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Heaping derision on people who were victims themselves, drafted into a war they did not believe in, is one thing. I totally understand why people might recoil

by Crito 13y ago

Heaping derision on people who were victims themselves, drafted into a war they did not believe in, is one thing. I totally understand why people might recoil from that. With an all-volunteer army though? No way, it is on them as much as it is on anybody. I don't care if they joined for the GI Bill (doing it for the [college] money is a pretty fucking flimsy ethical justification), I don't care if they joined the reserves before war broke out for the GI Bill (agreeing to the possibility of a war, before you know the circumstances of that war, for the [college] money, is still a flimsy argument). The "support the troops [bring them home]" stuff seems like it is likely backlash against the derision that we gave Vietnam veterans, but it should be re-evaluated because the situations are not equivalent.

jurjenh 13y ago
There is the issue though that as young people, they may well not have the maturity or information to fully understand and comprehend the decision they are making. I was going to detail this as a possible excuse - but considering this reasoning and the consequences has made me reconsider: You've made a bad choice [morally / ethically]. Now you have to live with the consequences. Can be seen as a tough stance, but then again, so's life. Didn't really mean to fall of that cliff? Oh, here's your life back again.
- Crito 13y ago
  There is also the "smoothtalking recruiter managed to talk a teenager into doing something dumb" angle, but that only goes so far with me. Still, I don't hate people who join or anything... call it a very strong disapprove. However I do find it hard to associate with people who try to assure me that they're one of the good ones because "Oh, I'm not really the patriotic type, I just joined so I could go to college" line. That impresses me far less than "I joined [for my country|it was the right thing to do|for the innocent civilians over there|war is a necessary evil|I was young and naive when the recruiter came to my school|911 HUURAH!]". I don't believe people when they say the former, but if I did, I don't think I could consider them anything but mercenaries.
swalkergibson 13y ago
I agree completely. Here is a combat veteran discussing what it is actually like. This sentiment is basically echoed among the friends that I have who have served in the military. http://www.mediumdifficulty.com/2012/03/01/call-of-apathy-violent-young-men-and-our-place-in-war/ http://www.mediumdifficulty.com/2012/03/01/call-of-apathy-vi...

by Crito 13y ago

jurjenh 13y ago

There is the issue though that as young people, they may well not have the maturity or information to fully understand and comprehend the decision they are making. I was going to detail this as a possible excuse - but considering this reasoning and the consequences has made me reconsider: You've made a bad choice [morally / ethically]. Now you have to live with the consequences. Can be seen as a tough stance, but then again, so's life. Didn't really mean to fall of that cliff? Oh, here's your life back again.

Crito 13y ago
There is also the "smoothtalking recruiter managed to talk a teenager into doing something dumb" angle, but that only goes so far with me. Still, I don't hate people who join or anything... call it a very strong disapprove. However I do find it hard to associate with people who try to assure me that they're one of the good ones because "Oh, I'm not really the patriotic type, I just joined so I could go to college" line. That impresses me far less than "I joined [for my country|it was the right thing to do|for the innocent civilians over there|war is a necessary evil|I was young and naive when the recruiter came to my school|911 HUURAH!]". I don't believe people when they say the former, but if I did, I don't think I could consider them anything but mercenaries.

swalkergibson 13y ago

I agree completely. Here is a combat veteran discussing what it is actually like. This sentiment is basically echoed among the friends that I have who have served in the military. http://www.mediumdifficulty.com/2012/03/01/call-of-apathy-violent-young-men-and-our-place-in-war/ http://www.mediumdifficulty.com/2012/03/01/call-of-apathy-vi...