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I addressed this in a previous comment but you're asking for a level of moral purity that is impossible.
What percent of Nazi officers did that? What percent of Confederate officers did that? Answer: almost none except to save their own skin.
I would bet that if YOU had been born a Russian, or a German, or a Confederate you would have gone along with the consensus. Because almost everyone does.
Saying that Russian lives have no value because they are not the 1% morally pure is crazy to me. Now, Scott Alexander? He might just take the moral action. He gave his kidney to a stranger after all. But unless you have done something equally courageous, I'm going to bet you'd be just like the 99% who follow orders. (And so would I probably as well).
I have no problem with considering killing Nazi officers (or low level Wermacht soldiers) as a good thing.
In fact, in Poland we celebrate people who did this.
Maybe? Though notorious contrarianism is among my bigger problems so not entirely sure. Though even if I would end as SS-man if I would be born in Germany in in 1915, I still have no problem with considering killing SS-mans as a very good thing.
If "not bothered to escape/hide/bribe/surrender to preserve own life and avoid pointless murder" is 99% moral purity then I am still fine with them dying, like I am fine with SS-mans and Wermacht soldiers and Luftwaffe soldiers dying in WW II.
If I would have button that would cause random Russian soldier to die if pressed then I would press it all the day and hire people to keep pressing it while I sleep or do things that make button pressing impossible. And I kind of did it.
It's a logically consistent opinion. I always wondered about those movies like "The One" where a man has to kill all the alternate reality versions of himself. I always thought "I'd just be cool and not murder my other selves".
Now I understand, I guess?
I do accept the position that you want one side to win, and casualties are an acceptable cost, even if the dead are just like you. I just can't understand the glee in it or the certainty that what you're doing is right. But my ancestors were pacifists 🤷. Maybe its genetic.
I'd have more respect for the position if it involved personal risk for yourself and not just killing people with a button.
I kind of hope that alternate me would not be SS-man. And at least would end in air defence or other position that implies they are not horrifically evil. Maybe in rare instance of (likely ineffective) resistance.
I hope that in case of running into alternate me I would manage to cooperate and I would work hard on it.
But if alternate me would be literal nazi (and by that I mean "murdering and enslaving people" + "based on faulty premise" + "murdering and enslaving people like me"), then well, I would support neutralizing them, preferring humanitarian ways, but with murder definitely on table if other solutions failed. But starting from convincing them that being SS-man is a terrible idea on basically all metrics (except cool uniforms).
I am not pacifist, if someone directly and/or credibly wishes me harm I am fine with using various forms of power to stop them, including deadly force, up to and including indirect deadly force done by others at low risk to me.
Yes, if that would be needed I am willing to take personal risk. Though in case of military conflict I strongly prefer to be on button pushing side with minimal risk.
Well, Russia is kind of sensitive topic for me. In large part based on history of my region, country and family - despite having no direct personal experience. Note that I have no such problems with Germany as it is now. While Russia in 2009 run military drills that included simulation of invasion of Poland and dropping nuclear device on Warsaw (and did comparable or worse thing on basically any year of its existence).
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