Warriors?

[Infanteer]

Well, instead of beating the dead horse repeatedly, I will lock this.  I think we know where most people stand on the issue.  If anyone wishes to get away from peoples "street creds" and have a serious discussion on "the warrior mindset vs the professional ethos", by all means start one up and I'd be happy to contribute.

 

[Infanteer]

<bump>

I reopened this one because we have a developing discussion on the topic of "the warrior".

 

[QORvanweert]

I think a warrior is the person who goes that extra step and is willing to risk it all to protect someone who can't do it themselves... etc..

 

[Infanteer]

I think a warrior is the person who goes that extra step and is willing to risk it all to protect someone who can't do it themselves... etc.

Of course, that definition is applicable to a kind person or a responsible person.  I believe the term "warrior" has social connotations as well, undesirable ones for us.

 

[QORvanweert]

ok. I was trying to make a simple statement. I realize the connotations implied with warrior, but in the end it boils down to professionalism and devotion; which I had summarized with my last post. I don't think a true warrior enjoys fighting because he can inflict pain, but more because it is an art that he wishes to master.

 

[Acorn]

Historically warriors were a class of society with, as Infanteer points out, qualities we wouldn't necessarily consider desirable in a soldier. I think there was an article in the CF Journal a couple of years ago that points this out much better than I can. However, a stab at it:

Historically warriors were:
1. Individualists
2. Self-centered
3. Fighters for the sake of fighting/booty/the "honour" of fighting for its own sake
4. The sort who regarded most other classes of society as inferiors and regarded the killing of inferiors as inconsequential

A recent historical example could be the Japanese in WWII.

The qualities of a soldier, rarely seen in "warriors:"
1. Discipline
2. Group action
3. Regard for soldiering as a profession - with attendant professional development
4. Considers himself an integral part of the society he has chosen to risk his life to protect

And in closing: warrior societies tended to get their collective butts kicked by soldier societies (I.e Romans v. most barbarians - at least before the moral collapse of Roman society; Russians v. Japanese in WWII; British v. <insert tribal group here>) partly because "warriors" disdain technological advances and their application to warfare, while the professional soldier constantly searches for ways to apply new technology to the battlefield.

Acorn