• Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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    19 days ago

    Your point:

    If I were to go to a group of young, impressionable kids in a developed country where they are living comfortably, how successful would I be in recruiting them to be in a militia?

    Apparently you answered your own question now: yes, those kids in that developed country would be successfully recruited to be in a militia. Or at least do a militia’s bidding.

    Nah, never happens in America.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Rittenhouse

    And do tell me about Kyle’s tragic upbringing full of hardship.

    • Sundial@lemm.ee
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      19 days ago

      You’re giving me another singular example that i can probably nitpick. I’m giving you thousands. You’re not familiar with the success of this strategy to recruit kids , as you said in a previous comment, because it doesn’t happen where you live. It doesn’t happen because people don’t feel the need to, and kids don’t want to do that by default. The radicalization didn’t happen because someone came and said, “Hey kid, wanna get paid?”. It happened over the course of decades as kids grew up with missiles flying over their heads repeatedly and their friends and families dying. What did you expect these kids to do?

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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        19 days ago

        You’re not familiar with the success of this strategy to recruit kids

        And you are? How did you become familiar with it? Or is this just a guess on your part?

        • Sundial@lemm.ee
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          19 days ago

          It’s pretty obvious, man. I literally just explained why people like you and me, who live in a developed country, don’t really see it happening.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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            19 days ago

            Sure. Apart from the specific times I mentioned where you do see it happening. And all the other times you see it happening.

            And it still doesn’t make child soldiers either moral or excusable.

            • Sundial@lemm.ee
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              19 days ago

              One. You gave me one example. I gave you thousands.

              I never said it was moral or excusable. All I said is, what did you expect would happen given what we’re doing to them. You have a lot of anger over the people forced to do bad things for survival but not against the ones who created the situation where they need to do these bad things. Why is this such a difficult concept for you to understand?

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                19 days ago

                I gave you two actually. I can give you more.

                You have a lot of anger over the people forced to do bad things for survival

                Ah, so they are being forced. Thank you, that’s what I was saying.

                By the way, the idea that the only way you can survive is die on the battlefield doesn’t make much sense.

                • Sundial@lemm.ee
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                  19 days ago

                  No, you gave me one. I explained why the first one actually helped prove my point. Which is why you provided the second. And I’m too tired to read that person’s biography to point to why he actually did it and give him some kind of justification. Unless you can give me some kind of substantive example where there are a huge number of kids in developed countries who are having happy lives you’re point here is not justified.

                  Ah, so they are being forced

                  Now you’re just not even arguing in good faith here.

                  By the way, the idea that the only way you can survive is die on the battlefield doesn’t make much sense.

                  Is this your way of dismissing their suffering and their choices to defend themselves even in the face of overwhelming odds?