It's true that the elite start the wars, but those who willingly fight in that war are just as responsible for its existence.

Do you think that we should let off murderers who cry in court? Also it is "easy to stand on the sidelines and moan", but what the **** are you doing here that's so impactful? Leave cheap emotive points like that to the side.

Um, yeah, go willingly fight my stupid war or go to military jail; yeah, that's a great choice. Anyway, you know how we should support the troops? By not making them fight in stupid wars to begin with.

I know, I love them but sadly they have chipped ears :c (I've had them since I was 15 so they've been through a lot)

That's not an option now but I would wholly resist a draft, yes.

As you well know, most of them are poor, often black, and have little other chance of any other sort of employment. They're targeted by recruiters at college who make the army seem like the place to be, told their student loans will be paid off etc and it's made out they'll be fighting for their country when in fact they'll be fighting for mega-rich corporations. You can hardly blame them if there's little alternative. Do you blame people who get fooled into doing someone else's fighting? I mean, there's a long history of military service, dating right back to the birth of your country; that's a hard cycle to break.

Add in the stupid nationalism that is forever whipped up in the US and other countries, the fact that you can be looked on as a coward by your mates if you don't go, and the other prejudices that will follow that, and it's hard for me to blame these guys and girls. Of course, without soldiers there would be no wars (till drones are totally autonomous and fighting each other, or we have robot soldiers) but as long as war is held up as a noble and brave thing to be involved in, and as long as the young are educated to believe this, it will keep happening, and the system is to blame, not the people. Some have gone on to have great careers in the military, and would not regret signing up, and is there any family that will sneer at a member joining up? It's so ingrained in the consciousness now it's almost impossible to dislodge, but again that's not the fault of those who go to fight, it's the fault of those who tell them it's the right thing to do, from religious leaders to political leaders, and even to family leaders.
I have no idea what point you're trying to make here. If a war came, I would not serve, not because I don't believe in it but because I am a coward and don't want to die. But I don't blame those who feel - rightly or wrongly - that it's their duty for signing up to do so. What has that got to do with murderers? What has it to do with crying in court? You can't help but bring emotion into it when you have someone who is literally prepared to spit on people; that's a very powerful emotional trigger.

I can respect that. When I was of draft age (and for me these were the Reagan years), I would have resisted too or at least applied for conscientious objector.

But I think it's wrong to condemn someone from doing what they think is the right thing. We can protest the wars like we did with Iraq, but throwing eggs at the soldiers doesn't make sense. Chances are, they're going to go through a lot of crap anyway after seeing the horrors of war or, even worse, coming home maimed.

I definitely think that that's ****ed as well, but the soldiers are still playing a role. People need to recognize that willingly becoming a cog in the wheel is just as bad as being the driver.

I brought up that analogy because it was a similar dumb emotive situation. What does war have to do with murder you ask? Hmmm...

I'd probably just split to Mexico tbh.

Chula gonna tap dat azz.

So anyway, yeah, I made it, I'm 60 today.