While I agree with your sentiment, I disagree with the overreaching arc of it.
I’d also like to note that you’re taking about the person who actually committed the crime rather than someone who is only connected to the crime by the uniform they wear, regrdless of their hand in the action.
A cook or nurse or on the other side of the planet from the atrocity can hardly be blamed for what the infantryman did on the individual level, or what the military has done on an organizational level. Furthermore, you don’t even know if they oppose those actions or are fighting against it in their own way until you talk to them. That’s the point I’m trying to make that others
If you fail to see and acknowledge this, then we have nothing more to discuss.
That said, extremism should be fought, no matter who it’s coming from. I have plenty of right wing friends I’ve cut contact with due to their extremism. And if I had friends from the left that were as crazy as some of the people I’ve seen here, I’d do the same.
Extremism only leads to more extremism and more fighting and more death. I’d prefer to avoid that if possible.
Looking through your interactions regarding this seems like there has been some stuff mistaken as sarcasm when it wasn’t, they were agreeing with you but the context was lost and so you took offense. It happens. No biggie.
But the rest of this seems like you’re trying really hard to be philosophical and… Well … it’s not working.
No outside observer is required to prove you wrong when you’re arguing facts. And within their conversation…? They were arguing about proven facts. These aren’t opinions they were arguing (eg political or religious beliefs).
My opinion? A simple Google search to confirm his own knowledge (or lack thereof) would have solved this. He gave himself no room to be wrong. He clearly needs to be humbled and recognize that he might just be wrong about something. That is the red flag he needs to work on.
Your red flag? Your inability to recognize what is ACTUALLY being discussed here and showing your own arrogance about it all disguised as being philosophically and morally superior. There’s no empathy required here until he has the ability to humble himself.
Try to go back through these comments but with a different mindset and a different tone of voice for your internal narrator and you might pick up what we’ve all been putting down for you.
Good luck.