this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2026

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Unpopular Opinion

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Mercenaries don't deserve special consideration (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 6 months ago by sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world

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If you sign up to kill people, and it's not in reaction to an attack on your country, you are by definition just a mercenary. I don't wish death on you, but I don't feel much when you die and I don't think you deserve any special consideration by society for your questionable career choice.

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[–] remon@ani.social 9 points 6 months ago (3 children)

But they aren't, by definition.

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[–] sukhmel@programming.dev 1 point 6 months ago

So here's the answer to your question

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[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz [S] 1 point 6 months ago

Mercenary hired to kill for monetary gain. How's that different than a soldier? Source of payment?

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[–] Sunsofold@lemmings.world 0 points 6 months ago

A person paid by a government to follow orders and enact violence upon a target or targets chosen by the authorities in that government... Am I describing a member of the military or a contractor for a PMC like Academi? It's a legal distinction without a functional difference, like a corporation vs an LLC. There are limited circumstances where, in a court, they are treated differently but the product that comes from them and the processes by which it is produced are essentially the same.

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