7 ms·
They did teach it, they just weren't callous enough to teach the moral judgement you've just made about the conduct of your anscestors while entire nations were
by DKnoll 7y ago
They did teach it, they just weren't callous enough to teach the moral judgement you've just made about the conduct of your anscestors while entire nations were trying to kill them.
- macintux 7y ago> ...entire nations were trying to kill them. That’s not what the article says. > Throughout the war, stretches of the Western Front observed an unofficial “live and let live” policy between Germans and their French or British enemies. By mutual agreement, both sides agreed not to attack the other unless ordered — and would even schedule truces for meals and bathroom breaks.
- DKnoll 7y agoThat's not what my great-great-grandfathers service record says, or the extremely long list of Canadians killed or injured in WW1. The German that shot him was probably just messing around, you're right.
- dhdidhdu 7y agoWell try reading some more.
- DKnoll 7y agoEven though you disagree with me, and probably my tone, this is a useless and unproductive comment.
- dang 7y agoPersonal attacks will get you banned here. Would you please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and use HN as intended?
- benj111 7y agoI don't think its quite fair to label this a personal attack, and I don't agree with it getting flagged. Your link also states "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation" Both their parent and GP were talking about reading conflicting things. Reading around to get a better sense of the truth of the matter would seem, reasonable. Of course a less pithy comment, where the meaning was clear would be best of all.
- macintux 7y agoThere are no simple situations in war. The soldiers on all sides of this one were, by and large, eager to be anywhere else. It was a stupid war that accomplished little besides the pointless bloodshed. It’s likely your grandfather was a good man with no desire to kill Germans. It’s likely whoever shot him felt the same.
- interfixus 7y ago> The soldiers on all sides of this one were, by and large, eager to be anywhere else No doubt they were. But we do tend to forget that large swathes of them had originally volunteered, often with enthusiasm.
- hef19898 7y agoBack than that was normal thing. Just watch, or read, All Quite in the West. Especially the scene right before the boys graduate highschool. Also, the war was supposed to be over by Christmas. And once reality hit it was too late.
- interfixus 7y agoI am well aware of that, and have read Im Westen Nichts Neues a number of times. This doesn't affect my point: Huge numbers volunteered for slaughtering and being slaughtered, many with gusto and in great haste.
- DKnoll 7y agoMy grandfather served in WW2, not WW1. In his case, he actually lied about his age to join, and also was made to temporarily change the German surname you might notice in my username. He was enlisted for the duration and stayed on for decades after. Only left when they made him (medical).
- b_tterc_p 7y agoShould it be hard to imagine launching a war of that scale without inciting hatred of the enemy in your soldiers?
- dang 7y agoCan you please not take HN threads further into flamewar? That's in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. So is "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."
- DKnoll 7y agoSorry Dan, I shouldn't have responded like that. I do think I was responding to the most plausible interpretation of what he said, but my tone was off. The comment I responded to describes Canadian history extremely inaccurately ('littlest brother of the commonwealth'), that this is wildly incorrect should be obvious to anyone educated in Canada. I like many others was taught all about Canadian exploits in WW1 and WW2, including their excellence at trench raiding, improvised weapons and feared reputation as 'shock troops.' Could be that's just Ontario (or my school district) but I'm fairly certain it's a well known part of Canadian history (at least for Canadians). Even the author of the article says we should not pass judgment given the circumstances. Have a good morning.