German military service reform triggers major youth protests

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1. Edit: it’s funny how the imd misogynistic ideas that women aren’t as strong as men and women are baby makers come out in this debate. We are striving for equality aren’t we? So that’s irrelevant. A woman may not choose to have a baby anyway.

   I’d like to make the feminist equality argument tbh.

   If men get have to fill it in and potentially join the military to defend the nation, they should do so with women. We are a society striving for equality. Why should equality stop when it comes to protecting the nation? Uniting in brother and sisterhood in defence of a common idea or nation is how you get equality.

   Why should it be equality in all things… except things that make us uncomfortable?

   And before someone says…women can’t be infantry…OK if u take that view then women can do many other jobs…drive a tank…command a tank…drive trucks…logistics…you know the sort of roles that the majority of the armed forces actually does.

   So I don’t think young men should be corralled to join the army at all….especially if women can just sit it out.

   It literally renders all equality and talk of discrimination moot as when it matters most…the security and defence of the realm…suddenly that equality doesn’t exist.

   >On Friday, the German parliament approved a legal change requiring all 18-year-old men to fill in a questionnaire about their fitness and willingness to serve in the military. For women, the questionnaire will remain voluntary.

2. But they have no issues with poorer, darker, American servicemen fighting and dying for them.

   I knew this very beautiful northern Italian girl who was attending university in Switzerland and in her mind it was a given that the USA had the obligation to protect her. She had to go to college, get a degree and secure her future. She had no time for this military and war nonsense.

3. I have always wondered what will happen in the UK if there was ever a conscription. I’d refuse, of course, but I’d be curious about what will happen to our equalities act. I have a feeling it will get quickly disregarded.

4. To give a little bit of context: Germany has a conscription system since World War 2 and it is part of the constitution (Art. 12a Grundgesetz). It was only “paused” since 2011. Until then every 18 year old man had an examination (physical and mentally) to determine their “fitness” for military service. After that they could choose between military or civil service. They had to do either of that for 9 months.

   So most male Germans, including those “old men” mentioned in the article, either did the military or civil service. The only ones who didn’t are the current 20-30ish year olds.

   Art. 4 (3) GG states: “No one shall be compelled to perform military service with arms against their conscience.” That still stands in the case of anything short of an invasion of German territory, and even then most legal experts say it would still stand. So the current conscription is not about “drafting young men to be blown to pieces”. Currently there even isn’t an obligation to do some service – military or otherwise. Currently it is about that examination and the possibility to reintroduce that service.

   Also, Art. 12a GG only mentions men. And there is currently no majority in parliament to change that (it would need 2/3 majority because it is part of the constitution) and also conscript women.

5. The ruling classes are pushing us towards war, a war no one wants. If you get conscripted, who are you really dying for? Because regular people certainly have no stake in their respective countries, everything is owned by large multinational corporations. The same corporations that are raking in billions while wages are stagnating, sucking up all profits and passing it to their billionaire owners. And in the meantime those corporations keep polluting the environment, knowing damn well they are making the planet uninhabitable for most humans. And they want us to go fight working class people from ‘enemy’ countries? The real enemies are the ruling classes sucking us dry. And they know people are waking up to this reality, that’s why they are pushing towards war in the first place, it’s why they are becoming increasingly authoritarian and trying to control all aspects of our lives, including who we talk to and what we say to each other. Hell, even this stupid website has completely gone to shit, I don’t even know why I’m typing this rant, this place has also become a corporate controlled hell hole full of pro capitalist AI bots.

6. Bunch of babies. Conscription is the cheapest way to keep your military force believable which europe needs now more than ever. What Germany is doing isn’t even fully that either.

   As for the service itself, it is good for young men to spend 6-12 months in the army at a time where most of the age group are moving from living with their parents to living alone. It teaches cleaning, schedules and hard work. Thing which more and more parents these days refuse to teach their kids.

   Also the final proper fitness school for most young adults.

7. Germany is going to kill itself for Israel. Not even for its own sovereignty, but for another country’s bloodlust. Why? Because neoliberalism is an ideology of slow rot.

8. Even in these comments we have people complaining about conscription being oppression. But I’m not surprised that a sub with lots of pro russian users has bunch of comments against better European defence capabilities.

   I see conscription as a necessary evil to avoid much worse outcomes from actually ending up in a war. A large reserve army works as a deterrent against russians choosing to invade in the first place. I went through twelve months of conscription and compared to increased probability of my country ending up in a war, it’s the much better option.

   Having to fight in a war would definitely suck but after all, civilians aren’t that safe either when russians are attacking. And again regarding oppression, conscription is nothing compared to living under kremlin’s rule.

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