Which of your children would take up arms if need be to defend their country

[Lardychops]

Ive been thinking about this a lot lately in a thought experiment/abstract way since Ukraine invasion and having lived years ago in Israel where young people do national service from 17 as a matter of course with frequent refreshers- obviously now for them being put to the test .
So, my question is -
In terms of the ‘barbarians at the gates scenario which of your children/neices /nephews /siblings parents would drop everything to defend their country/ city/town/ village and family if they needed to ? And do you think their lifestyle/career path impacts on this?

I have 1DD single mother of 3 - she would have been first in the queue pre kids and if I looked after them she would be first to front line

3x DS - all tradesmen- without hesitation- 1 has a child but a partner - he would be first on the front line after his sister. One of them would be terrified but his pride would make him follow his brothers to protect his family rather than any bigger picture

1xDSD - works in retail -No doubt she would pick up arms and fight to the death.

1xDSD- left Uni-just got back from travelling - nothing in hospitality- no chance.

Part of the problem is the media has dishonestly been complicit in peddling the idea that "crossing the Channel" is some sort of adventure ride that wasn't quite thrilling enough for Alton Towers.

The reality is one of the most treacherous and potentially fatal stretches of water in the world is the 22 miles or more between Britain and France. To peddle the notion that people are doing it for shitz and lolz is underwhelming at best.

Anyone with a brain would immediately wonder why cross channel companies wasted untold billions on ferries (which won't sail in bad weather anyway) when all then needed were a few inflatable dinghies going cheap from last years holiday season.

I'm going to go out on a limb and posit that I am the first - maybe only - person to ask that question. If P&O reply, I will post it here. Apparently it has to go to their operations division first.

@Natsku I would put the expressed intentions of the Kremlin and their media mouthpieces in the same category as Starmer's idiotic ramblings: grandstanding intended for domestic audiences. I guess we'll only know with hindsight whether the UK is over- or under-reacting, but I maintain that the bellicose rhetoric is cynical and unhelpful.

If the country was invaded and successfully occupied, what are everyone’s views on collaboration?

What happened in Jersey ?

@SerendipityJane oh good point - I’d forgotten about Jersey.

.....there's a foot-shuffling ambivalence about all that in the Channel Islands too.

I would have done, but I’d probably be a liability. We had compulsory CCF at school, so I know I can’t shoot for toffee.

My only son is high functioning ASD. Exceptionally bright with languages, maths and music, but he’d be about as useful as me on a battlefield. He’d have been in his element at Bletchley Park during WW2, which is where one of my female ancestors worked as a decoder.

I so wish there was an laugh emoji😂I would add to that super-noodles. 😂

Non.. wouldn't let them

Have ASD or MH or disabled .

Of course none of us was there. It's very easy to be brave across the water.

We had auxiliary units in the UK/ Predicted lifespan after invasion was estimated in days and weeks.

not going to speak for anyone else - you could be a russian trying to assess our capability. However despite my age I'm perfectly willing to fight. I'm sure I could learn to make bombs and as women my age are invisible i might get close enough to set them off.

not going to speak for anyone else - you could be a Russian trying to assess our capability.

If the Russians really wanted to know what's going on in the UM that isn't already on the news or TikTok, they'd just ask Nigel.

My MIL worked in the underground war rooms she used to talk about the occasions when she was asked to take dictation for the Great Man himself - I'm talking about W Churchill, who, apparently was very kind & would offer her a sherry which she always refused.

DH & me took her for a visit - it was a very emotional visit. She was 16 when she first started working there. In her 80's she was able to say that the ladies loo was down this corridor, the canteen was here. She remembered that she frequently had to spend the night in an underground stations to sheller from air raids & then go to work the next morning-sometimes for 3-4 nights in a row.

DH & me think how we used to worry about DD when she was 16 & going on dates & DH would be on standby to collect her even though we knew who she was with & where she was. The thought of her being in central London in an air raid - our blood runs cold.

But different times.

Finland, which has an awful lot of its people trained to bear arms, might be worth defending.

Is the UKworth defending? Are the Royal Family and similar, their wealth, arrogance and lack of interest in any of us, worth my kids deaths? What about our politicians, landlords and rich shareholders destroying the NHS, democracy and law? What about the drug gang dealers and rapists who get away with it?

Don’t think so. I dont think anything in Britain is worth one hair off their heads to be honest.

Two sons, both of whom would do it - one who’d feel it’s the right thing to do, one who’d like an adventure and to get to use actual weapons! That said, if my little corner of the world was threatened, I’d definitely defend it.

I wouldn't ignore what they say, but I would base my judgements more on their actions. For instance invading Ukraine, building up military infrastructure on the Finnish border, plus all the hybrid warfare. Its like a bully is poking you with a stick, while saying they're going to attack you, and someone else says 'don't listen to them, they're always telling lies' - we are being poked by the stick now.

Oh, I'm not suggesting that it was easy, or even morally straightforward.

Fucking impossible is what I imagine it was.

And that’s the issue. Britain has lovingly and with great effort created a society where most of us can work forever and never gain a corner to defend.

Over my dead body. None of my kids are cannon fodder and they won’t die to protect any nation state.

Probably expect people like one of my DDs ( in RAF) or nephew ( Army) to do the fighting while they make pillows out of the white feathers sent to them

I have 5, none of them would, 2 are severely autistic, 2 more also autistic but lower support needs, the Fifth does not believe in war.

Better to be a coward than dead. Or worse - horribly injured.

If it was existential, there would be little choice. But otherwise, not on your life. (Male) politicians cause wars and then expect the plebs to fight them (and of course women come off worst).

Maybe the stupid male politicians could work towards peace and prosperity, rather than size of dick contests. I am disgusted with what's going on the Middle East and in Ukraine. Why can none of them see that peace is better for everyone. Why would you want to destroy lives and places?

So it’s only your country if you own a corner of it? Rather a transactional way of looking at things. What about the things that make a place home - neighbourhood, friends, kids’ school, favourite walk…?

They’re entitled to not want to die in a futile war. They’re entitled to live. And why just the men? Women leave too noone expects them to die ‘for their country’.

It's not about the Royal Family it's about our independence. Tony Ben said that the bench mark of a democracy is how easy is it to get rid of a Govt that isn't working.

If Russia or another country took control without a democratic mandate, frankly I would be out on the streets complaining & protesting.

But then I'm 62 & of a generation who protested - I embraced the base at Greenham Common (also spent a few weekends there), stood in Hounslow High Street raising money for the striking miners, sat in a cage in Exeter protesting on behalf of Amnesty International, as a tiddler was with my parents when they protested against South Africa playing rugby, also joined my mother in Reclaim the Streets protests. For years I didn't eat S African fruit.

As a child it seemed that we were going on some protest every second weekend. I've spent my life campaigning & protesting.

I took my son age 2 on 'Don't attack Iraq' rallies.

I will continue exercising my democratic rights and wil continue to demonstrate.

And how much of it do you own?

Im not falling for crap like that from the royal family.

I live in a place where I have no career and no chance of one and I’m worried that my kids also have no chance of one. I used to have a career and a good job. Tech was eating it anyway and I spent 20 years working to pay my landlords mortgages - spent enough to pay for 3 at the original cost they paid.

Let the landlords, who dare judge us for being’transactional’ and told us we had no need to own assets for reasons while using us to accumulate theirs, defend the country. Except I doubt they will, they’ve probably retired to somewhere nicer by now.