# Supporting military action that you are able but not willing to participate in is extremely cowardly **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250 "2019-05-20T19:45:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/541 "2025-06-20T20:06:25Z")
Sure, IMO it should apply everywhere, but as a US military veteran, I’m inclined to focus more on American chicken-hawks. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/542 "2025-06-20T20:39:06Z")
I think charges of cowardice definitely apply when someone who has admitted never serving happily cheers on genocide, myself. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/543 "2025-06-20T20:41:32Z")
Yes, and I’d say cheering on genocide goes a level beyond. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/544 "2025-06-21T17:56:23Z")
Another thing I’ll add - cheering for war with Trump, Hegseth, and other malevolent incompetents in charge makes you profoundly stupid, as well as a stinking coward (with the same caveat as above). ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/545 "2025-06-21T18:00:12Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It’s that time of the decade again – many Americans, in office, in public life, online, and even a few on the Dope, are advocating that America should go to war. I’d just like to reiterate the sentiment that, if you are American, and believe we should go to war right now, and you’re roughly between 18 and 50 years old and you’re not already in the US military, or ready to enlist (or you don’t have a damn good reason why you shouldn’t), then you are personally a yellow-bellied, gutless, sniveling worm of a coward. And I’ll disagree again. There are plenty of things that I think should be done in society that I wouldn’t want to do personally. I don’t want to pick up trash, but I believe there should be garbage-truck men whose job it is to pick up trash. I don’t want to be a cop, but I believe we need law enforcement. I don’t want to be a referee, but sports needs refs. etc. For the record, I DON’T think we should go to war against Iran. I think we should be near totally done with Middle Eastern adventures. But I don’t have to serve in the military myself to hold hawkish views, any more than a person needs to be an abortionist doctor themselves to hold pro-abortion views. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/546 "2025-06-21T18:15:19Z")
You can hold any views that you want. And good for you for not currently pushing for war, especially with incompetent and hateful leaders in power. I can also hold any views I want – including that those that do push for such wars, without being willing to serve (or without a damn good reason), are disgusting, yellow-bellied cowards. You are free to change my mind as to why you think they aren’t necessarily cowardly. But if you’re just saying that you feel differently, that doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. I’ve explained earlier in the thread, in great detail, why war is different than the other issues you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250/547 "2025-06-22T00:14:59Z")
And now we’re at war. Fuck everyone who helped make this happen, including by voting for Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-military-action-that-you-are-able-but-not-willing-to-participate-in-is-extremely-cowardly/834250.md?page=27)