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Conscription would you do it?

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Comments

  • #202
    Prof.Badass
    Registered Users Posts: 2,931 ✭✭✭Prof.Badass


    davy_b wrote: »
    think it would be a great idea clear the street of a lot of thugs maybe learn something in military that would keep them on the straight and narrow

    I think it would harden a lot of softcore skangers and they'd come out proper thugs.


  • #203
    ART6
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,632 ✭✭✭ART6


    vinylmesh wrote: »
    I think it would harden a lot of softcore skangers and they'd come out proper thugs.

    That's the problem. Take a young thug off the streets and teach him to use lethal weapons skillfully so that he can do some real damage. The gangs of Limerick would, no doubt, welcome such a training course. Anyway, modern warfare has become so complex and technology based that conscription seems pointless. Learning how to efficiently kill an enemy has become a career, not a short training course. Fine for countries like Switzerland, but when did they last fight a war?


  • #204
    strangeloop
    Closed Accounts Posts: 130 ✭✭strangeloop


    Cookie_Monster wrote: »
    How can you not, it's real and practiced in many countries. It not like we're making this up ya know.


    :pac:
    Conscription is a thing of the past. Many countries such as Portugal are getting rid of it. It's a drain on money with little return on investment.


  • #205
    Prof.Badass
    Registered Users Posts: 2,931 ✭✭✭Prof.Badass


    ART6 wrote: »
    That's the problem. Take a young thug off the streets and teach him to use lethal weapons skillfully so that he can do some real damage. The gangs of Limerick would, no doubt, welcome such a training course. Anyway, modern warfare has become so complex and technology based that conscription seems pointless. Learning how to efficiently kill an enemy has become a career, not a short training course. Fine for countries like Switzerland, but when did they last fight a war?

    I'm not really talking about weapons training. The actual firing of guns against live targets by criminals is quite rare i would assume.And usually the victims are other criminals.

    I'm talking from a psychological point of view.

    People seem to assume that if the authorities completely dominate the riff-raff it'll breed respect. While this may be the case for a very small number of people, in the more strong-willed and independant-minded it would breed contempt.

    And before you say "ha, strong willed, the army would iron that out". No it wouldn't. Once they get back they'll be worse than ever to make up for the personal humiliation they endured for that year. What do you think the word "hardened" means when placed before the word criminal?

    Forget about using guns. Forcing anti-social skangers to serve in the army would toughen them up. Right now our petty-criminals are a joke. I'd hate to see that change.


  • #206
    Manic Moran
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,502 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    However, all approaches have flaws. I still prefer reliance on good will.

    Why? If it's just an issue of not wanting to spend the money, then fair enough. I disagree, but at least I can understand it. If it's an issue of somehow degrading a country's neutrality, I haven't seen any evidence that such a policy detracts from a country's respected position in the world. Switzerland is quite probably the most accepted and famous as a neutral country in the world, despite their strength of arms.

    It's probably fine to risk a tenner on the good will of someone, but risking your entire society is something I think should be undertaken with far more circumspection.

    NTM


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