Modern firearms and the collapse of heroism

[Loaded dice]

<snip>
The harsh truth is that anyone today can, in principle, get a firearm and do horrific things. This world is definitely not a good place, and can never be one as long as firearms are around.

Centuries ago, soldiers preferred to stay together in the battlefield, this way, they'll provide some form of moral support for each other and, more importantly, they're pretty sure they won't die alone... In the modern battlefield, it's the exact opposite, grouping soldiers together makes them an easy target, as one precise grenade throw can kill all of them. They're more efficient when they're dispersed, in other words, it's more efficient to die alone.

The randomness in which bullets are sprayed in the modern battelefield weakens the entire concept of heroism. Facing random gunfire just doesn't seem heroic, it just looks pointless, empty and, I might add, stupid. It's not clear at all what heroism means anymore, one bullet of machine gunfire is certainly going to hit you and put you down, you're just committing suicide. The anonymous soldier firing at you isn't demonstrating any superb skill or courage, he might be hundreds of meters away from you, and may only have limited firearm training, and yet is capable of inflicting a great amount of suffering and destruction. 

Today we have bombs that can erase an entire city in seconds. Is it heroic to stay in a city targeted by an atomic bomb and "fight to the last breath"? Heroism is dead. Humanity is moribund, as long as modern weapons are around.

[arewethereyet]

Some days ago I stumbled upon a horrific video of a young teenager getting shot in the head. The description of the video is not clear, it only says the aggressor (also a young guy) wanted him dead because of some disagreement over a female. Although this kind of videos is, sadly, very, very common, this one moved me to the core.

I was absolutely horrified by it. The poor guy's life has been taken away in a split second, in the middle of the street at night, by some jealous moron who might get away with it. What's more disturbing is that the killing seems depressingly random and gratuitous, it came out of nowhere: he just pulled his gun out and put a bullet in the back of his head, without saying a word or trying any peaceful negociation. The harsh truth is that anyone today can, in principle, get a firearm and do what this guy did. This world is definitely not a good place, and can never be one as long as firearms are around.

Centuries ago, soldiers preferred to stay together in the battlefield, this way, they'll provide some form of moral support for each other and, more importantly, they're pretty sure they won't die alone... In the modern battlefield, it's the exact opposite, grouping soldiers together makes them an easy target, as one precise grenade throw can kill all of them. They're more efficient when they're dispersed, in other words, it's more efficient to die alone.

The randomness with which bullets are sprayed in the modern battelefield weakens the entire concept of heroism. Facing random gunfire just doesn't seem heroic, it just looks pointless, empty and, I might add, stupid. It's not clear at all what heroism means anymore, one bullet of machine gunfire is certainly going to hit you and put you down, you're just committing suicide. The anonymous soldier firing at you isn't demonstrating any superb skill or courage, he might be hundreds of meters away from you, and may only have limited firearm training, and yet is capable of inflicting a great amount of suffering and destruction. 

Today we have bombs that can erase an entire city in seconds. Is it heroic to stay in a city targeted by an atomic bomb and "fight to the last breath"? Heroism is dead. Humanity is moribund, as long as modern weapons are around. 

RIP poor guy.

You voluntarily watched a snuff flick?  And we are supposed to think that you feel bad about weapons and death?

Not buying it, Scooter.

[Loaded dice]

You voluntarily watched a snuff flick?  And we are supposed to think that you feel bad about weapons and death?

Not buying it, Scooter.

Um, people dying doesn't make me happy, just so you know. 

But think whatever you want, I guess

[arewethereyet]

You voluntarily watched a snuff flick?  And we are supposed to think that you feel bad about weapons and death?

Not buying it, Scooter.

Um, people dying doesn't make me happy, just so you know. 

But think whatever you want, I guess

Makes you interested enough to watch.  Sick fuck.

[Loaded dice]

Um, people dying doesn't make me happy, just so you know. 

But think whatever you want, I guess

Makes you interested enough to watch.  Sick fuck.

It's called morbid curiosity. But yeah, maybe I am a sick fuck.

[Angrboda]

Some days ago I stumbled upon a horrific video of a young teenager getting shot in the head. The description of the video is not clear, it only says the aggressor (also a young guy) wanted him dead because of some disagreement over a female. Although this kind of videos is, sadly, very, very common, this one moved me to the core.

I was absolutely horrified by it. The poor guy's life has been taken away in a split second, in the middle of the street at night, by some jealous moron who might get away with it. What's more disturbing is that the killing seems depressingly random and gratuitous, it came out of nowhere: he just pulled his gun out and put a bullet in the back of his head, without saying a word or trying any peaceful negociation. The harsh truth is that anyone today can, in principle, get a firearm and do what this guy did. This world is definitely not a good place, and can never be one as long as firearms are around.

Centuries ago, soldiers preferred to stay together in the battlefield, this way, they'll provide some form of moral support for each other and, more importantly, they're pretty sure they won't die alone... In the modern battlefield, it's the exact opposite, grouping soldiers together makes them an easy target, as one precise grenade throw can kill all of them. They're more efficient when they're dispersed, in other words, it's more efficient to die alone.

The randomness in which bullets are sprayed in the modern battelefield weakens the entire concept of heroism. Facing random gunfire just doesn't seem heroic, it just looks pointless, empty and, I might add, stupid. It's not clear at all what heroism means anymore, one bullet of machine gunfire is certainly going to hit you and put you down, you're just committing suicide. The anonymous soldier firing at you isn't demonstrating any superb skill or courage, he might be hundreds of meters away from you, and may only have limited firearm training, and yet is capable of inflicting a great amount of suffering and destruction. 

Today we have bombs that can erase an entire city in seconds. Is it heroic to stay in a city targeted by an atomic bomb and "fight to the last breath"? Heroism is dead. Humanity is moribund, as long as modern weapons are around. 

RIP poor guy.

[The Architect Of Fate]

War has never been heroic

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Well, at least we’ve got Islamist psychopaths willing to stab innocent people up close and personal. Does that fit your definition of ‘heroic’?

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

You increase your odds of survival with proper dispersion. Not your odds of dying alone. I think you might need to get your head checked if you think there was ever anything heroic about the way soldiers die in this century or any other. As for the skill it takes to operate a machine gun - have you ever suppressed a position with a belt fed weapon? It takes some effort, and it makes you enemy target no1. The 7.62 guys are a two man team, so I guess they wouldn't die alone anymore than a vehicle gunner would. I can't imagine why a light mg would be more than a hundred meters from his squad either. More generally, since you seem to think it's important, soldiers are a pretty tight knit bunch. I don't think we have more or less comraderie than people from back in the day did. Pretty much the same. It's still the same job, after all. To the point that many of us realize that we have more in common with our enemy on the field than we have with our friends at home. In another circumstance, we'd be the easiest and best of friends. I served alongside the russian units that are currently getting ground to a fine dust in ukraine not very long ago. So you cheer for the one soldier, and weep for the other.

I don't think it's heroic to stay in a city and fight to the last breath. More telegraphing your intention to make the other guy pay for whatever he intends to take from you, and pay dearly. You're not trying to convince the other guy that you're one of the Good Ones™ with something like that - you're making sure he knows you're a hardass with nothing beyond that city to live for.

[Loaded dice]

Well, at least we’ve got Islamist psychopaths willing to stab innocent people up close and personal. Does that fit your definition of ‘heroic’?

Boru

Videos depicting stabbing are the one thing, the ONE thing I can't watch. 

Anyway, you do realize that what these people do has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, right ?

Edit : I removed the part in the OP describing the video, I feel it's too much.