Merriam-Webster Word of the Year 2017

[loramin]

Originally Posted by skarlorn [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Excellent stuff here. Most of the US Top Brass was against using the a bomb on Japan, who had been sending out peace feelers for a while. Truman was a pretty weak man who often vascillated between the views of his advisors. Ultimately, anti Soviet oligarchs convinced him to hit the Japanese people. I believe also that Truman yearned to finally feel like HE was the bully. He was a weak piece of shit who only got to Presidency due to DNC corruption and humanity's bad luck. He basically needed the ABombs destruction as a crutch in order to manage his meetings with Stalin.

Actually, Truman was misled by his military advisers. He was under the impression that Hiroshima was a military base (with no women and children around) and that the casualty numbers would be much lower.

Originally Posted by Truman's Diary July 25, 1945, (the day Truman ordered the bomb)

This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new.

Afterwards Truman didn't want to look bad, so he pretended the whole thing was 100% what he intended, which helped compound the historical inaccuracy.

[maskedmelon]

Originally Posted by loramin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Actually, Truman was misled by his military advisers. He was under the impression that Hiroshima was a military base (with no women and children around) and that the casualty numbers would be much lower.



Afterwards Truman didn't want to look bad, so he pretended the whole thing was 100% what he intended, which helped compound the historical inaccuracy.

it's a good thing we have heartwhisperers to deduce the noblest intents of bland statements devoid thereof to ordinary minds.

[loramin]

Originally Posted by maskedmelon [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

it's a good thing we have heartwhisperers to deduce the noblest intents of bland statements devoid thereof to ordinary minds.

Huh?

so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children

What part of that requires "heart whispering" to understand?

Also if anyone is heart whispering it's NPR, because I learned that from a show they did a few months back

[JurisDictum]

Truman, also known as the little man from Missouri, liked to brag a lot. It's all highly irrelivant...But from what I've heard from presidential and history scholars is that the bomb was done as an attempt to scare Stalin. I'm sure Truman was down with that part of the plan.

Yes, ground demonstrations were needed back then. It's stupid argument to say otherwise because the reason we bombed Japan twice is because after the first one they didn't believe we had a second.*

We wanted to show that we had the bombs, would use the bombs, and had more than a few.

Stalin played it cool -- which the West has taken to mean that Stalin actually didn't care and was completely indifferent to the bombs -- retards. Yea that's why Stalin had his pedal on the gas of his own nuclear program, because he didn't care.

The reason Russia never went to war with Europe, is because by they were never in a position to. They lost an absurd amount of fighting age men during World War II. I've heard figures up to 90%.

*Some argue that this was more about Japans cultural refusal to surrender than an actual belief we didn't have another bomb. But to argue we could have just told Stalin we have this new kind of bomb is a bit dumb IMO.

[fash]

Originally Posted by AzzarTheGod [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

got no beef with fash but did you just cuck out and change your avatar because of pokes?

pushover

I don't think Pokes had too much issue with it. Seemed more like Lhancelot didn't like it.

I've had it for like a year and nobody seemed to get the reference, so I was thinking of changing it back to a Hoppe reference before Lhancelot got rustled over it in the other thread. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Originally Posted by Lhancelot [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Thank you whoever cucked Fash into changing his avatar, it was well-needed. Glad he has a nice more suitable one in it's place now. Good boy, Fash.

I'll make it a kitty in honor of Lhancelot's avatar.

[Lulz~Sect]

2 avatar changes in a span of day

cuck'd

[loramin]

Originally Posted by JurisDictum [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Truman, also known as the little man from Missouri, liked to brag a lot. It's all highly irrelivant...But from what I've heard from presidential and history scholars is that the bomb was done as an attempt to scare Stalin. I'm sure Truman was down with that part of the plan.

Yes, ground demonstrations were needed back then. It's stupid argument to say otherwise because the reason we bombed Japan twice is because after the first one they didn't believe we had a second.

In no way do I mean to excuse Truman for his decisions, or his bragging afterwards. I'm just saying, the history's a little more complex than "Truman said bomb and we bombed". It's more like the military and Truman were working together (they created some commission for the whole thing) and Truman wasn't exactly 100% sold with completely mindless mass killing, so to get around his reservations details were left out when they asked for his approval. Afterward Truman didn't want to look foolish so he pretended like he had been 100% pro-mindless-killing, and we only even know he was more complicated than that from his diaries and a few other historical sources.

As for bombing twice, I always think of Ender's Game. In the beginning of the book Ender (a child in the future being trained to be a military strategist) gets attacked by a bully. Ender manages to defeat the bully (bomb #1). Then he starts kicking the crap out of the bully as he lies there on the ground (bomb #2). I forget how they explain it in the book exactly, but the idea was that he was sending a message to other bullies.

That message was basically "if you mess with us we will not only mess with you back (and win), but then afterwards we'll kick the crap out of you for no damn reason, because we're freaking crazy ... so don't mess with us". And again, while you could consider that message directed at Japan (and to be fair the Japanese were stubborn and the war might have gone on for years without the bomb), I think most historians see it at least partially as a message to "the commies".

[Lulz~Sect]

Ender's rational for kicking the shit out of Stiltson twice was to win every future battle once. [spoilers redacted]

*Been a few years since reading this. I am due for a reread!

*Google edit - I was close recalling from memory!

1. “I have to win this now, and for all time, or I’ll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse.” p. 7 (Ender, during his fight with Stilson)

[fash]

Devastating bombs to induce surrender was a lot cheaper than their other option of invading the pacific at the time.

"It was to scare Stalin" or "It was to warn the world of the horrors of nuclear war" is post hoc rationalization.

[fash]

Originally Posted by Lulz~Sect [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

2 avatar changes in a span of day

cuck'd

3 times. Now what?