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Comment by freetime2 | Hacker News Reader

I think calling him a shill is a bit out of line. Shill implies dishonesty, but he’s pretty transparent about the fact that he used to work for the military, and that the reason he is getting access to nuclear submarines etc is that the military views it as good PR. I think it’s also fairly safe to assume that the military gets a say in what ends up in the final video, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone - not least because a lot of what happens on a nuclear submarine is highly classified.

My sense is that he genuinely believes that the military performs a necessary role, and has a lot of interesting components, and is just trying to show that to the world. And we shouldn’t be so quick to label someone a shill just because we disagree with them.

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Shill may imply dishonesty, but it is not by definition someone who is dishonest, simply a promoter. It means coordinated conspiracy; it may or may not include dishonesty.

Transparently advocating for people to join up with the military is no improvement. My issue is more fundamental than whether or not it is disclosed as an ad. My issue is with all of those who would promote violence as a solution to problems, regardless of how such promotion is carried out.

>My issue is with all of those who would promote violence as a solution to problems

You are completely delusional. Nobody wants war, but the truth of the matter is might makes right. We must be good at making war not because we want fighting, but because we want to be so good at it that other countries cannot just take over. You can choose to abstain from war, but you will quickly lose to those who do not. And those who do not may have systems and politics that make life much, much worse for those in the country.

> It means coordinated conspiracy

Conspiracy by definition means secrecy. As the previous poster said, he’s been more than open that he worked on rockets for the military and his relationship with it. I don’t think there’s any secrecy here.

> My issue is with all of those who would promote violence as a solution to problems

I strongly promote non-violence, but there is always value in speaking softly and carrying a big stick. You need to be able to defend yourself or someone less keen on non-violence will obliterate you.

I guess you were unaware of the fact that he worked in missile testing & development for years and years?

> My issue is with all of those who would promote violence as a solution to problems, regardless of how such promotion is carried out.

Sometimes force is the solution to problems. If the Ukrainians didn't respond to Russia's violence in kind, do you think they'd still have their own country?

>My issue is with all of those who would promote violence as a solution to problems

That is all well and good up until the point where the other side uses violence against you and yours to get their way. Human nature, sadly, takes a very long time to change while destroying the lives and works of others takes much less time.

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