anti war vs. anti veterans

Lets just thank those soldiers throughout our countries history that served in order for those people to maintain the right to speak poorly of them.

 

There is a fine line.

The troops are doing what the government tells them to do. It's not their fault that the war itself is unjustified. If my problem is the war, then I will complain about the government, not the troops.

That said, many troops do engage in egregious behavior, and it needs to have light shed on it.

 

I wouldn't blame the soldiers for war, it's the authorities that decide it. That said, it's not like every soldier is automatically a saint. Also, I wonder, if there were no soldiers, would there be war?

https://youtu.be/LTr60WYjNM4

 

As much as I respect veterans for doing their jobs, I find it stupid when they get elevated to "heroes", and everyone idolises them as if they were gods. It's not just soldiers who won wars. It's the government that we should hate for getting us into these wars.

What does annoy me; however, is how it's a really bad occasion when a soldier dies. As there's no draft, isn't that what they sign up for?

 

All people are every sorts of shades of grey, meaning they aren't completely good or comety bad. There are good soldiers who want to serve for the right things, and there are bad soldiers who make very terrible decisions at times. That doesn't mean that soldiers are entirely evil for being the military.

Veterans are in a sense good people, they go out of their way to help other veterans and show respect towards their fellow veterans and soldiers. Although some of them usually do stay neutral on their status as veterans as well, it wouldn't mean they're wrong for doing that either.

The people who blame soldiers and hate them are always misunderstanding the bigger picture. It's usually government who drive the military into unnecessary war. A lot of people these days however try to respect soldiers with dignity and honor, trying to deviate from how Vietnam veterans were treated after they returned.

It's usually never the soldier to blame overall, and it's usually the government at fault for most of the problems the soldiers go through. Most people see it that way now. However, there is still a minority, one that will be highly vocal over the silent majority, who will bash soldiers instead of the government, mainly because of different factors that are vague. They are still in the minority next to the ones who support the troops.

 

I'm not anti-veteran in the slightest (I've always been one to support veterans). I am however, anti-military industrial complex that makes so many people veterans that we can't afford to treat right. The underfunded VA and rate of homeless veterans proves that. If we can't afford to take care of people we make veterans, don't send them to war.

Also, I don't believe every veteran is infallible, either. That's very prevalent by the 100,000 to one million Iraqi citizens we killed in the Iraq War. There are also those who raped young boys in front of their mothers, and people like Allen West that got a kick out of torturing people by pointing a rifle at their head, and shoot to miss and give them emotional trauma.

 

This:

And this:

Sum up my opinion on this.

When I obtained conscientious objector status, I was put through a very frustrating and condescending process, which was topped off with a guilt trip. The recruiting office was happy as can be when I first arrived, but when I told them what I wanted, the mood almost immediately turned. Suddenly, I was no longer this bright and courageous individual, I was this selfish and ungrateful problem.

If I want to fight in a war, I'll do it. But I'm not getting thrown into combat, especially if those who can declare conflict, don't.

What I hate seeing/hearing is, individuals who would otherwise never join the military, do so because it's the only way they feel they can make it in life -- that is terrible.

 

Conscientious objector high five! o/ I spent 6 months under house arrest for that, but I've mentioned that like a gazillion times on EC already.

 

It's been said before here and it's to be said again. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Except for when the player rapes civilians, throws stray dogs off of cliffs, and, significantly, slaughters innocent people, etc. etc.
And I don't approve of the whole 'be proud of our veterans' sentiment at all. Here's the deal:
Capitalism requires imperialism. Imperialism requires soldiers (for now). They are mere pawns played by the wealthy.
They are not protecting anyone. At least not the soldiers of major countries e.g. the US. They are deluded to fight for the corporations. If you take the YPG in Syria/Turkey, for example, that's another question.

They deserve help when they come back, and support, not homelessness or being rejected.
But saying 'oh, we're so proud of you for protecting our country, you're our herous', would likely sound disgusting in the ears of the families of the people they killed (including civilians).

 

Nor did I say you should. But if you praise all veterans collectively you're praising the insitution, the institution which is murderous.

Praising individuals is something else.
And I never think serving any nation state is heroic, if I may be blunt. Doing your best to do the right thing and be a good person is heroic and should be praised. Being a soldier doesn't mean you're inherently trying to do the right thing or that you're a good person as little as it means that you're necessarily a bad person.

 

I don't like hating anybody. But war is terrible. I feel that we should honor veterans for their courage and such, but not act like the fighting itself is good. If I were to fight in a war, I would feel proud of myself for being brave and getting through it, but bad for being involved in fighting. People act like fighting for your country is great in every way, but besides the heroic idea it's not that great to be part of such a devastating thing. That's how I see it.

 

What's "many"? Are we talking about anecdotes? We kinda have to be to make a statement like that, yeah? I haven't seen any statistics that say soldiers in general are more likely to commit crimes. There are studies that say returning veterans are more likely to commit violent crimes if they've witnessed or been involved in traumatic incidents, but that's a societal problem and it's our job -- all of us -- to support them, whether actively or just by supporting things like the VA with our tax money.

Anyone who experiences trauma is going to be changed. We can't fault people for being human.

 

Veterans of yesterday are different than the veterans of today. Our great grandfathers and grandfathers worked, went to war to serve our country, came home and went back to work. Today it seems like many sign up for the wrong reasons, heck my cousins ex said he only signed up so he could kill people. Obviously not all of today's veterans are the same and most had good intentions but there are too many that have this cocky attitude or feel everyone owes them.

Also a draft is completely different than volunteering, if you volunteer to fight you know the risks going in. I'm all for programs that help veterans returning home get set up with a job and mental help.

Lastly no ones fighting to protect our freedom of speech.. Maybe WWII but not since then has our freedom of speech been endangered by a foreign country. Freedom of speech is a war between us and our government