Pickman's model
sunset spires and twilight woods
we have all sorts of people posting here, wouldn't be surprised if there was a soldier or two somewhere on here. unless you know better, of course.
The dead teenagers returning from Afghanistan
- Thread starter London_Calling
- Start date
So....for those that have made that choice, to call them pawns or naieve is a bit insulting, no? Nobody signs up for the front line without being aware that there's at least an outside chance that they might get blown up or shot, I wouldn't have thought?
Spion
I hear ya
Not very much. Some of them will have been well-meaning, some of them will have been vile racists enjoying their chance of a pop at the ragheads.
Some will have joined for a career in circumstances of limited job options, others will have been waiting to be killers from an early age.
Whatever - they're all tools of the corporations and governments who want to put muscle down to secure territory for capitalism.
And at the end of the day the dead British squaddie account for a fraction of the dead people in all this shit, most of whom are invisible to us because they're foreign.
That's what fucking pisses me off - that we're supposed to give a shit about someone because we share the same passport
Blagsta
Minimum cage, maximum cage
In whose interests is this serving?
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
I spent most of my active time either on the front line, or, occasionally, in front of it. That is what medics do.
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
Most of the people I know don't really care that much about 'the nation' before they signed up.
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
I'm not going to grace that inanity with an answer. Fucking idiot.
Blagsta
Minimum cage, maximum cage
You don't know then.
Pickman's model
sunset spires and twilight woods
That's what fucking pisses me off - that we're supposed to give a shit about someone because we share the same passport
...or just basic human decency. An 18 year old getting killed under any circumstances is a tragedy imo. Unless it is the 18 year old Hitler and we have a time machine.
fogbat
The Talibum
The bolded bit is a really shit argument, though, isn't it?
You wouldn't have the guts to make your "gawdblesser, the Queen Mum was an actual bloody saint" comments in a room of angry, tooled-up republicans.
danny la rouge
Ninja swords for all disabled people
Seemed like a reasonable enough question to me. Certainly no need for that kind of attitude. There are two brands of mindlessness on this thread. One is "dead soldiers - meh". The other is above. ^
Spion
I hear ya
Translation: "I can't take your argument on so I'll suggest you'd get the shit kicked out of you if you said it to someone else"
So fucking weak
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I, for one, have had the 'guts' to make such comments in the presence of soldiers. Don't tell strangers on a bulletin board what they would or wouldn't do, as you really have no idea.
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
You miss the point.So what you is saying is you'd prefer it if people who joined up chose not to fight...coz they do have that option after all. And then you'd be less stressed?
Sure, they know there's a chance. But they are, generally, in 'warrrior mode', and most men remember feeling indestructible at that particular age - it certainly won't happen to you, maybe someone else.
But, in any event, I don't think the naivity attaches to their motivation, more their sense of the bigger picture, why they are there.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
i did to a bunch of pissd up ex-paras only last weekend.
Nah, I don't buy it. At 18 I was very much not in warrior mode and neither were pretty much any of the people I knew. I think it stretches credulity to suggest people sign up for the front line without entertaining the idea they might die.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
There's no such thing as 'warrior mode' - not naturally anyway, the military have to work very hard to produce that mentality. It doesn't come first.
Agent Sparrow
AGENT TRAITOR; fools 8 year olds
I feel sorry for them the same I'd feel sorry for anyone to die a premature death. However, honestly I probably feel a little more sorry for people who die premature deaths without having any say about being exposed to more risky circumstances, such as civilians in the countries that have wars fought in them.
However, what often irritates me is the minimal reporting of the latter, whilst the deaths of British national soldiers can become headline news. As someone else said, it's the idea that we should be more sad about the death of people with the same passport. I don't like it.
However, what often irritates me is the minimal reporting of the latter, whilst the deaths of British national soldiers can become headline news. As someone else said, it's the idea that we should be more sad about the death of people with the same passport. I don't like it.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
This guy's the REAL hero!
Gawd bless ya!
Tbf, it was at a wedding and half of them were family. But yes, where's my parade?
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
You can vote for more than one choice.
However, what often irritates me is the minimal reporting of the latter, whilst the deaths of British national soldiers can become headline news. As someone else said, it's the idea that we should be more sad about the death of people with the same passport. I don't like it.
It is human nature. It's exactly the same in every country around the entire world. In Nicaragua, if a plane crashes and some Nicaraguan people are onboard, they report the story by saying "3 Nicaraguan citizens died on board..." the same way we do here.
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
This isn't a plane crash, it's something this society is imposing on the peoples of another society - it is being done in our name.
You get my point though?
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
It's warfare. I don't know if analogy works that well.
Spion
I hear ya
You clearly didn't grow up round some of the nutters I did then.
I knew guys who were wannabe army/marines killers before they set foot in a recruitment office
Agent Sparrow
AGENT TRAITOR; fools 8 year olds
Just because it happens everywhere doesn't mean it's right.
Also, I'd disagree it's necessarily human nature. I think it's human nature to be more concerned about the people closest to you - firstly the inner circle of friends and/or family, and then the wider circle of about 100 contacts or so. However, I think this sort of nationalism is largely influenced by the societal ideals we're all raised with. Besides, I'm soft as shite, but don't necessarily feel more of a stab when I hear about the death of a British citizen compared to a foreign national. Surely if it was human nature, it would be an almost universal response?
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