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    • apprehensivecrab1@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      For many, joining the US military is the only way out of poverty, a path to citizenship, or a way to a higher education. Some others just are victims of propaganda, or just genuinely sadistic, but unfortunately most of the people joining the military are victims of a failed education and social security system designed to bring more troops into the meat grinder.

      EDIT: Holy moly. I do not condone US imperialism at all. I am not saying that people who fall into the poverty draft get a free pass either. What I AM saying is that the US war machine is a fucked system that results in endless atrocities abroad but unfortunately will only to continue unless we dismantle the institutions that blindly draw people to the machine so that these people who would otherwise be vulnerable can wake the fuck up and turn away from it. These systems include capitalism, propaganda, imperialism, jingoism, a failed education system, etc… Chill out friends.

      • geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
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        8 days ago

        Joining the US military means killing innocent men women and children all over the world.

        Is “wanting to escape poverty” a valid excuse to murder children? Bank robbery is a more noble profession than US militant.

        • Grilipper54@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          Is surviving a reason for doing something bad?

          I’d say yes and anybody that disagrees has probably never been in that situation.

          There is a reason the military recruits the poor.

          • geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
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            8 days ago

            Surviving is when you go work for or McDonalds or Uber not kill brown children. Such a pathetic excuse for mass murder. As if these people had no other option. In reality becoming a mercenary mass-murderer is just a bit more lucrative than flipping burgers.

            • Fluke@feddit.uk
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              7 days ago

              Spoken like someone who’s never truly known desperation or genuine hunger. ie. One of the bourgeoisie who’d be first against the wall.

                • Fluke@feddit.uk
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                  7 days ago

                  No, I’m pointing out the hypocrisy in you pretending to know what it is to be desperate, that you can judge others in such a position.

                  I ain’t justifying diddly squat.

                  Edit: For clarification, watching the fall of the American empire in real time is both amusing and enlightening. Hopefully, it happens fast enough that I get to see the end result.

                  • Simon_Shitewood@lemmy.ml
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                    7 days ago

                    I had the option to join the military and chose homelessness. It’s actually really easy to do the right thing even when you’re desperate.

              • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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                7 days ago

                If you can join the most expensive military in the world, you are not nearly as desperate as, for example, people who survive in NATO without that.
                Also nowhere near as desperate as the people whose countries NATO keeps invading.

          • whereitsat@lemmy.zip
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            7 days ago

            there are lots of ways to ‘survive.’

            let me ask you question: what’s worse from a moral standpoint: stealing an old ladies purse or killing someone? what about pitching a tent on land that someone else owns? what about parking your RV in a wal-mart parking lot overnight?

            some of those things are crimes and you’ll be looked down upon even if you don’t get caught.

            so, why do we say ‘thank for your service’ and then turn around and see the thief as less than human?

            i’d rather have someone poach on my land than bust into my house and shoot me in the face. i’d think anyone would feel that way.

            • HerbGrower@slrpnk.net
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              7 days ago

              That whole thank you for your service thing is also distinctly American. No where else does that.

            • Grilipper54@sh.itjust.works
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              7 days ago

              I don’t thank people for their service. I understand that some people needed to to survive. You’re legally allowed to park in wall mart overnight with an RV at a majority of locations as well.

          • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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            7 days ago

            You either agree that the people your empire has been invading have a right to defend themselves by eliminating your ss troops, or you think that your ss troops deserve to survive and get higher education.
            Which is it?

          • flandish@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            the reason is capitalism. but it doesn’t excuse those who voluntarily join.

      • zeezee@slrpnk.net
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        7 days ago

        would you say the same for ICE? they also recruit from poor migrant communities because they’re most desperate and the pay and perks are good - would you say they’re justified in joining and terrorising the ones that didn’t?

        and while I 100% agree that propaganda and the system failing them is the main reason driving that - we don’t counter the propaganda by normalising the poor-to-terrorist pipeline as “well the system sucks but you gotta do what you gotta do” - there are red lines and if we could collectively resist them - we starve the system from being able to force people into the meat grinder

      • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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        7 days ago

        Would it be okay, then, for me to rob, torture, and kill your family if it was the only way for me to get higher education (i.e. something that is not necessary to live)?
        What about the families these monsters kill that won’t be able to receive higher education on account of being dead or kidnapped?

          • flandish@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            not a strawman. literally every role in the military is involved in the murder of children. every. single. role.

            • skidicarus@sh.itjust.works
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              7 days ago

              And what about roles outside of the military? When was the last time you contributed to slavery or child exploitation with your purchases? How about your employer?

              • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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                7 days ago

                You are equating purchasing things with directly participating in the most vile military on the planet.

                • skidicarus@sh.itjust.works
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                  6 days ago

                  I hate to break it to you, but your consumption of unethical products is also direct participation in the unethical production of said products.

                  • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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                    6 days ago

                    Consumption of products is the furthest one can be from participation in such things in many cases, or not far off.
                    Unlike working in a NATO military.

                    Honestly ridiculous how you try to equate these things.

                • skidicarus@sh.itjust.works
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                  7 days ago

                  Just wanted to make sure since people in this thread seem to be taking a holier-than-thou stance. As above:

                  Would it be okay, then, for me to rob, torture, and kill your family if it was the only way for me to get higher education (i.e. something that is not necessary to live)? What about the families these monsters kill that won’t be able to receive higher education on account of being dead or kidnapped?

                  If we’re talking about more than just service members who directly engage in combat and are including non-combat roles (cook, mail clerk), then the answer has to be yes.

          • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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            7 days ago

            Why “strawman”? They are literally saying that that is perfectly okay to do for USians against people elsewhere. Why can’t you also say how it would be so good if you were on the receiving end of this poverty-alleviating programme?

            Also, again, what about the poverty and education of the families these soldiers kidnap, torture, and kill?

      • flandish@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        i couldn’t afford college. Didn’t join. Ended up a software engineer. 🤷‍♀️

      • حمید پیام عباسی@crazypeople.online
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        7 days ago

        You think I care that the only way for them to go to college is to go and murder people in the country I’m from. Fuck them and fuck anyone who makes excuses for the American empire.

      • Tomorrow_Farewell@lemmy.ml
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        7 days ago

        They have the option of just not going to college.

        Or do you think I should be rewarded with more university by kidnapping, torturing, and killing your family?

        • 123@programming.dev
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          7 days ago

          No, it does not. Grew up watching the non-english news, every year you would see reports of people that joined the military with that promise from recruiters and were deported at the end of their service.