Why are people who go to war automatically declared heroes?

It is very saddening the ignorance so vehemently spouted bu the pro-armed forces, or pro-war. It seems a struggle for many to post without saying "you have no idea", "you're a liberal", "I'm not going to bother because what you've said is so stupid" etc. just because the view is different.

Doctor as in the person who would do surgery on the wounded in a base? Or as in a medic on the frontlines? The latter, I'm not sure, they carry guns today do they? The first one, I wouldn't mind.

Genrally I don't like the british armed forces as a whole. Thats not to say I'm going to igrone you or be rude or something. That friend I was talking about has a civilain job in the army as well, but I still treat him the same as before. I was just brought up to be very anti....well everything that bares the union-jack in terms of politics and government forces. I'm just a product of my environment...don't hate me for it.

Is that not exactly what you're doing to those who happen to disagree with you? You assume that all of us who do believe our servicemen are heroes, can't possibly have made that decision with any sort of rational judgement and are instead just repeating what the media are feeding us.

Also, 'pro-armed forces'? What's that exactly? And why does supporting the forces automatically mean we're supporting the war?

I'm perfectly aware that some people view the armed forces as violent, stupid and all of the other words you used. I'm also aware - again - that such people have very little idea of what the forces actually do.

haha, don't worry.....I'm not gonna hate you....I'm just interested

doctor as in the person that does the operations etc. and isn't allowed to carry weapons

hmm....I suppose your view is fair enough......as long as you aren't one of those scumbags that goes to homecoming parades and stuff.....

Also, 'pro-armed forces'? What's that exactly? And why does supporting the forces automatically mean we're supporting the war?

Like it or not, enthusiasm for the armed forces is largely a media invention. There is no logical reason why you would want to go and risk your life for a cause that isn't your own unless you falsely believe that it is your cause or you are simply seduced by the warrior lifestyle.

Then what does it take to be 'heroic' in your view? These men and women sent off to war zones know full well what they're risking in terms of their own safety - it surely takes a person of immense courage to be sent willingly, all the while spending months and months away from their family and home comforts, for a wage which doesn't equate to the tremendous job they do. That they're willing to put their lives on the line in the hope of bringing about peace in the long run is certainly a heroic trait in my eyes. It's just a shame there are ungrateful and ignorant individuals out there who have very little idea of what our Armed Forces actually do.

I assume you mean goes to the homecoming parades to protest etc??
No, trust me the nearest home coming parade would be miles away, and even then I wouldn't be anywhere near it.

I just live in a overwhelmingly nationalist part of Derry, give the country's, in particular this county's, history with the british army I'm sure you can see a reasonable justification for my views

And I pity you for thinking that they are putting their lives on the line for the safety and wellbeing of the rest of us. They are not. They are putting their lives on the line because they are told to by people who use them for political gain and for profit. If they want to delude themselves that they are defending the British values of democracy, free speech and all that crap then good luck to them, it probably helps them cope with the stresses of the job they have to do, but it doesn't change the facts.

A media invention? Because God forbid people actually make their own judgements. So patronising.

Yes, because after all, we did go to war with germany in WW2 for "political gain and for profit".

A media invention? Because God forbid people actually make their own judgements. So patronising.

No. They are risking their lives for their country, and fighting a war for their country.

Yes, of course there are some bad seeds in the Army, like there are in any groups, but this doesn't mean the majority of good soldiers don't deserve to be called heroes.

Forget the 'news' media telling you, tell me why YOU think this.

Someone grows up obsessed with guns, doesn't feel s/he has the intellegence to get a degree or a job, or s/he becomes a chav, and is automatically directed toward the army as their career. Why does that person then suddenly become a hero?

If that person is a wifebeater, a bully, why do you blindly say that person is a hero?

If George W Bush is evil, what does that make his soldiers? Heroes?

If, to give a less complicated example, Britain invaded Latvia quite abruptly, how are the soldiers there 'defending our freedom'?

If someone went to Afghanistan and was not called upon to do anything, why does that make him/her a hero of equal value to someone who got shot at?

Why does someone who got shot at have a heroicness of equal value to someone who ran back into a battlefield to save a wounded soldier?

What if one of those soldiers raped someone, before or after this? Who is the hero then?

Why do we use the term 'hero' rather than the more accurate term 'pawn', or 'statistic'?

Why does one become less of a hero the further away from the battlefield and being shot at they are? Why do you become a hero if you're in the front line of a controversial war shooting people, but not for being the President/Prime Minister/whatever that arranged it?

If I go to the zoo, jump into the lion enclosure, get attacked by a lion but kill it, why does that not make me a hero?

If someone threatens me, do I become a hero if I fight their friends because my dad told me to?

Just wonderin'. Being a hero doesn't seem that simple to me, but I await your theories.

Why must I ask so many pointless a "troll"ish rhetorical questions??

Forget the 'news' media telling you, tell me why YOU think this.

Someone grows up obsessed with guns, doesn't feel s/he has the intellegence to get a degree or a job, or s/he becomes a chav, and is automatically directed toward the army as their career. Why does that person then suddenly become a hero?

There are no chavs in the army. If you choose to use the label of 'chav' try not to use it in the same line as 'soldier'



If George W Bush is evil, what does that make his soldiers? Heroes?

Just because someones leader is evil will not automatically imply that all those who serve under them are evil as well.

If, to give a less complicated example, Britain invaded Latvia quite abruptly, how are the soldiers there 'defending our freedom'?

It would never happen


If someone went to Afghanistan and was not called upon to do anything, why does that make him/her a hero of equal value to someone who got shot at?

Service personnel on a tour of duty in Afghanistan don't go for a holiday. Sure there are a select few who may find them self's in harms way on a regular basis. However for them to be able to do this, they need people in logistics, administration etc etc to support them. This is how armed forces the world over have operated for a long time.


What if one of those soldiers raped someone, before or after this? Who is the hero then?

The two issues are different from one and other, don't try and connect what service personnel do with vile acts like the one you have mentioned.

Why do we use the term 'hero' rather than the more accurate term 'pawn', or 'statistic'?

Because we are talking about real human beings doing real things to help real people. You can talk statistics all you want, however the kind deeds of service personnel while on tour will always shine through.


If I go to the zoo, jump into the lion enclosure, get attacked by a lion but kill it, why does that not make me a hero?

That makes you a criminal