Oddbean

I recently saw a guy wearing a Vietnam War hat walking around the supermarket and I realized that I don't respect most people who were part of those invasions. But it is tricky. Many were sucked into those battles very young. Or they needed money. Most people are good people and we need brave men to defend others. The past 50 years of American military history is pretty gross though.

I’ve thought this for a while as well. It’s hard for me to believe that people would willingly join the military/army in this current day. I am not even referring to just the US here either. Also difficult for me to understand how to make sense of “love your country” when your government commits atrocities every year and has done horrific things in history. Very strange and difficult to try to figure that out, in my opinion at least

Don't worry. We hate ourselves a lot too. That's one contributor to vet suicide numbers being higher that most demographics. Being directly complicit in murder (even if well intentioned) is a fickle demon to wrestle. But most will still help you put because it's the right thing to do. And we're a crafty resourceful bunch that work hard and play hard. Not all, but lots. Happy to chat more if we ever meet IRL.

Thats heavy man. And I definitely don't hate veterans, probably the only government agents I intuitively respect, I just can't rationally articulate or justify why I feel this way. But whenever I try I always find myself landing on invading foreign lands is deeply evil and it would be a different story if we (North America) were defending instead of offending Tax payers and voters are also complicit, my labor also funded it even if I didn't pull the trigger

I think it’s important to separate the men and women who serve their country from the politicians who serve only themselves and send those soldiers off to die in foreign lands. From talking with a lot of Bitcoin veterans at great length, what I’ve found is they truly wanted to serve their country for the betterment of the American people, even if that meant sacrificing their own lives. Many were swept up in the post-9/11 era of pro-war propaganda (understandably so) and wanted to make a difference by fighting for their country. Then, at some point in the faithful execution of their duties, they became disillusioned, realizing that they were really serving the politicians and the military industrial complex, and that the reasons they were told they were fighting were not the real reasons. This is of course a massive oversimplification, and I do not want to put words into the mouths of any veterans. My personal experience from all of the veterans I know is they are some of the best people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. In the words of @TheGuySwann : “Bitcoin Veterans that hate the State are the best people in the world.” I agree with Guy wholeheartedly. If you want to hear from a truly badass veteran who is currently directly serving Americans disaster victims in need, check out @ShaneHazel of @Bitcoin Veterans I had a great conversation with him on @Titcoin that I think you’ll enjoy. https://youtu.be/-ZOkLuZvOZU

Without those men and women the whims of politicians would be nothing more than letters to Santa. If the purpose of a system is what it does, then those people are the ones DOING the thing, evil. Mere distaste that you were fooled is not atonement for the evil you enact. It is simply a proclamation that you can be fooled into doing the unspeakable. Proud veterans of the state are just as dangerous as they were when they were killing people. Veterans who quietly admit that they were tricked show that they can be redeemed.

When Canadians join the military they pledge allegiance to the King of England. They do not serve the country or people. Same with the politicans and everyone who works in government. The government also recently removed the rule that you have to be Canadian to join the military. You no longer need to be Canadian if you want to serve in the military. You can be a permanent resident. This is a good strategy if you have plans in the future to make soliders follow unlawful orders. You should never look up to soliders or worship them like they do in movies. They will come after you if ordered by the government. I don't even wear a poppy in November. Soliders do not fight for our freedom. It's all bullshit. The American military is a little different. They pledge allegiance to protect the constitution. But most soliders as we saw during 911 can be fooled easily into fighting overseas for a enemy that never existed. Fooled into destroying countries overseas in the pretense of fighting for freedom while their own country back home is suffering and deteriorating. Keep that in mind and never worship the military. They will murder you if ordered.

I'm reminded of a quote by Admiral Adama from Battlestar Galactica (and I get the police have done some terrible things too): "There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state. The other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."

I believe the respect shown toward veterans, despite knowing they are essentially hired mercenaries or state-sanctioned killers, stems from a herd instinct shaped by decades of indoctrination and collectivist propaganda.

Once you glean the scale & modernity of munitions at play, the ethics of an individual murder take a backseat to the fear of not keeping up. It's an "it sucks but the only other option is surrender" situation. And from what I've seen & heard, it isn't an easy thing to reconcile.

They "serve" (kill for) the imperial order at the behest of the ruling class. There is zero respect from me in that context. nostr:nevent1qqsgecteesdyc8zt8f9v6tecw8v2lvg7zycmdlktc00nnduzx3l9txqpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmp0qgsw9n8heusyq0el9f99tveg7r0rhcu9tznatuekxt764m78ymqu36crqsqqqqqp2knkf6

Indoctrination mostly. It is a manipulation to keep the agents of the state among you until the politician tells them to strike. "Don't fear my dog even though at my command he will rip you apart." It's yet another lie that politicians tell.

I admire veterans because at their core, they're good hard working brave people who try hard at everything they do. I don't respect their capacity for decision making, or their actual service in the military, or any of their related accomplishments.