suddenly when war comes is only mandatory for man
"gender is a social construct" only goes so far...
Gender is a social construct, biological sex is not.
Confusingly, we use the same binary terms for both.
Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
401–410 of 465 posts
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#402Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm here to pay taxes and get the bare minimum back I find this point of view to be profoundly sad and I hope it’s not shared by the majority of immigrants to germany
Not just immigrants, most Germans pay taxes for very little in return while bureaucracy keeps growing.
You are getting downvoted, but it is true that young people are getting a very rough deal, and a lot of the people in my circle are looking to emgirate. Friends from other countries and students (mostly know them through academia), are also not looking for long-term opportunities here anymore, which was different 15 years ago.
I would be far less annoyed with paying very high taxes and social contributions (around 50% of my income), if the services provided worked. But this just hasn't been the case for me. The healthcare system is close to breaking apart, and after moving to a new city 6 months ago I have been unable to find doctors willing to take me in. Childcare is constantly closing down due to staff shortages, buying a house is unrealistic unless both partners have good jobs or you inherit, and the jobs market is incredibly rigid and inflexible.
Every single one of these points are worse for young people then for older ones, and the only thing the government seems to get done is giving weapons training to young people and gifting pensioners 180b$/year extra.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#403Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in the "recent" immigrants group. I qualify for citizenship since a few years, but this Wehrpflicht nonsense is why I haven't sent my application yet. I don't think that the social situation is as bad as you describe. I just think that people generally don't feel keen to put their life on the line for Germany.
> I just think that people generally don't feel keen to put their life on the line for Germany. Yes this what I am sincerely wondering: which group (however you want to define it) of relatively young people, do they believe they can leverage "to put their life on the line for Germany"?
The plan currently involves a net salary of around 2k€/month, which is quite a lot for people fresh out of school.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#404The comments are so naive, in which world do you think Russia would beat Germany on german soil? Russians are locked in Ukraine and are barely making progress. Also with which army is this takeover of Europe supposed to happen with? Russia lost millions of its young men in Ukraine. Fake fears, being prepared is always nice but the paranoia is ridiculous. Even a US China coaliation couldn't threaten Europe domesticall…
How many russian soldiers died in order for them to control Belarus?
How many russian soldiers died in order for them to undermine European security by persuading the British electorate to vote for Brexit?
How many russian soldiers died in order for them to have a US administration that is trying to force an allied country to capitulate to a genocidal terrorist regime?
The Ukrainians are fighting a hot war today because they recognised and wished to release themselves from the shackles of russian soft power.
War isn't only fought with tanks and bombs and guns.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#405Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in the "recent" immigrants group. I qualify for citizenship since a few years, but this Wehrpflicht nonsense is why I haven't sent my application yet. I don't think that the social situation is as bad as you describe. I just think that people generally don't feel keen to put their life on the line for Germany.
I think if you want the benefits of living in a country then you should be willing to defend it. This attitude of entitlement without responsibility is exactly what gives migrants a bad name.
To add to what nicbou said, I would like to question the idea that the best way to defend a country is to enlist and fight a war. At the contrary, many are of the opinion that to defend Europe we have to oppose this recent trend of spending billions into the unproductive war machine.
When was the last time germans lined up to enlist in the army? How much good was it for their country?
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#406Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not just immigrants, most Germans pay taxes for very little in return while bureaucracy keeps growing.
You are getting downvoted, but it is true that young people are getting a very rough deal, and a lot of the people in my circle are looking to emgirate. Friends from other countries and students (mostly know them through academia), are also not looking for long-term opportunities here anymore, which was different 15 years ago. I would be far less annoyed with paying very high taxes and social contributions (around 50…
I can only explain the downvotes by people who assume I'm somehow against immigrants since I used the term or who actually think that Germany is still worth living in. I have long given up on HN culture anyways.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#407I think we are too quick to believe this move is motivated by the threat of Russia suddenly unleashing hordes of tanks over Europe, so here is some data. Let's compare Russia's forces with that of Germany+Poland+UK+France+Italy+Spain (EU countries with a large population):
Total population: RU=140M, EU=370M
Population available for mil: RU=70M, EU=170M
Present active mil: RU=1.3M, EU=1M
Reserve: RU=2M, EU=1.4M
Paramil: RU=250k, EU=380k
Combat Aircrafts: RU=4k, EU=4k
Tanks: RU=5.7k, EU=2k
Armored Vhc: RU=130k, EU=340k
Artillery: RU=16k, EU=2k
Large combat vessels: RU=100, EU=80
Subs: RU=60, EU=40
Looking at those numbers, I do not believe that the sentiment that "Russia is going to invade the EU unless massive expenses in weaponry" holds a lot of water.
The tremendous amount of efforts and finance that's been thrown at the military during the cold war was not aimed at invading the other side.
I would even add that spending that much on the military is probably what the strategists in the Kremlin are hopping EU will do. After all, if they know the history of their own country, they must know what caused the fatal financial crisis that brought down the USSR in the 80s.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#408Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm here to pay taxes and get the bare minimum back I find this point of view to be profoundly sad and I hope it’s not shared by the majority of immigrants to germany
Not just immigrants, most Germans pay taxes for very little in return while bureaucracy keeps growing.
If that makes you feel any better, this is also very much the case in France, actually, it's probably worse.
But I think it's a general trend in Europe and much of the western world who went all in for socialized everything/government control.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#409Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not just immigrants, most Germans pay taxes for very little in return while bureaucracy keeps growing.
You are getting downvoted, but it is true that young people are getting a very rough deal, and a lot of the people in my circle are looking to emgirate. Friends from other countries and students (mostly know them through academia), are also not looking for long-term opportunities here anymore, which was different 15 years ago. I would be far less annoyed with paying very high taxes and social contributions (around 50…
Yes, the problem is the boomers who keep getting richer for no good reason, under the premise that they are entitled to massive pensions because they have been promised that much by politicians.
Of course, logically it makes no sense, since the whole point of a socialized system is to adjust the wealth of everybody depending on current situation (economic output).
But it was obviously a lie and our social democracy are deeply flawed because they allow anyone to vote regardless of stakes.
Sending young people to military service/war make for a nice distraction because meanwhile they don't get to think about taking the stuff of the elders by force.
Re: Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds
#410Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I just think that people generally don't feel keen to put their life on the line for Germany. Yes this what I am sincerely wondering: which group (however you want to define it) of relatively young people, do they believe they can leverage "to put their life on the line for Germany"?
By drowning the economy in crisises (energy costs, inflation, immigration, various climate taxes for industries, road tolls) while ramping up billions for military expenses. A stealthy way of shifting to a military industry. The Bundeswehr spent a lot of money on advertising over the last 6-7 years.
It feels like a repeat of a situation that wasn't that long ago.