• ydieb@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    What I hate with this is that is defines that the army itself is good or bad. But in reality it is what it is used for. If its actually used for defence, then it’s very honorable. When it’s used as a tool to exploit resources to the rich, (aka generally being the aggressor), it’s not.

    • ShimmeringKoi [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Hey, im not trying to be rude or anything I just wanna quickly say that honor is a fiction typically used by the rich and powerful to manipulate the young and well-meaning into becoming fucked up stormtroopers for capital.

      • Urist@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        In modern context, sure. In a wider anthropological historic context, no. My understanding of honor as a social concept, though I do not have proper academic sources to back this, is that it works in lieu of a central force of government enforcing laws and common rule. I.e. non centralized governance such as that of say the Norse people of old, had very strong etiquette of honor, the lack of which implied social status that would be worse to the one living than them dying. That meant weird things like a story of a man who robbed a house, realized they were doing something dishonorable (read illegal), went back and challenged the man who owned the house, killed them in combat and then stole their stuff. Just like laws it imposes rules on people, in this weird case murder in combat is better than theft, but still a rule. I would argue this notion of honor has existed across different societies for a long time, due to general absence of centralized governance, and has in modern times, relatively speaking on an anthropological timeline, been adopted and exploited by centralized powers to further control the populace, in the very real way you talk about.

    • Bassword@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Yeah peaceful militaries like Korea’s or China’s or Cuba’s are ok. Anyone joining the US military though if just in it for the war crimes.

      • Habahnow@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        I feel your answer lacks any sort of nuance. People join the military for financial reasons as well. Broke as fuck and need somewhere to stay, get food and possibly get an education or career? Military. Almost doesn’t matter your background, you can probably get in and stay as much as you like. The US system makes the military a good back up option for the poor. I don’t like how the US uses our military, but i also understand that those in there aren’t necessarily happy with their options either. If there existed a alternative system like the military (work, pay, food, housing, education, career), people would probably join that over risking dying or having to kill people.

        • Urist@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          That is the issue with hating the troops proles doing the fighting. Sometimes they might commit war crimes, but usually there is someone of a higher social strata coercing them into the role, which although doesn’t relieve them of responsibility, is important context.

      • Azzu@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I wouldn’t call North Korea firing missiles over other sovereign countries very peaceful. As well as China doing troop exercises that obviously prepare for the invasion of Taiwan. I’m sure there are more examples.

        • Bassword@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          The DPRK had literally never been to war outside its territory; it’s not a dove but at least it hasn’t invaded multiple sovereign countries like its southern cousin.

          China does troop exercises like every single other country in the world.

          • Azzu@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I mean as long as you consider South Korea part of their territory, sure. There was though the Korean War, where North Korea invaded South Korea. Of course it’s not on the same level as South Korea, but I would imagine that’s more because they literally can’t, they have no resources for it, not because they’re amazingly peaceful people.

            • Doubledee [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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              1 year ago

              The north didn’t invade the south though, no Koreans agreed that the US supported parallel was a permanent division of the country, both North and South fully intended to create a united Korea. Tens of thousands of Koreans were already dead from purges and suppression of uprisings in the south when the operation started. It was literally an ongoing civil war that had momentarily frozen.

              • Azzu@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                I’m not sure on what information you base this claim, but as far as I know the 38th parallel was agreed upon because both the udssr and the US wanted total occupation of Korea for themselves, but they both wanted to potentially avoid an armed conflict so tried a compromise.

                Then the north korean part, supported by China and unofficially by the soviet union, invaded the south to establish total control.

                • Sinister [none/use name, comrade/them]@hexbear.netB
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                  1 year ago

                  No North Korea claims descend from the People’s Republic of Korea and like in Germany, the US and UDSSR agreed upon an eventual neutral zone. The North invaded the South after the US sponsored regime began killing socialist uprisings, essentially protecting its citizens.

        • booty [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          Are you talking about that time they launched a missile over the least populated possible part of Japan as part of a test? What are they supposed to do, just not advance their tech? They’re surrounded, they’ve got to launch them over somebody and they did it the safest way they could.

          • Azzu@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            No, obviously perfectly fine. They are literally doing exercises for a potential invasion to Taiwan though, which is a difference.

            • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              1 year ago

              You can’t invade your own territory. By Chinese and Taiwanese law, internationally recognized by the UN (and even the US, as asserted by Blinken the last time he was in China to pretend to be sorry), Taiwan is Chinese territory.

    • telllos@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I mean, even for defence. Your settling, an argument, the rich and powerful people above you are having. You’re settling it with your life.

      • cannache@slrpnk.net
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        1 year ago

        If you think your side is right and you’re ready to die fighting then who is anyone else to say that you, the tool, is wrong?

    • mar_k [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Lol can’t think of a single western country that’s had an “honorable” war post 1945. The US army is unequivocally bad

      • Urist@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        In general I think you are right, but I was also under the impression that the NATO intervention in Bosnia helped prevent ethnic cleansing, which if true is a honorable thing.

    • uphillbothways@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      See, that’s an easy question to answer: Did you, or whoever, join the military while the US, or your country, was being attacked?

      • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If you wait til you are attacked, you may not be trained or ready enough to actually defend your country from the attack. You can still join in times of peace with intentions of defense for the future, helping with disaster relief, and providing international aid.