Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:21 pm
When i was at the army and i went for my first watch (00.00-04.00 a.m) there was a rifle there and a knife. As i was in the navy, in most typical watches we didnt have machine guns, but rifles, m1's, these from the WWII era. In the rifle you could attach the knive. So, i was examining the knive which was old and kind of rusty, and very sharp, and i thought what would happen if i would go to war (God forbid) with a knive like this on the edge of the rifle.Even at machine guns, like the G3 or the M 16 you can attach knives.
The idea that i would have to pierce someone with that in close combat terrified me. Of course the circumstances at war are different. And nowdays they dont often use knives in front of guns. But, we are children of a different era. Our grandfathers that fought in WWII and other wars, most of them were coming mainly from villages and small cities. Most of us have never killed a sheep or a goat, or a chicken. I remember sometime ago when i was at my father's village, i went with my cousin to see as he and his wife would kill a sheep that would be the main dish for a celebration at dinner. I didnt show anything, but the sight touched me. The sheep somewhat new what was going to happen when my cousin approached it. A few seconds later it was shaking on the ground with the neck sliced, and blood coming out. His wife had a hose pouring water to clean the blood. In a few seconds it was dead.
And this is a very ordinary spectacle at villages. It is natural. Man has to eat. He kills the sheep. But if i was asked to do it, i would hesitate. I dont know if i could. It's all a matter of how you are grown up. Surely people at ancient times were more keen with swords and killing with them. And surely if they had to kill another man with a sword, it would still be difficult, but not like it woiuld be for a man today, that has never even killed a chicken.
That being said, warfare in ancient times was more immediate. You were next to your opponent. It was also brutal. Now it is not immediate. It is mainly from afar. But it is also brutal. The results of a bombing in a residential area are maybe far more brutal. You dont see it from the news. They dont show the results. Only explotions from afar, and ravaged buildings. When the bombings in Lebanon from the Israelies were going on one year or more ago, a friend of mine did the stupid thing to send me a link to a site. He isnt touched by these sights like i am. The site showed pictures of the results of those bombings. Once i got to the third picture showing a young boy cut in half and things like that, i immediately closed the site, and erased all of the internet explorer's history. And then i sweared at my friend. When i saw the news afterwards that showed the bombs going off in buildings and things like that, i changed the channel. Because it wasnt just images of buildings exploding anymore. It was the things that they dont show you.
War is never nice. It wasnt in the ancient times, and it isnt now.
The idea that i would have to pierce someone with that in close combat terrified me. Of course the circumstances at war are different. And nowdays they dont often use knives in front of guns. But, we are children of a different era. Our grandfathers that fought in WWII and other wars, most of them were coming mainly from villages and small cities. Most of us have never killed a sheep or a goat, or a chicken. I remember sometime ago when i was at my father's village, i went with my cousin to see as he and his wife would kill a sheep that would be the main dish for a celebration at dinner. I didnt show anything, but the sight touched me. The sheep somewhat new what was going to happen when my cousin approached it. A few seconds later it was shaking on the ground with the neck sliced, and blood coming out. His wife had a hose pouring water to clean the blood. In a few seconds it was dead.
And this is a very ordinary spectacle at villages. It is natural. Man has to eat. He kills the sheep. But if i was asked to do it, i would hesitate. I dont know if i could. It's all a matter of how you are grown up. Surely people at ancient times were more keen with swords and killing with them. And surely if they had to kill another man with a sword, it would still be difficult, but not like it woiuld be for a man today, that has never even killed a chicken.
That being said, warfare in ancient times was more immediate. You were next to your opponent. It was also brutal. Now it is not immediate. It is mainly from afar. But it is also brutal. The results of a bombing in a residential area are maybe far more brutal. You dont see it from the news. They dont show the results. Only explotions from afar, and ravaged buildings. When the bombings in Lebanon from the Israelies were going on one year or more ago, a friend of mine did the stupid thing to send me a link to a site. He isnt touched by these sights like i am. The site showed pictures of the results of those bombings. Once i got to the third picture showing a young boy cut in half and things like that, i immediately closed the site, and erased all of the internet explorer's history. And then i sweared at my friend. When i saw the news afterwards that showed the bombs going off in buildings and things like that, i changed the channel. Because it wasnt just images of buildings exploding anymore. It was the things that they dont show you.
War is never nice. It wasnt in the ancient times, and it isnt now.