I’d love to go serve, but medical reasons keep me from serving overseas. I do what I can in a lab, helping prove rapists, murderers, arsonists, etc – shouldn’t be out on the streets. And yes, it’s grueling, and a bit monotonous – but you know, I’m not toting a gun around or serving overseas, so I’m not allowed to complain about my career.

How dare I.

That’s changed the whole experiment!
Now I have to start over!

::snapsfingers::
New cat, please!

Wait–OW! Delayed reaction.

[I had a really good pic of my fiance's butt in there, that I hadn't transferred to my laptop yet! After I get the camera {or card}, THEN I can disembowel him with a rusty spoon.]

Most of the time my comments go a little more appreciated. Or ignored. Are you all Americans? Because in the rest of the world, violence (and the ones that preform it) is a little less appreciated than in America.

Maybe it’s the legal guns, maybe it’s the fact that 52% of Americans has experimented with pot (as opposed to 20% of Dutch people), maybe it’s the fact that 1% of your citizens are armed forces and another 1% are in jail, or maybe it’s the distance from civilization.

Or maybe I am an asshole, because I’ve never actually talked to someone who voluntarily went into an army. (my grandpas were drafted, and my dad was drafted in peacetime). All I know is, I hate soldiers and I feel like I have a pretty good reason, namely a moral axiom which says:
“People who voluntarily kill people are evil”.

The fact that you notice my literacy probably means you were looking for illiteracy. Funny how spelling can affect the value of comments, rather than the actual content.

“An overwhelming number”. Quite underwhelming, actually. Sure, they disliked the Germans and didn’t actually help them (well, sometimes they ratted out Jews for 2.50 guldens (a week to a month’s worth of food)) that much, but actually resist them significantly?
Only one of my great grandparents was in the resistance. And from what I’ve heard, that’s above average.

Killing people and hiding people from being killed and distributing news. My other grandfather’s father was in the resistance and didn’t kill anyone (according to his biography).
I don’t know if I would join a resistance movement. It kind of depends on the captors. (also remember: the Taliban is Afghanistan’s resistance movement, more or less).

You keep thinking that. There were numerous college students, from storied and important schools such as Oxford & Princeton & Cambridge & Harvard that were on the front lines during WWII. Puts things in perspective with your so-called potential.

As for your country…when faced with annihilation by a drastically larger and better equipped army, I don’t blame them for surrendering to save lives. But an overwhelming number of the citizens were members of the resistance, which based on your attitude you wouldn’t join either.

I’m a troll because I have negative respect for people who voluntarily kill people?

As someone going to college and showing potential, I wouldn’t have to kill people if I would get drafted (thank the gods).
And as person living in the 21st century, my country would either be nuked, surrender, or never be threatened anyway (in which case, the standing army covers it and I won’t get drafted).

I’m not American : ) . And my nation would do what it always has done: surrender.

I can understand why you would want to become a soldier. That doesn’t mean I respect it. “Enemy” soldiers are just as good as “friendly” soldiers, in many cases. Both deserve to live equally. The only reason why I respect our soldiers more than Taliban soldiers is because the Taliban army tends to abuse the local population.

As for appealing the armed forces to do their job: we pay them money to do their job. So they should do their job. If they refuse, they’re assholes. (and if they don’t, they’re just jackasses).

If the garbagemen stopped picking up trash, we would soon be smothered in garbage. And we would call out for garbagemen to take it away. That doesn’t mean we respect the garbagemen for what they do.

Do you respect a murderer (for the law) because he doesn’t like the sight of blood? Or a pedophile because he’s afraid of the dark? Or a construction worker who lost his legs because he intentionally disregarded safety procautions?
Those soldiers chose to be traumatized. I’m not going to respect them for it.

I’m not Afghan or Iraqi, so they do not fight for me. Not that that matters for the argument.

Sorry about the rant, but I once worked as a financial counsellor for people with debt problems. I left that job over ten years ago, but I still get incensed about matters.

**runs off in search of truckloads of caffeine and chocolate**

Max’s anecdotes to the contrary (moving three times a month, every month? Really? Can you imagine what a logistical hassle that would be?), that behavior isn’t exactly industry-standard. My primary credit card has been due on the 10th of the month, every month, for the last 10 years. The couple of times I’ve paid late, I’ve called and they’ve said “no problem, sir, we’ll reverse the fee and take care of that for you”. (Granted, I’m paying an annual fee to a non-fly-by-night credit card company, so I’m sure that factors in.)

Are you watching it yet?

Make that “to people who wouldn’t normally qualify for traditional loans”. When I hear “it’s evil”, I can’t help but also hear “because it’s not necessary for middle-class folks like myself, it must be evil, and screw anybody else who can actually make use of it”.

Credit cards are “evil” like subprime mortgages are “evil” — yes, they can, and have, been done to fleece people, and that’s wrong, but they also extend financing to people who wouldn’t normally qualify for

*is easily amused*