder#cite_ref-VAscreen_26-4 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorde...
- pmoriarty 10y agoThere's an interesting book related to that, called "On Killing".[1] It's about the psychological conditioning that killers-to-be undergo to actually get them to kill. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Killing
- danieltillett 10y agoGreat book and I would highly recommend reading it. I am still amazed to learn how difficult it is to get soldiers to kill.
- wz1000 10y agoThis phenomenon was summed up succinctly by Frankie Boyle > Not only will America go to your country and kill all your people, but what's worse I think, is that they'll come back 20 years later and make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers feel sad. > America making a movie about what Vietnam did to their soldiers is like a serial killer telling you what stopping suddenly for hitchhikers did to his clutch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwuTI-V8SI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwuTI-V8SI It's not that PTSD doesn't exist or affect many people, but the scale of the tragedies involved.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoThe US found a solution to this problem and has been testing it for quite some time in Pakistan -- drones don't get PTSD.
- destructionator 10y agoDrone operators do though, in large numbers.