Yeh, train them to blow the s**t out of humans and kill and maim and then get surprised and shocked when they do something like this.

They kill innocent people as part of their job why the outcry over a puppy?

I don't agree with it and I hated that video but c'mon the deaths of the thousands of innocent Iraq's doesn't make the headlines, why should this?

Commence downvotes

Here I go again doing the unthinkable. :)
I think I agree with Doggy.
I mean, we DO send these men and women through boot camp to strip them of a part of their humanity. Then we send them out to the desert where we force them to kill people they don't even know and don't really give them a reason why (at least, not one that's believable).
It's not surprising that a few of them lose all of their compassion for living creatures. Unless these guys were sociopaths BEFORE joining up, we only have ourselves (or GWB) to blame.
It makes me nauseous to think about them throwing a puppy off a cliff... you all know how I feel about that sort of thing. But when was the last time someone got outraged over the death of an Iraqi child shot/bombed by a US soldier?

You put it more eloquently than me.

Now you agree with me I've gotta change my mind on this dammit

/jk

They didn't video tape and post an innocent child being thrown off a cliff. Thats why.

I don't agree with them being there and killing people and I don't agree with what they did to the puppy. I refused to watch the video.

To my friends and family serving in Iraq, To my brothers and sisters serving, to all of our military voluntarily giving the ultimate sacrifice.

I, and most Americans understand what you are doing and believe in you.

I, and most Americans won't cast judgment over you, our bravest and most valuable men and women, over the unfortunate actions of a few.

I, and most Americans know that you give your lives for people you've never met, give your lives to build schools for their children, hospitals for their sick.

You give your lives, and all I can give in return is my full support...and a thank you.


and yes, grey and doggy, I downvoted you...I wish I could give more.

I agree with Tubs.

They are being punished for doing something stupid.

1) Do not throw a puppy off of a cliff. Stupid #1.
2) Do not videotape yourself throwing a puppy off of a cliff. Stupid #2.
3) Do not post a video of you throwing a puppy off of a cliff. Stupid #3.

That counts as three stupids.

Sorry but I don't buy into this kind of blind, patriotic crap. The troops do a job. Doing a job doesn't automatically make you a hero. Sure, individuals do heroic things but the simple act of signing on the dotted line of a contact for a paying job doesn't make you a hero blameless in your actions.

To treat all soldiers as hero's is to do a huge disservice to the individuals who do heroic things.

Just because you blindly follow orders in the name of your country shouldn't absolve you of any personal responsibility to do the right thing. Most troops agree that the war in Iraq is pure bulls**t and many are leaving the army after they've finished their time over there.

Killing innocent people is not heroic and doing it in the name of freedom and patriotism makes it non-the-less reprehensible.

All that aside the point I originally made was not a comment on war but the fact that this video, however terrible it was, pales into insignificance with the thousands of innocent lives lost in Iraq.

To me this speaks volumes on the nature of the war in Iraq.

Downvote me all you like but it doesn't change the fact that it's my opinion and I'm entitled to express it without been made to feel guilty for it.

To compare this to human lives lost is ludicrous. They are not connected.

First of all, no one MADE these men go to war, we don’t have the draft.
Second, because you are in a war that gives you the right to be cruel?
Shouldn’t it be the other way around? If you are in such a horrible situation, shouldn’t that make you need to seek out compassion and warmth?

These are cruel men, nothing more. Filming and laughing about this proves it to me.
What made them that is not really the point, tho I doubt it was being there. My guess is that they went there because they are cruel.

I hope they are thrown out, we don’t need people like that over there with guns.

Yes, there are innocent people being killed and it is not ok, but the puppy has NOTHING to do with the war as war is an adult human thing. Do you disagree that they were disciplined? There should be more discipline for lots of other things going on but I think what they did to a puppy is just as bad as doing it to a child- hence the outcry. You can downvote me all you want also.

First up I'm not gonna downvote you for expressing an opinion politely.

My point was that yes, the marines deserve to be reprimanded/disciplined but that it shouldn't be a big surprise that they maybe have a different take on the value of life. Is that right, IMO no, but I think that is the sad reality.

My point that I've made a couple of times now is that the death of one puppy pales into insignificance when compared to the deaths inflicted upon innocent Iraqi people, deaths that never get reported yet the death of a puppy is a big brouhaha.

FYI a puppies life can't be compared to a human child's. I value all life but you CANNOT put the value of a puppies life on the same level as a child's.

I think anyone who has kids or that has lost a child would say the same.

Well, consider someone who can't have kids and opt for pets (maybe they can't adopt for whatever reason), I think they can indeed be compared and I don't think it's ok to say a someone's opinion is more important just for having a kid. You say that they can't be compared as if it is fact. It is not.
Anyway, just because there are worse things going on doesn't mean there shouldn't be outrage over this. Overall, there should be a lot more outrage about the whole war no matter who/what is dying.

So by this logic, you would be more upset about the death of some random child on the other side of the world than the death your own beloved pet?

They are all just animals walking the earth whos value of life cannot be judged exclusively on how much they are loved.

Did they ever admit this was real? I can't seem to find any final evidence.

However, check out response #4 here and I think you'll agree these guys deserve what they get.

Holy s**t, it's a fellow human being not a "random child".

I'm not talking about levels of upset at something dying we're talking about value of life.

If I had the choice between one of my pets dying or "some random child" I'd have to pick the animal to die everytime.

You do know there's a reason we eat animals but not people don't you? If animal life and human life had the same value then I'm pretty damn sure we'd be farming peoplez

Killing humans is bad - we all know that. We know horrible things are happening over there.

That doesn't make this any less wrong.

Yes it does, I wouldn't get 20 - life for killing a puppy but I would a child. Wanna take a guess why?

Fellow human being, tiny mammal trying to survive, same thing. How much genetic code must something share with you to instantly earn your compassion?

Ummm, because God, in his/her overwhelming wisdom gave humans "dominion" over the animals?

...and they've been suffering ever since.

So by this logic, you would be more upset about the death of some random puppy on the other side of the word that the cruel torture of your own beloved front lawn?

They are all just living beings on the Earth. So do you mow your lawn? Do you eat salads? You're a horrible person. Would you rather slice a tomato or murder a child? That tomato could've had a family, yet you would happily destroy its way of life just to save some human. HOW MANY BLADES OF GRASS HAVE TO BE SEVERED IN HALF BEFORE YOU REALIZE IT'S TORTURE. IS IT BETTER TO EAT A PLANT JUST BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE A MOUTH TO SCREAM WITH? DO YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO KILL THE INNOCENT BACTERIA? HOW MANY PATHOGENS HAVE YOU MURDERED TODAY?

If you're going to start measuring the value of life, take into account all living things. So if you're going to support the poor puppy over the human, putting them on equal playing fields, you're putting the puppy and the human on equal playing fields with plants, pathogens, single celled organisms, etc. So, which would you preferably murder?


(I'm with you on this one, Doggylives.)