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I don't buy that, nobody with a shred of humanity shoots handcuffed kids in the back of their heads. Something is wrong with these people as well as with the on

I don't buy that, nobody with a shred of humanity shoots handcuffed kids in the back of their heads. Something is wrong with these people as well as with the ones who are protecting them.

pyuser583 1y ago
People used to murder their own children undesired a children as a form of population control. It was normal and expected. Murdering defeated enemies, and their children was equally normal and expected. We live in such a wonderful age that we can easily forget many “unthinkable” things are the default of humanity.
- tartoran 1y ago
  That doesn't excuse current behavior. We want to live in a world where that does not happen. Do you not? Also in this case it wasn't expected of these special forces to behave this way, they take the liberty to commit atrocities out of pure pleasure.
  - pyuser583 1y ago
    No but we need to address the fact that in conditions of warfare, this is the human default. It starts it training, warning soldiers they will be tempted to commit war crimes. Looking at case studies where the “norm” has been averted. When it comes to punishing offenders, you have to be very careful not to punish only those who speak out.
sandspar 1y ago
Human beings have unfathomed depths. You don't know how you'd react under the same pressures. Like, unless you've been there, you simply don't know. Our behavior under extreme stress is unpredictable, even to ourselves. That's the hard part about prison or homelessness or war: it shows you parts of yourself that you wish didn't exist. You're writing this guy off as un-human. I think that's a mistake. If we accept the full complexity of normal human potential, including our own destructive capacity, then we can put systems in place to guard against it. That's why the original commenter said it's the command's fault. They should have constructed a system where something like this is impossible. Military systems must be built to absorb the reality that soldiers will act in contradiction to both their training and their self-concept. Only by accepting moral volatility as an expected input can a military system anticipate the full range of its own possible breakdowns.

I don't buy that, nobody with a shred of humanity shoots handcuffed kids in the back of their heads. Something is wrong with these people as well as with the ones who are protecting them.

pyuser583 1y ago

People used to murder their own children undesired a children as a form of population control. It was normal and expected. Murdering defeated enemies, and their children was equally normal and expected. We live in such a wonderful age that we can easily forget many “unthinkable” things are the default of humanity.

tartoran 1y ago
That doesn't excuse current behavior. We want to live in a world where that does not happen. Do you not? Also in this case it wasn't expected of these special forces to behave this way, they take the liberty to commit atrocities out of pure pleasure.
- pyuser583 1y ago
  No but we need to address the fact that in conditions of warfare, this is the human default. It starts it training, warning soldiers they will be tempted to commit war crimes. Looking at case studies where the “norm” has been averted. When it comes to punishing offenders, you have to be very careful not to punish only those who speak out.

sandspar 1y ago

Human beings have unfathomed depths. You don't know how you'd react under the same pressures. Like, unless you've been there, you simply don't know. Our behavior under extreme stress is unpredictable, even to ourselves. That's the hard part about prison or homelessness or war: it shows you parts of yourself that you wish didn't exist. You're writing this guy off as un-human. I think that's a mistake. If we accept the full complexity of normal human potential, including our own destructive capacity, then we can put systems in place to guard against it. That's why the original commenter said it's the command's fault. They should have constructed a system where something like this is impossible. Military systems must be built to absorb the reality that soldiers will act in contradiction to both their training and their self-concept. Only by accepting moral volatility as an expected input can a military system anticipate the full range of its own possible breakdowns.