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PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   2155 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 3, 2023

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I am not sure how new it is, ending WW2 with nukes was arguably a breach of those erhics of civility in the service of ending the war quicker and thus saving more lives overall, is basically exactly the same logic you were talking about. Down to the same debates really.

Hardly - the destruction of civilian population centers with strategic bombing was not new in 1945. It was something accepted and widely used by all sides. nor was the use of nuclear weapons rationalised in those terms until later.

Thats...my point. It isn't some new invention, to breach the "civilized norms" of war. Because everyone accepted targeting civilians was ok then, so complaining about people now and making it some criticism of modern people wanting to break the sacred rules of war is nonsensical. We've always justified it to ourselves. Whether its targeting civilians, using weapons of mass destruction and so on.

It wasn't new then and it isn't new now.

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