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CygnusX-1-2112b t1_j271yza wrote

Reply to comment by anotheralpaca69 in TIL that footage from the video game Arma 3, a military sandbox game, has been mistaken for actual combat footage and has been used in news reports a number of times due to the realistic nature of the game. by No_Comparison2778

Gonna hijack top post to go on a tangent with my (maybe?) Unpopular opinion.

This war has been documented like no other in history. It places us in the unique circumstance of being able to show the average person what war is really like, and why those who have seen it say it is hell. There is a video on the combat footage sub right now where you have a POV perspective as a man in the front lines moves to contact, tries to save the life of a comrade who was hit, gets shot himself, records himself saying goodbye on his phone for his family, and bleeds out to death.

This is the face of war that people need to see so they understand why it must be avoided. There is no glory, no heroic last stands or words, just doing what you were taught to do to try and avoid ending up bleeding to death in the mud. It's unrealistic and a macabre wish to have, but I wish that news networks were able to show videos like those in full exposure, and would also actually do it.

Feelings and sensibilities be damned, people need to know the reality to make an informed decision about going to war. But that's the kicker, isn't it? That's why they'll never get to see. If they really know, they'll never agree to letting their government do it.

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chevymonza t1_j274tkk wrote

Man, even in the early days of the internet, I remember a co-worker telling me how he wanted to make a website for this exact reason. He was talking about how he wanted to show the images that mainstream media never do, because people need to understand just how serious it is.

Gov't learned after Vietnam that showing the reality of war meant it would become unpopular and cause protests. That's why there's hardly any footage anymore, AND they've stopped reporting on the number of casualties.

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