Could you shoot a fellow human in a war?

[Deleted]

Absolutely. It's kill or be killed, the other side wont hesitate to do the same. It's the sad nature of war.

[McFuu]

Yes. Been there done that.

From my experience people usually fall into one of a few categories when they shoot someone in war.

1. They get fucked up mentally, the whole "they were loved by someone, maybe they had a family" types. It's rare in the military but those types do exist.

2. The ones that feel bad for a few weeks but realize that it was me or him and by engaging that enemy and killing him, perhaps they saved a brother in arms from being shot by that guy later.

3. The ones that see it as no more than taking out the trash type of chore

4. Those that get off on killing the bad guy....they usually don't last too long in the service.

5. People who see just targets.

[Theinquisition]

What I'm getting at is this: as long as he follows orders and abides by the ROE, so what if he enjoys the job more than anything else in his life?

Because it feels like a very unnatural thing to be shooting at another human being. theres nothing wrong with loving being a warrior, it's another to thirst for killing.

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5. People who see just targets.

those are #3 usually. they just see targets and killing a baddie as nothing more disturbing than taking out the trash.

[Adam Jensen]

I want to say that, if I had to, if my life or the life of my friends/family were on the line, that I would.

But the honest answer is, no one really knows until they do.

[McFuu]

What I'm getting at is this: as long as he follows orders and abides by the ROE, so what if he enjoys the job more than anything else in his life?

People who really enjoy killing tend to make poor choices.

[Berengil]

Because it feels like a very unnatural thing to be shooting at another human being. theres nothing wrong with loving being a warrior, it's another to thirst for killing.

Interesting. Of course, there are a great many people who don't flinch at all at the idea of killing. One could almost say that our aversion to doing so is learned, rather than inborn.

I suppose we're talking about 2 different kinds of people: I am talking about someone who does indeed experience a satisfaction from seeing someone die by his hand, but he's able to keep it together enough to obey his superiors. You seem to be speaking of someone who can't keep it under control, and eventually gets booted on a section 8.

[Runenwächter]

People that get off on killing create situations that require killing. Killing situations get people dead, unfortunately sometimes your own. You do not want someone who, either on purpose or subconciously, creates a shitfest out of a otherwise managable situation.

[McFuu]

Because it feels like a very unnatural thing to be shooting at another human being. theres nothing wrong with loving being a warrior, it's another to thirst for killing.

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those are #3 usually. they just see targets and killing a baddie as nothing more disturbing than taking out the trash.

Got ya, it's routine. That's where I fall.

[Adam Jensen]

Yes. Been there done that.

From my experience people usually fall into one of a few categories when they shoot someone in war.

1. They get fucked up mentally, the whole "they were loved by someone, maybe they had a family" types. It's rare in the military but those types do exist.

2. The ones that feel bad for a few weeks but realize that it was me or him and by engaging that enemy and killing him, perhaps they saved a brother in arms from being shot by that guy later.

3. The ones that see it as no more than taking out the trash type of chore

4. Those that get off on killing the bad guy....they usually don't last too long in the service.

I'm probably a 1 or a 2. I know if I killed someone, even for the right reasons, it'd be a blow to me. Only reason I don't know if it'd be one or two is I don't know how well I'd recover from it.

[Allenseiei]

Although I've been through military training in my country, I would prefer to avoid being part of the war if I could.
If I got forced drafted and thrown into a battlefield, I doubt I would think too much on the moral values in that moment and shoot.
War is horrible for both sides, but my priority is always to come home. If hesitation will create risks that might not able me to come home, then I will throw morals and the hesitation out the window and shoot.

[kail]

Yes. In most cases, it's usually one or the other getting killed. I won't kill a surrendering enemy though.

[the game]

I mean in a kill or be killed situation I would rather be the one still alive. If anybody wouldn't want that option then that goes against the human survival instinct and it may be mean but maybe they should die at that point.

[Lady Dragonheart]

Absolutely, without a second thought. In war, every moment that you hesitate is a moment they could kill you. People that don't value their own lives are those that let second thoughts get them killed.

[Xandrigity]

I wouldnt voluntarily go to war in a role where shooting was involved. If I was forced I would defend myself by any means.

[McFuu]

I also have serious doubts that most people that say they would if they had to, could actually do it. If you are the type of person that would feel bad after the fact, you likely won't reach the point of doing the deed.
It's not a flaw or bad thing about you as a person, it's just fight or flight tends to be way more on the flight side with out training to break that reaction out of you.

[the game]

I think there is a lot more of 1 then you think.

Agreed. The amount of veterans leaving the military with mental illnesses like PTSD would suggest it's not rare at all.

[Afrospinach]

I'd shoot someone breaking into my house if I had to defend my family

Yeah but this is quite an interesting question, would you do it on someone else's orders.

There is that famous event during christmas in the trenches where the germans and brits had a football match and much else. They were adversaries yet not really enemies. Difficult.

[May90]

If there is a war with the cause which I support rigorously (there aren't many wars like that), I very well could shoot those who seek to undermine my ideals.

That said, I pay taxes to have others do that for me. So, unless there is a full-scale invasion of the US by North Korea or China, with no ability to escape and fight information war from the outside - I really doubt I'll ever have to hold a gun in my hands. Well, military gun, I mean.

[Stormspark]

It depends on where I am, where they are, and what they are doing. I'm not going to shoot someone just to shoot them, or because of "war" (I won't ever be a soldier). But if my life was in danger and I had to defend myself, yes I could.

[Bonkbonk100]

Since it's so easy to act badass on the internet, sure.