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The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

nytimes.com

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Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#51

Post by pastacacioepepe »

revscat wrote: post #13
Fargoan wrote: post #6

I have no sympathy for the cowards who murder with drones. They know that what they're doing is wrong and nobody is forcing them to murder.

I do not know how to put it into words, but the simplistic morality expressed here makes me uncomfortable. While I also find remote controlled war to be abhorrent, nevertheless this attitude seems… overly simplistic?

Nobody forces you to pilot drones. It is very simple, either you do it or you don't. Given that there are other choices there are no justifications.

I'd rather clean toilets my whole life than build a career on the death of innocents.

Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#52

Post by throwaway15908 »

sgjohnson wrote: post #47
flyinglizard wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine a world where the US navy doesn’t sail all seas, where there are no US troops around the world, no NATO or Military Industrial Complex. That’s not a world that I, as a Westerner, would want to live in.

The alternative to the US-led global order is a global order led by some Chinese-Indian-Russian alliance. That’s definitely not a world I’d want to live in.

No one is born as your foe, they gradually become it. Fleeing into "but imagine what china would do" is exactly that, its creation.

Tracing the cirlce of violence back you can only state, that it has always been this way but that is also just a weak excuse of affective apes.

Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#53

Post by erklik »

chrischen wrote: post #46
b3nji wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems this is a logical path that has now been set, doesn't it? I've been deeply ashamed of my own countries invasions, and wars along side the U.S. People didn't care about that though. Should we cancel ourselves, as we have done to Russia?

The problem is that the US has for a very long time pretty much unchecked global power. All our free-speech, what is it good for, if it cannot effect change? Look where Snowden is. Even the captain mentioned in the article pretty much told people what he did, and so is The New York Times now, but if people don't bat an eye what's the point? Heck the whole NSA spying thing was leaked something like 5 years before Snow…

> That being said, these other countries are often not saints themselves (looking at you China).

Depends on who you are, isn't it?

Ask the Chinese. I am sure they love their government (I believe surveys have shown that there is high level of approval)

Ask the Afghans. The Chinese aren't bombing weddings and schools.

Ask the Yemenis. The Chinese aren't funding the Saudis which are causing a man-made famine in their nation.

Ask the Americans. Ooooh. China is terrible. I mean, there's a bias, no? They're the ones at risk of losing their spot at the head of the table. Makes sense they wouldn't like them.

Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#56

Post by k1m »

thematrixturtle wrote: post #2

> There were missile strikes so hasty that they hit women and children, attacks built on such flimsy intelligence that they made targets of ordinary villagers, and classified rules of engagement that allowed the customer to knowingly kill up to 20 civilians when taking out an enemy. Why is the article focusing on the goon pulling the trigger, as opposed to these actual killed-dead casualties?

Your comment reminded me of this bit from Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZOLq82m2Ks

Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#57

Post by Trouble_007 »

dr_dshiv wrote: post #55

If my kids play a lot of realistic drone strike games, does it increase the likelihood of their being recruited as child soldiers for the Great Drone War? Asking as a concerned parent.

More likely their online 'Killz n Skillz' are being sucked up to train AI.

Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#58

Post by imtringued »

throwaway15908 wrote: post #31
revscat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not know how to put it into words, but the simplistic morality expressed here makes me uncomfortable. While I also find remote controlled war to be abhorrent, nevertheless this attitude seems… overly simplistic?

Imagine a world ... imagine a united states in which people just respect this simple moral of not killing people by any means for any reason. Just imagine.

That's impossible.

I can easily imagine that we achieve world peace within 50 years through two very simple economic reforms but I can't imagine that it will actually happen.

Re: The casualties at the other end of the remote-controlled kill

#60

Post by AussieWog93 »

erklik wrote: post #53
chrischen wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that the US has for a very long time pretty much unchecked global power. All our free-speech, what is it good for, if it cannot effect change? Look where Snowden is. Even the captain mentioned in the article pretty much told people what he did, and so is The New York Times now, but if people don't bat an eye what's the point? Heck the whole NSA spying thing was leaked something like 5 years before Snow…

> That being said, these other countries are often not saints themselves (looking at you China). Depends on who you are, isn't it? Ask the Chinese. I am sure they love their government (I believe surveys have shown that there is high level of approval) Ask the Afghans. The Chinese aren't bombing weddings and schools. Ask the Yemenis. The Chinese aren't funding the Saudis which are causing a man-made famine in their n…

This is a pretty "hot" take.

The Chinese government are funding/supporting all kinds of unsavoury things all around the world (yes, the same way as the US does), in addition to the political abuse that is doled out domestically (Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Shanghai, and depending on your definition of "domestic", the constant threats of invasion aimed at Taiwan).

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