New Orleans Starts Tearing Down Confederate Monuments, Sparking Protest

nbcnews.com ^ | 4/24/2017 | unknown

[DiogenesLamp]

Grabbing someone off the boat who had never had any chance to get settled into their new land is effectively the same as slavery.

Why should anyone want to fight for a country who's benefits they have never enjoyed? The commitment is all on the part of the people who were Shanghaied, and nothing was given to them in return for their intended sacrifice.

"Welcome to America, now go die in front of those cannons in a senseless war against people who never wronged you."

[BroJoeK]

DiogenesLamp: "Grabbing someone off the boat who had never had any chance to get settled into their new land is effectively the same as slavery."

Hardly. One of my great-grandfathers was fresh off the boat in 1861.
Indeed, his parents fled their Old Country to dodge the draft of their strong young sons into one of Europe's endless wars.
But within a short time he had joined the 119th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, served the entire war, was captured and wounded but survived.

After the war he married someone who spoke his language at home, moved to a big farm in Kansas and raised a huge family.
In his old age the government even gave him a pension for his service.

It's called "the American dream", did you ever hear of it?

[WVMnteer]

People have fought in all kinds of wars for all kinds of reasons. A lot of immigrants did it for money. A lot did it out of genuine patriotism. Some did it because war is often exciting to young men.

I’m sure you have some explanation for this, but desertion was high on both sides during the Civil War. For whatever reason, it was far higher as a percentage among the rich, noble southerners than it was among the destitute, foreign born northerners.

[DiogenesLamp]

People have fought in all kinds of wars for all kinds of reasons. A lot of immigrants did it for money. A lot did it out of genuine patriotism. Some did it because war is often exciting to young men.

Well a lot of the Irish, fleeing an impoverished and destitute homeland, did it because men with guns met them at the boat and grabbed them.

I’m sure you have some explanation for this, but desertion was high on both sides during the Civil War.

Only a fool would want to fight in such a conflict. A fool, or someone driven to it because they saw no other way.

For whatever reason, it was far higher as a percentage among the rich, noble southerners than it was among the destitute, foreign born northerners.

I don't know if that is true or not, but it makes a sort of sense. What does destitute, foreign born northerners have to go back to but a hanging?

Rich Northerners didn't have to fight, and that caused a great deal of unrest before it was done. During the New York riots a common refrain was "Our lives are worth less than a slave!"

Given that slaves at the time would sell for around $1,000.00 and a Rich Northerner could buy his way out of service for a mere $300.00.