The death of any soldier is a tragic event. They are at the end of the day just a human being who had wants and desires.

Sure, there will always be some select zealots who really did sign up for "the love of the game", as it were. But the vast majority of almost all enlisted or conscripted forces are a bunch of regular folk who are either forced into this by desperation or necessity, or fed enough curated propaganda that they think they're doing the right thing- and don't know any better.

This applies to even the worst countries, US, russia, even Nazi Germany; most of Germany's troops in WWII were a bunch of scared kids scammed by propaganda or forced into the service when Hitler's back was against the wall.

And that's really the crux of it- That soldier died because of their leader's actions, and that's where the blame should lie. Lemmy's insatiable dehumanization of most "colonizer" military forces is frankly downright disgusting.

It's pretty easy when you understand how many young men and women join the armed forces because they basically don't have any other options. They join it to try to escape crippling poverty, because they have so few other options. Which is by design.

That these young people are being thrown into a meat grinder to serve the vested interest of an elite few. The vested interest of the Epstein class. They're dying for lies of a pedophilic elite. Their lives are being thrown away for no good reason. How is that anything but tragic?

That's easy. I have had a friend die in a previous war, a war i didn't approve of either. All human death is tragic. Most wars are unnecessary and perpetrated by a minority in power, a minority who would never be first to a battlefield. Show me someone in power willing to die for their cause and I'll consider it a candidate for a worthy cause.

I stopped having sympathy for service people and their families after enough time passed for them to realize how fucked the leadership is (and the US culture that fuels it), and to have at least not reenlisted. At this point my attitude is that every casualty is tragic, but y’all actively deserve it.

My family is friends with another family who have kids of similar age. All three of their kids have enlisted and/or reenlisted during all of this. So far, I have avoided communicating my opinion to them, but if circumstances force the issue, I’ve already decided that I’m going to be honest with them about my attitude.

People are gambling with their lives when they sign up. I feel sorry for the poor who have little other choice, but that's about it

I'm legitimately curious if you are asking this because you think only Americans kill other country's civilians during conflict or if that's the only country whose murder of innocent civilians bothers you.

Because propaganda and indoctrination of course

Honestly, I don't really care at this point. They signed a contract for a job, just like everyone else. But they get free (not great) healthcare for life, and better mortgage rates than everyone else. In some states veterans get tax breaks. Oh and they get free college afterwards. They can also save up a decent chunk of change since basic expenses are paid when on duty/deployed.

Fucking garbage men do more to benefit my day to day life than any US soldier, and they get fraction of that. We haven't had a draft since Vietnam. I don't owe you shit for choosing a job with a lot of rewards and a low retirement age that has a high mortality rate.

They don't get parades. They also don't make 4-5 years of their life the basis of their entire identity, and tell everyone they encounter about it.