Poll: Genocide or death?

[Enkidu88]

I'd like to think I'd shoot the officer in charge first and as many of the Firing squad as possible before going down myself.

Realistically...and I hate to admit it, I might actually shoot them. War has proven time and again that it can turn even the nicest man into a raving bloodthirsty animal. I think I could live with myself if I shot them out of fear for my own life.

But if war had twisted my nature to such a degree that I wanted to shoot them? That would be worse than dying.

 

[Keepitclean]

Helping his father, who was fighting your side to reload. I would kill him and wouldn't feel worse than killing anyone else on their side about it.

 

[Mechsoap]

i would drop my gun, properly most soldiers in the hq are not evil at all, and shooting at the innocent is agianst my moral, so i rather just drop my gun and be stamped as a deserter or something

 

[The Cheezy One]

id like to think im noble enough to say no, but likely ill just point the gun at them and close my eyes

 

[Danzaivar]

I'd take out the other soldiers (Unless among them I knew some who'd do the same, they get to live) and shoot my way out.

Of course, if my country WAS being taken over by a Fascist regime type thing, I'd get the hell out of there long before operation "Shoot people" ever happened.

 

[HotFezz8]

BANG! then "i vos only obeying orders".

or just BANG then try to dissapear forever.

 

[Javex]

Also remembering that if you do pull the trigger, you can never take it back. You've become a part of the slaughter operation and will be tried if your nation falls after NATO intervenes.

Generally speaking, I believe it's the people that give the orders/make the plans for war crimes that are tried and convicted. The grunts that are ordered to pull the trigger are merely following orders. Yes, they have blood on their hands, but they were put between a rock and a hard place.

As weird as this sounds, I think my actions would depend on how the execution was set up. Like if it was one executioner in front of every victim, then I'd be forced to shoot him to ensure my survival.

If they lined everyone up on the wall and every one of the executioners just shot all willy-nilly, I'd shoot close to, but not directly at the victims.

Good moral question, dude.

 

[manic_depressive13]

I'd shoot them. They chose to oppose, if they weren't prepared to pay the consequences that's their own fault. They're going to die anyway, I'm not helping anyone by getting myself killed.

Also what's with all the "I'd make sure I miss" posts. So you don't care that they're going to die, you just don't want to be the one to do it? You might as well just shoot to kill and spare us all the self-righteous nonsense.

 

[KeyMaster45]

These are not spies, these are not serial murderers. These are ordinary people who resisted instead of surrendering to your army. You have always hated violence and now you are about to fire at a 16 year old boy who was helping his father reload when they got captured.

First off, when an ordinary person resists during an armed invasion they are no longer innocent bystanders but part of the opposing faction so calling them "innocent" is incorrect. At worst they should be placed into PoW camps with other soldiers captured during the assault.

This is not just a simple yes or no question, remember we're still a soldier with a chain of command to answer to in this scenario. The obvious solution is survival regardless of morals; if you have a problem with it you notify that commanding officer to make a note on the record that you object to this order. That way when NATO comes in and you find yourself on trial (which as a lowly grunt you never would it would be your commanding officer on the stand) it can be submitted as evidence that while you did pull the trigger you did so under threat of death and the note of objection on the record would show this. Any courtroom that would have expected you to act any differently when in such a situation is not one that should exist. Even in the end as a person who objects to violence (as stated in the OP) your worst punishment would be to live with the knowledge and guilt of what you did.

 

[Ph33nix]

its been a long war kill them. also my friend was hit by an IED in afghanstan by "resistance fighters" who were "resisting" so fuck yeah i'd shoot them the kid was helping to kill my country men that means he made a conscious decision to fight there for he gets the same as anyone else who fights he is no innocent he is an enemy combatant who is already not following the genieva convention why should i follow it with respect to him

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

If they were resisting, then they weren't innocent. Although I may not disagree with their cause (depends on what I think of the regime), I would still shoot. You gambled that you could get away and you lost that gamble. Now its time to pay the price fair and square. Nothing personal. I would try to get them to release the kid, maybe to have him serve in a work camp or somthing but if not who knows, maybe he might be behind the next gun that's pointed my way.

And who says that a fascist regime is a bad thing? I wonder if people in fascist regimes get questions like "If our great government were to be overthrown and replaced with a democracy..."?

 

[ethaninja]

hmm.. tricky one.. i would probably aim my gun at the innocent people, but miss on purpose when they fired.. Then to later escape when possible and start up a resistance organisation trying to catch the people responsible for such heinous crimes..

And I'll make the movie =D

 

[MagnetoHydroDynamics]

I'D JOIN THE RESISTANCE!!!

 

[Brandon237]

I would have loaded my gun with blanks, committed suicide or gone insane long ago in that situation, long before the lining up began. I'm non-violent and would not be able to do that in my current mental state.

 

[Marter]

I'm not going to shoot innocent people, but I'm not going to let my 'superiors' shoot me.

Suicide it is.

 

[SFMB]

As long as I don't have to clean up the mess, I'm in for a good execution routine.

 

[Keava]

And who says that a fascist regime is a bad thing? I wonder if people in fascist regimes get questions like "If our great government were to be overthrown and replaced with a democracy..."?

You know, maybe because fascist regimes don't usually advertise themselves as such? Their public support is built on populism and glorious slogans that are quickly forgotten once they get to hold the power. Instead using the over referenced 1984, id recommend reading Orwell's Animal Farm, it shows the birth of regime much better.

 

[zf6hellion]

Unfortunately I wouldn't fit the description. I don't really hate war.

But in any case if I was to pick me, or these random bunch of "innocents" (They aren't innocent if they fight back - you did say the 16 year old was helping his father reload, so I assume they did try to defend themselves - and no even if it's self defense they still could have killed me. But I'm just a conscript, I never asked to be on this little trip to conquer the world and it's doubtful they would have cared if I died, because I was wearing the uniform of the faction that was going to wipe them out. So, I'd pick the path that feels best for me. Plant a bullet right in that 16 year old's forehead.) I of course pick me, as the bracketed-message says.

Probably doesn't help matters that I'm rather cynical.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

And who says that a fascist regime is a bad thing? I wonder if people in fascist regimes get questions like "If our great government were to be overthrown and replaced with a democracy..."?

You know, maybe because fascist regimes don't usually advertise themselves as such? Their public support is built on populism and glorious slogans that are quickly forgotten once they get to hold the power. Instead using the over referenced 1984, id recommend reading Orwell's Animal Farm, it shows the birth of regime much better.

I know, I know, fascist regimes generally aren't a good thing. Free thinking is generally suppressed, those in power generally become corrupt, those not in power are persecuted, the current regime stays in power through force of arms, propoganda is everywhere, the list goes on and on. I'm just pointing out that our knee-jerk reaction (well most of our's anyway) to fascism is "Not democracy! It is bad!"

 

[Keava]

I know, I know, fascist regimes generally aren't a good thing. Free thinking is generally suppressed, those in power generally become corrupt, those not in power are persecuted, the current regime stays in power through force of arms, propoganda is everywhere, the list goes on and on. I'm just pointing out that our knee-jerk reaction (well most of our's anyway) to fascism is "Not democracy! It is bad!"

Democracy is bad too, but it's the lesser evil(and thus we should all vote for Cthulhu!). Generally it comes from the fact that no regime so far proved to be actually good. You can argue about China which is obviously a major power in the global politics but it's hardly thanks to the fact that people there enjoy being ordered around in so many aspects of their lives.

And uh, for about 10 years i had the pleasure of living under the socialist regime, despite the comedy value it wasn't puppies and rainbows so i kind of have some sort of point of reference on those things.