Are snipers cowards

[the game]

So snipers kill people without being seen. From a distance. The chances of them being killed when they engage targets is minimal. Is it cowardly the way they do their jobs?

[Olo]

Yes. They should be using pointy sticks like real men.

Also soldiers who wear body armor, ride in a armored vehicles, use artillery, and pilots.

[Cthulhu 2020]

No, being a sniper IRL is actually incredibly dangerous.

But in video games yes, the people who always have to play the sniper are the cowards who subsequently rage when you knife them to death.

[Adam Jensen]

No, being a sniper IRL is actually incredibly dangerous.

But in video games yes, the people who always have to play the sniper are the cowards who subsequently rage when you knife them to death.

It's their own damn fault for sitting still for too long.

[Garnier Fructis]

People can take their notions of cowardice and dishonor and put em where the sun don't shine.

[ManjiSanji]

I'm sure people used to go on about how archers were cowards, for not fighting man-to-man, sword-to-sword.

War and killing is awful all around; if you can do it the safest, smartest way possible, you should (killing civilians and using massively-destructive weapons when unnecessary excluded).

[Fugus]

No, snipers are not cowards. They actually have to be highly trained at the job to do it correctly and have to pretty cautious and strategic about what they are doing.

As for on video games. Unlike what The Batman says, I play as a sniper in online games as well, but I also don't play just straight up death match games, I actually prefer something with an objective. If I get killed, I get killed, but while I am up, I am typically protecting a strategic point or bottleneck.

My favorite was in Unreal 2004 on the Onslaught maps. Actually managed to hold off the entire opposing side at a base for a while until my side managed to regroup and attack. Drove them nuts trying to find me, they finally did right was I ran out of Ammo, zoomed out to see a Tank aiming straight for me. Was great. Some of us are twitch gunners which are the ones who run in guns blazing, some of us are strategic and will choose to hang back.

[Deleted]

Cowardice is not a notion in modern battlefields. A coward runs, yes, but only a fool dies in vain.

The point of battle is not to die with honor, the point is to make sure you help your cause by any means necessary which may include dying. A sniper that takes out an enemy leader without having to send infantry to die trying to achieve the same, does a very important job. Why send 50 men to their deaths when you can sent a sniper to get the job done?! Because it's not...honorable?! What are you, a klingon or something?!

Besides, you may consider a sniper to be less of a..."coward" than a bomber plane pilot or some guy that presses a button and launches a rocket from a boat.

There is no such thing as cowardice. A true coward runs when the missions asks that he stays put - he may survive but by running he weakens his cause and may even lose a battle that could have been won had he not run away.

[Lysah]

Snipers are given a pistol with one bullet in it. In case they are ever captured. Just kidding that's a myth, but snipers are treated the worst of any PoWs, so you really don't want to ever come back on the wrong side.

Also, there's something to be said for pulling the trigger and watching someone's head disappear. They don't just fall gasp and fall over like they would with a smaller gun. Most of these rifles will literally evaporate your entire head and just leave a big red mist. And then you start to realize that the poor bastards never saw it coming. They never even HEARD it coming. They were literally in the middle of a phone call or typing out a forum post on MMOC and then lights out.

Actually snipers have a huge issue with mental disorders of various types.

[Tzalix]

The cowards get to live another day.

[Deleted]

Snipers are given a pistol with one bullet in it. In case they are ever captured. Just kidding that's a myth, but snipers are treated the worst of any PoWs, so you really don't want to ever come back on the wrong side.

Also, there's something to be said for pulling the trigger and watching someone's head disappear. They don't just fall gasp and fall over like they would with a smaller gun. Most of these rifles will literally evaporate your entire head and just leave a big red mist. And then you start to realize that the poor bastards never saw it coming. They never even HEARD it coming. They were literally in the middle of a phone call or typing out a forum post on MMOC and then lights out.

Actually snipers have a huge issue with mental disorders of various types.

This is PTSS that is common for all veteran soldiers not just snipers. Snipers have it easier, they don't have to see comrades dying around them.

[Mormolyce]

Real life warfare is not a place where "cowardice" and "courage" are sane concepts.

Especially since the invention of gunpowder.

No, being a sniper IRL is actually incredibly dangerous.

Not as dangerous as not being a sniper in an area where there are snipers though :P

- - - Updated - - -

Cowardice is not a notion in modern battlefields. A coward runs, yes, but only a fool dies in vain.

Running is the best course of action in a lot of battlefields both modern and ancient though.

[Deleted]

As for soldiers, if they're on the ground and there's an objective, it doesn't really matter how you get there. If the objective is to eliminate enemy soldiers or combatants, then the safer you can be while doing it the better. Why would you go in the line of fire to shoot the enemy, if you can shoot the enemy from afar? Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

However, the people who instigate the wars; politicians, congressmen, senators, presidents, generals and other military big wigs, and other such people who never actually see combat, they're the real cowards. They're all willing to send soldiers to unnecessary wars to die without ever risking their own lives in any way or form. In reality, all politicians who vote for war should be sent to the front lines as the first people to be sacrificed. You want war? You die first.

[Deleted]

As for soldiers, if they're on the ground and there's an objective, it doesn't really matter how you get there. If the objective is to eliminate enemy soldiers or combatants, then the safer you can be while doing it the better. Why would you go in the line of fire to shoot the enemy, if you can shoot the enemy from afar? Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

However, the people who instigate the wars; politicians, congressmen, senators, presidents, generals and other military big wigs, and other such people who never actually see combat, they're the real cowards. They're all willing to send soldiers to unnecessary wars to die without ever risking their own lives in any way or form.

Leaders should never engage into battle. The loss of soldiers is acceptable, the loss of a leader often causes defeat right off the bat. A leader that goes into battle presents a much higher risk than the soldiers, if he dies, the battle is lost right up and all the men that dyed to get him there have dyed for nothing.

[Kaleredar]

Are we to assume we should fight wars by pitting everyone against one another in bare-knuckle brawls because "it's the most even playing field?" War isn't about even playing fields, it's about assuming every advantage over your enemy as possible.


"Cowardice" isn't a term you can use. In war, you are either effective, or ineffective, and snipers can be quite effective.

[Fugus]

Leaders should never engage into battle. The loss of soldiers is acceptable, the loss of a leader often causes defeat right off the bat. A leader that goes into battle presents a much higher risk than the soldiers, if he dies, the battle is lost right up and all the men that dyed to get him there have dyed for nothing.

The leader who do it, you are correct, should not be directly in any of the combat for the exact reasons you state.

The issue comes when they have zero invested into the combat at all, even worse if they have financial interests in it instead. Then you end up with people in power putting personal gain ahead of soldiers lives which has happened recently within US history.

Edit: Winter Blossom, every time I see your Avatar, I keep thinking of a Starfire from Teen Titans dressed in green.

Loved that show till they cancelled it and replaced it with that godawful Teen Titans Go.

[Deleted]

No snipers are not cowards.

You may have noticed we switched from melee to ranged combat somewhere after the musket was invented...


Even the apache axe swinging antisemite mel gibson 'sniped' people in the patriot.. And i highly doubt that axe swinging was the norm back then.

[PACOX]

Snipers are cowards? The thought doesn't even apply to the role that they serve. Snipers are an answer to entrenched or hard to reach targets. They're pretty much extra precises and specific artillery, how are they cowards? Can't even fairly call enemy snipers "cowards" because they pretty much serve the same role as good guy snipers but for their side.

Snipers are snipers because they are exceptional shots, they would still be pretty deadly on the frontlines but shorter life spans.

[Deleted]

Real life war isn't a game. You kill or be killed. There are no cowards, only people who are dead and people who are alive.

[Deleted]

Real life war isn't a game. You kill or be killed. There are no cowards, only people who are dead and people who are alive.

A war is about about objectives and strategy, not mindless killing or be mindlessly killed.