Who's Your Hero?

[Tenchu]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

I realise that you romanticise about the simpler days of the ancient and medieval worlds and you see yourself as some sort of modern day Spartan (pathetic if you ask me).

Ronin, I know you're jealous of everyone who's got shit more sorted than you do, but it's no excuse to go posting gay poems everywhere; the views of a few people do no reflect an Army as a whole.

Anyway, you fail to explain why people went to war when they didn't have to before, where as now they don't, so I'll simply assume you can't.

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

Ronin, I know you're jealous of everyone who's got shit more sorted than you do, but it's no excuse to go posting gay poems everywhere; the views of a few people do no reflect an Army as a whole.

Anyway, you fail to explain why people went to war when they didn't have to before, where as now they don't, so I'll simply assume you can't.

What are you talking about? Who's got more of what shit sorted?

Also such morbid poetry was commonplace. Of course only the best ones became classics and worth studying.

Furthermore if you bothered to read the second link :-

Life at the front
The majority of British soldiers still had little idea of the problems that they would face when they arrived in France. Digging the trenches often proved to be the first experience of these volunteers who had expected a quick and glorious march to Berlin before Christmas 1914. Trench life formed the main experience of the war for British soldiers, and the three things that characterized this were boredom, dirt, and death. Most days in the trench consisted of routine tasks such as collecting food, standing guard, collecting ammunition, and trying to clean out the trench. Many hours were spent doing very little once these basic chores had been fulfilled. Huge swarms of rats lived in the trenches, devouring the corpses of dead soldiers, as well as trying to eat the soldiers' food. Trenches collapsed regularly under the weight of the wet soil or artillery bombardments, and when new lines were dug in the same area, the rotting corpses of dozens of soldiers were frequently unearthed. Some trenches were dug across what had been graveyards, and parts of coffins and skeletons would be discovered. Duckboards were fitted to the bottom of the trenches to stop the soldiers getting trench foot, a condition caused by prolonged standing in mud and water, but these often proved ineffective when it rained and the water level rose.

Once the soldiers had served for a few weeks in the trenches they would be moved to the rear of the lines for a rest. Here their uniforms would be cleaned and deloused in huge steamers, and they would have their first bath in weeks. Unfortunately the steamers were unable to get rid of the lice eggs, and these soon hatched with the soldiers' body heat on their return to the trenches. The soldiers spent many hours delousing themselves either by crushing the eggs by hand or using their cigarettes to burn them off.

Battle stress
Cases of shell shock, a mental disorder related to extreme stress and exposure to heavy explosions, were common during the periods of bombardment on the Western Front, and multiplied after the great offensives. Those who were traumatized were unable to carry on as soldiers. The symptoms included mental confusion, inability to follow orders, and hysterical terror. Soldiers who had previously shown bravery could experience shell shock after seeing friends blown to pieces beside them or being close to a shell on impact. The British Army's response to cases of shell shock at the front would be judged barbaric by modern standards. Many men suffering from shell shock were shot as cowards or deserters. Officers and some doctors were ignorant of the psychological condition known today as post-traumatic stress disorder. They did not recognize the symptoms of shell shock as a mental illness caused simply by exposure to battle. On one occasion, a man sentenced to death for cowardice caused by shell shock had his appeal rejected by Field Marshal Haig himself. Haig wrote that to allow this appeal would create mutiny in the ranks as the men would believe that cowardice was acceptable. In the conditions of World War I the treatment of shell shock in ordinary soldiers was considered an unacceptable waste of time and resources. At the time the general attitude was that if others could cope under pressure, so could those who claimed to be suffering from shell shock.

[Tenchu]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

What are you talking about? Who's got more of what shit sorted?

I'm talking about every time someone mentions something about being a man, you get all nervous in the crotch and start throwing insults. People don't do such things unless they're both insecure and feel their persona is being threatened; i.e. YOU.

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Also such morbid poetry was commonplace. Of course only the best ones became classics and worth studying.

Furthermore if you bothered to read the second link :-

No. No one bothered to read the second link, Ronin. If you sign out of your faggot site and click on it yourself, you'll understand why.

I never said trench life was dandy; I said it was just better than jungle life. There's a big difference between the WW1 vets and the Vietnam vets. One group is way more fucked up. If you can't tell which one and why, that's not my retardation.

All wars recently have been like this. The guys fighting them just wern't born into that kind of world anymore, so they cannot handle it.

[ozkai]

Tenchu, get out of Thailand fast and go and get some therapy!

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

I'm talking about every time someone mentions something about being a man, you get all nervous in the crotch and start throwing insults. People don't do such things unless they're both insecure and feel their persona is being threatened; i.e. YOU.

The only insult I "threw" in this thread towards you was my opinion that your romanticisation of the past and your perception of yourself as some sort of modern day Spartan is pathetic. And it wasn't really a challenge to your masculinity... rather it was aimed at your intellect and your social ineptness.

Originally Posted by Tenchu

All wars recently have been like this. The guys fighting them just wern't born into that kind of world anymore, so they cannot handle it.

That's not true... it's just that we don't execute people with post traumatic stress disorder anymore like we did in WW1.

[MasaruShin]

My hero would have to be my Father. My heroine, my Mother. Simple.

[bELyVIS]

I think war today is far more stressful then in the past. In the past you knew who your enemy was. Like a Nazi, Japanese, etc. Today, they are too into this "Win their hearts and minds" BS. You can't tell who to kill or will kill you. "Kill them all and let God sort them out" is a better way to fight a war. This is why so many Vietnam and Iraq vets have problems, not knowing who might kill you.
Also, today we have weapons that can kill without giving you a chance. A missile can pinpoint a target from hundreds of miles away. Can you imagine the stress of not knowing if the building you are sleeping in will be blown up while you are asleep?
As far as people "being fucking pussies" nowadays (you realize Tenchu, you are one of us "pussies"), war never was, nor ever will be fun. I have never been in a war. I was shot once, and shot at several times, and shot at others several times (the Mexican border is still a very rough place), but could not imagine a large group shooting at me nor firing rockets or artillery at me. I don 't think anyone who has never been in a war should call modern day soldiers "pussies" or any of us that for that matter. You'd be surprised what people could do if it was necessary.

[Tenchu]

Originally Posted by ozkai

Tenchu, get out of Thailand fast and go and get some therapy!

Why's that? Because you thought about getting beaten up and peed your pants, and you're scared of someone on this planet who doesn't pee their pants? Go fuck yourself.

[Tenchu]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

The only insult I "threw" in this thread towards you was my opinion that your romanticisation of the past and your perception of yourself as some sort of modern day Spartan is pathetic. And it wasn't really a challenge to your masculinity... rather it was aimed at your intellect and your social ineptness.

This is what you're talking about; I never said anything about Sparta. You cannot take anything seriously whenever you think about difficult situations, and the moment someone comes along who says difficult situations don't phase them, you cannot take them seriously. Why?

This has got nothing to do with me, Ronin. You've got your own problems. There's nothing wrong with someone learning kick-boxing, reading about Musashi and not being afraid of getting in a brawl. Why you think this speaks wonders about your own character, nothing about mine.

[Tenchu]

Originally Posted by bELyVIS

"Kill them all and let God sort them out" is a better way to fight a war.

This is a terrible attitude to have. I can't imagine how many innocent you could kill in your self admitted confusion...

Originally Posted by bELyVIS

Also, today we have weapons that can kill without giving you a chance. A missile can pinpoint a target from hundreds of miles away. Can you imagine the stress of not knowing if the building you are sleeping in will be blown up while you are asleep?

Right... you're quite the historian, arn't you?

Can you imagine the stress of being trapped inside a canibal driven Beijing starving to death while a horde of Mongolian barbarians are catapulting your countrymens heads over the city walls... and you never know if you'll be murdered in your sleep to be eaten by your neighbor...

Originally Posted by bELyVIS

As far as people "being fucking pussies" nowadays (you realize Tenchu, you are one of us "pussies"), war never was, nor ever will be fun.

Thanks for that comment. I'd like to know how the pastey white man thinks he can justify saying that.

Anyway, most tales tell of how the thrill of conquering and excitment of a battle was what most successful warleaders lived for. So, clearly, once again, you're completely deluded.