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Imperial soldiers be like (lemmy.ml)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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[–] 13 points 8 months ago* (6 children)

If you read my first comment, I explicitly said "of their own free will". I do not pay taxes out of my own free will, so your comparison is invalid.

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  • [–] -5 points 8 months ago (5 children)

    Um... If they really had a choice, the vast majority would not join the military. There are exceptions of course. But most feel they have no other options. Just like technically you don't have to pay your taxes (you can file a form to have nothing withheld from your paycheck). But it is the best choice if you want to make a living. So still, very much valid.

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  • [–] 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

    Feeling you have no other option (despite a lot of other jobs being on offer) and totally not having any other option (because they'll put you in jail for not paying taxes) are two completely different things.

    With all due respect, but there is no reason to join the army unless they force you to. Even when Germany still had mandatory military service and they wanted to draft me in 1997, I opted to wipe old peoples' butts in an old people's home instead because that was the only way out. Don't you dare tell me there is no other option.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    I'm sorry you were forced into that, but I have mad respect for you helping the elderly instead of joining the military.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Thank you very much for saying that, but in hindsight it was actually a great life experience. I met a man who was 103 at the time, in 1997. So he was 21 years old when WWI broke out. He later joined the German socialist party SPD, he resisted the Nazis and was forced to emigrate, he had such amazing stories to tell.

    I think he played a big part in why I became interested in politics, German history and also why I became an antifascist and anti-militarist. Him and the fact that the Nazis executed one of my two grandfathers for "defaitism".

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  • [–] -3 points 8 months ago

    Well, as you say. If you don't pay your taxes, they will put you in jail. So you do have the free will to choose. You could of course also move to a country with a less interventionist military so that your taxes aren't paying for it. In the US, kids from poor neighborhoods have very few job options. We don't have good public transit, so they can only go so far for a job. Moving is usually out of the question expensewise because they are living with their parents already.
    For many who end up in combat roles, it is often a choice between making a living via crime or the military. At least with the military they have a decent chance to become a productive citizen after a few years. So it is the better of two bad options. Others are just not too bright. They have no idea how the military is used. They just hear the words of a sweet talking recruiter telling them how good a person they will be for signing up. It's hard to blame them for being dumb.

    I am not saying noone in the military is a bad person. But I am saying that not all are. The US military has like a 50% resign rate. You could say the ones that sign up for a second tour are choosing of thier own free will, with thier eyes open. That I will agree to.

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