It’s Not A Game

March 1, 2022 Longrider General News, General Rants, misanthropy 40

There are times when I despair. Okay, there is historical precedent when the international brigades fought in the Spanish civil war. That was as stupid then as this is now.

British ‘Lads Army’ volunteers eager to take on Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces could be prosecuted under UK terror laws if they go out to fight in Ukraine, Boris Johnson today hinted.

Groups of men have gathered outside the Ukrainian embassy in west London to answer Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky call to arms for foreign fighters to join his country’s defence against Russia.

I wonder at people, sometimes. Well, no, all of the time, truth be told. It doesn’t matter which side you sympathise with, this really isn’t our fight. As I’ve hinted when discussing this before, it might if it escalates and NATO countries become dragged in. Then, yes, it could become our fight. But for chrissakes…

Sam Ottaway, 38, works at a bank in the City and has no combat experience, but came down to volunteer in his lunch break.

Mr Ottaway, who describes British writer George Orwell as one of his heroes and an inspiration for his decision to join the fight, said: ‘It’s the right thing to do, can’t see that happen. History has taught us that this stuff doesn’t just stop does it?’

Seriously? I mean really? What bloody good will he be? The one thing that the Ukrainian armed forces need right now is to waste time training up some London LARPer who hasn’t a clue, has no combat experience and probably doesn’t know one end of a weapon from the other and has no idea how to maintain, assemble, load and shoot the damned thing.

I’m old enough to remember similar idiots volunteering to go down to the Falklands. If that is what you want to do, join the regular forces and spend the time training – because it takes time to train an effective combat soldier – see also airman and sailor.

War is not a computer game. People die horribly and painfully. It’s not our fight and we shouldn’t be going over there to get in the way of those doing it. If it does become our fight, well, volunteer to join the forces but until then, stay away.

It comes after gym owner Leon Dawson, 37, yesterday told reporters he was prepared to lose his life fighting to defend Ukraine as a volunteer in the country’s newly formed Foreign Legion.

Which is likely to happen quickly enough.

Standing outside the Ukrainian embassy with other would-be-fighters, including his friend Tom Konarzewski, who is originally from Poland and who runs a dog care business, he told reporters from Sky News:  ‘We’re young, strong, fit men and we can help, so why not?’

‘We don’t want to die. We’re obviously scared. But if we’re scared, we can imagine how the innocent women and children feel. I can’t sit here and just let that happen.’

Asked if his family were aware, Mr Dawson, who has no military experience, said: ‘My family are upset. Obviously it is a hard time.’

I repeat, all these idiots will be doing is hampering those who are doing the fighting by wasting time trying to train these people up. Likely as not, they will decide not to bother and let them get themselves killed for no good reason, so yes, I’m sure his family aren’t best pleased.

I cast my mind back the war to end all wars. The eagerness with which young men volunteered to go and give the Hun a bloody nose and it would all be over by Christmas and they would all be covered in glory. They died in their millions covered in blood and mud. War is not a game and it is not glorious. You would think that history would have taught us something, but obviously not.

If nothing else, it shows that for all of our sophistication, the power of propaganda remains strong.

40 Comments

  1. Well, the idiot Foreign Secretary suggested it although followed pdq by Ben Wallace contradicting her.

  2. Some people might be useful for them.

    Maintenance Engineers can fix things.
    Doctors can glue people back together.
    HGV drivers might be useful to drive troops and people around to fights.

    Not sure how useful a dog care business owner is going to be…
    Or a gym owner…

    I guess the Ukrainians are hoping useful people might volunteer.
    Of course, it may be useful for unskilled people to be there – gives the Russians someone else to shoot at.

    • Not sure that was clear.
      I meant the people who aren’t skilled would provide a target, forcing the Russians to split their firepower and maybe cause confusion.
      I didn’t mean just to be used as target practice for the Russians

    • Sure, useful people, but I’d have thought there would be a selection process that says as much – we need doctors, nurses, mechanics, professional soldiers and so on. Not some numpty LARPer.

      gives the Russians someone else to shoot at.

      That’s about the only use they will be.

  4. “War is not a computer game”

    Maybe not, however in our computer dependent world it’s becoming easier to cripple an enemy without actually firing a bullet. Anyone with top notch IT skills could “volunteer” from the comfort (and safety) of their home.

  5. However, It would be interesting to see someone prosecuted under UK terror laws for fighting for a country that the UK is arming and against a country the UK is applying sanctions against due to the invasion.

      • Its the same logic as condemning the Ukraine invasion, but being supportive of the Iraq invasion.

        It’s ok when we do it.

        • Yep, exactly. Now, lets think.. which countries, prior to Ukraine, have been invaded by Russia? Now lets do the USA…

          • What date do you want to start at, or are you wiping the slate clean after the dissolution of the USSR just to suit your pro-Russian, anti-USA agenda?

        • @DocBud
          Let’s start at the end of WW2, since I was born not long after and was alive to see these things happen, plus, it was around that time that NATO sprung up. I’m not pro or anti anything and have no agenda. I’m just one man who takes the time to do a bit of research into things I initially don’t understand. So let’s make those two lists. So far from the best of my memory:

          Russian tanks arriving in Prague, 1966
          Russia went into Afghanistan 1979
          Russia has now invaded Ukraine

          Now the West, and the list is not exhaustive:

          Iraq 1958, 1963, 1990-91, 2003-2011
          Afghanistan 1998, 2001-
          Yugoslavia 1992-94, 1999
          Syria 2008, 2011
          Libya 1981, 1986, 1989, 2011
          Egypt 2013
          Iran 1980
          Vietnam 1960
          Lebanon 1982-84
          Laos 1962-
          Indonesia 1965
          Cambodia 1975
          Oman 1970
          Angola 1976-92
          Grenada 1983-84
          Bolivia 1986
          Virgin Islands 1989
          Liberia 1990, 1997, 2003
          Saudi Arabia 1990-91
          Kuwait 1991
          Somalia 1992-94, 2006
          Bosnia 1993-
          Zaire 1996-97
          Albania 1997
          Sudan 1998

          @LR
          Having debated various things with you in the past, we don’t always agree on some points but one thing I could never do is question your integrity. You have principles and live by them and I have to admire that.

          • I see that you unilaterally chose to move the goalposts from the USA to the West. I’m not defending western aggression in any way, I have been consistent in my opposition to US and Australian involvement in Vietnam and its neighbours my entire life (the first conflict I can remember), and have opposed most modern wars. I don’t, however, see that the First Gulf War was avoidable (I note you triple dipped on that one).

            Lebanon was a multinational peacekeeping mission. Was any western nation involved in the Egyptian coup?

            In terms of Russia. Firstly, it is not generally necessary to invade countries you already occupy. You missed off Hungary, Georgia and Crimea. Russian pilots and planes fought for North Korea. Russia provided equipment and military advisors to North Vietnam.

            Based on the criteria you have used for the above list, you should have included Soviet military advisors and Cuban troops in Angola, Mozambique and in the Ethiopian-Somalia conflict of 1977-78. You can also add Soviet weapons and advisors backing Lumumba in the Congo. Russian ground and air forces are currently involved in Syria, as are “mercenaries” in the Central African Republic.

          • @DocBud
            “I see that you unilaterally chose to move the goalposts from the USA to the West.”

            No difference as far as I’m concerned, the USA is the West, with the other nations as its lapdogs. Rightly or wrongly, that’s the way I’ve always seen it. But I’ll be quick to point out that Russia must have its lapdog nations as well.

            “I don’t, however, see that the First Gulf War was avoidable (I note you triple dipped on that one)”

            That’s because I did searches to get the years, being careful that any I listed were during my lifetime. Remember that you asked me what date I wanted to start from.

            “Lebanon was a multinational peacekeeping mission.”

            Yes, a US led one with backing from the UN I believe.

            “Was any western nation involved in the Egyptian coup?”

            At the time I read a lot, including but not limited to the blogs, that the CIA and Mossad were involved, which implicates the USA and Israel. That’s one that I could never fully understand. And I freely admit that in the list I supplied there were a few like that.

            And I accept what you say about the criteria I used.

            But none of that matters because the whole point of the lists was to prove that though both sides are guilty, the USA has done far more of it, which I was originally saying when you labelled me as pro Russian and anti USA.

            I suppose in the case of Ukraine I am taking a pro Russian attitude because on this occasion I do think that Putin is in the right. I’m saying “on this occasion” because with most of those things on the list, that I remember happening, I chose to stay out of it for lack of information or was too young to form any opinions. But now I see everybody cheering on the Ukrainian forces without realising that the Zalensky regime are fascists who have just handed out military grade weapons to citizens and criminal gangs and want to go nuclear. Its also worth noting that the USA played a big part in installing that regime. I mean, take a look at these two, if you haven’t already.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdIC5EJgQk
            https://brandnewtube.com/watch/kiev-ukraine-you-won-039-t-see-this-on-new-world-order-fake-news-media_fIDHX8tkGRszxLG.html

            So this one, through various happenings, and other stuff I’ve looked into concerning the Bidens etc, I’ve been able to follow for a few years. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m right, but you can’t expect to park nukes and bio warfare labs on Putin’s doorstep without reaction. I’m now remembering the wailing from the USA at the time of the Cuban missile crisis here. That’s why I was agreeing with Chernyy in the first place, “Its okay when we do it”. And before you say that sentiment is the same on the other side, in my opinion there is a difference – “Its okay when we do it, because you did it first”.

  6. What could possibly go wrong?
    They don’t speak English? Just speak louder and wave your hands about.
    What is Ukraine for toilet paper. Mime that.
    Do you skin a rat before you barbecue it?
    Why do they laugh when you point at your smart phone and ask “Charge? WiFi?”
    Carry On Up The Kyber it will not be.
    What larks.

  8. While it’s amusing to see, here’s a serious point: the trains and cars fleeing Ukraine are filled with women and children, the elderly and disabled. The young fighting men are fighting.

    Quite a contrast to the boats of ‘refugees’ arriving from the Channel, eh? Not to mention the fall of Iraq.

  9. To think we used to sneer at the uncritical war hysteria of August 1914.

    Realistically, I can’t see this continuing as a hot war beyond a month, so it’s unlikely there will be time for foreign volunteers to make any meaningful contribution.

    And I’m not sure whether the International Brigades made much difference militarily to the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War, although they were of great propaganda value.

    Don’t forget that Catholic Ireland also sent a brigade to fight *for* Franco.

  10. Do you think maybe these people are volunteering because they know there’s no chance in hell they will ever be picked to go?

  11. Not just Truss though is it, Zelensky is appealing for volunteers. Doesn’t seem to me to be something one would do with things going as well as they are, or at least being reported so.

    Something doesn’t ring too true to me.

  12. These youngsters should attach some conditions – say they’ll go, be cannon distraction even, but only if Zelenskyy commits not to join NATO while he is Prime Minister.
    Not that the offer would reach his ears, but it’d be dark fun.

  13. Actually, the post here are on a par with the decision to hand out hand-weapons to the people of Ukraine. Do they know how to use them? Do they know how to fight in a modern war? Perhaps they have military training; perhaps not. But what are the likely consequences of them taking a pot shot at the Russians? The Russians have overwhelming firepower and are using it now that they know the level of resistance. The result is more casualties, more destruction.

    Of course, one doesn’t want to see what is happening. What we’re hearing is a visceral scream to do something. Anything. Understandable.

    But really it is a heroic sacrifice if you plan to use small arms against a fully-equipped modern army. A grand gesture, of the kind we joke about. “Smith, go out there and show ’em by getting yourself killed.”

    Ukraine, basically a big plain covered in farms, isn’t Afghanistan and hiding out as a partisan has all the sort of nasty consequences it had during WWII.

    We had our chance earlier to prevent all this, we blew it. This is the Götterdämmerung.

  14. To hell with it. We’ll all be radioactive dust by Easter anyway.

    Frankly I regard the demise of the human race as no great loss in the universal scale of things. If the sun exploded tomorrow it would be irrelevant on a galactic scale, never mind a universal one.

    At the end of the day, humanity is a pretty despicable species. I seriously wonder if it deserves to survive what Asimov rightly described as “technological adolescence”. Nice turn of phrase thought I…

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