It’s just acceptable is it ?

Gonegirl Only if you believe everything you read online. He also wants to improve aftercare for soldiers which at present is disgraceful. He also wants to cut wars and interventions and that might lead to a reduction in the need for such a large force but it is not a policy just to make cuts to the military for ideological reasons. The Police have not used May for target practice despite her cuts in the force.
Is the continual increase in Defence funding really justifiable?

Sorry Trisher Missed your comment which already included the point about the police.

It's not acceptable and should be condemned.

However, as Anniebach said, this is not the first time this has happened and it's not just the army doing this either. I believe that a shooting range chose to have a photo of Shamima Begum as their target, along with images of Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler and Margaret Thatcher.

Apparently it is just light-hearted fun including for children - would you believe.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/27/shooting-range-fire-puts-target-face-shamima-begum/

Alexa it’s not the brutalisation here that’s the point here but the politicisation and their obvious sense of impunity - we can do it, film it, share it

Do soldiers have to be brutalised to be good at soldiering? I know that the job of soldiers is often to kill people, and I cannot think of how else one can be trained to kill people unless one is brutalised.
Of course not!

And the role of the British Army is to help worldwide after disasters, too.
www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-uk-military-provides-relief-to-the-caribbean

I think the fact that it was shared on social media is shocking too.
I suppose everything is on social media these days [sigh]

jaycee you know the police have not used a poster of Mrs May for target prectice ?

The actions of our forces will always be plastered on social media when they get it wrong but are totally ignored when they are risking their lives for the rest of us.

Face the facts! Soldiers are employed mainly to kill people. This is a social problem that should be dealt with at least by provision of after care for soldiers who have been in combat.

Surely we can look at this from the side of the army to?

Corbyn has supported the IRA, they used guns . Soldiers are going to support fellow soldiers ,

ab you know what I just can’t be bothered. But your views are dangerous.

Your posts are ridiculous Alexa and add nothing to the discussion.

They are trained to defend you and yours.

Anniebach, as you say, this is nothing new and it's not just the army who do this.

Perhaps using images of real people, alive or dead, should be banned?

My views on this are without emotion or devotion to any party leader. Corbyn is portrayed as a pacifist yet he supports some terrorist groups,

Would a pacifist attend a wreath laying ceremony for terrorists who killed innocent Olympic athletes ? No

The Loyalists in N Ireland also used guns Annie in fact they still do
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/teenager-shot-in-arms-and-legs-by-loyalist-paramilitaries-in-ballymoney-37346553.html
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/loyalist-involvement-suspected-after-52yearold-farmer-david-murphy-shot-dead-in-co-antrim-37833884.html
Interesting isn't it that this only makes the Belfast papers and not the national news/

Just wonder if you would be so cross if the Army had been using pictures of Mrs May or Mrs Thatcher as target practice maryeliza54. Just wondering, that’s all. You could reply without swearing if you like.

Just for clarification, the "shooting range" with the pictures of Shamima Begum et al is privately run in Liverpool, nothing to do with British Armed Forces. This is made clear in the Telegraph!!!!

As part of an Army family for 30 years, I have unfailing faith in and I am immensely proud of all our Armed Forces, and I am totally sick of the "Armed Forces Bashing" which regularly occurs on GN.

If they have used a photo of JC, you need to understand the humour of people who can be deployed to face danger at anytime!!!!

I was about to ask the same Alima

The point is - we are aware because they put this on social media.
It has happened in the past with other politicians and public figures, that's why I asked if images of real people should be banned from use as target practice.

Alexa, no no no the armed forces are not infact trained to kill people. They are there to serve queen and country and to defend us all from insurgents. They do fine work building roads and so on.

This is the belief of many here who also confuse joining the armed forces as a paid career, a choice and being called up with no choice.

That silly thing with Corbyn is a tiny tip of a very large ice berg I fear.

GG13 could you explain to me then the difference between threatening to kill an MP (but it was just a joke) and firing at a picture of an MP (but it was just a joke). Personally I don't find either funny.

Jalima I live in an army town, the mountains here are used to trained special forces , we use to have 3 large camps and a barracks, now we have 2 large camps.

Using a poster of someone for target practice is quite usual ,
It is done not from a desire to kill the person . I don’t agree with it but I know it is done for their amusement, they have to train to shoot and kill, the idea all members of the armed forces are brutal people with a desire to take a life is so wrong.

They do fine work building roads and so on.
And bridges

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/8398538.stm

It is certainly a distasteful thing to do but it's a darn sight better than actually shooting him. It's also a lot better than any physical attack. Well, maybe equal with chucking rotten tomatoes at him: annoying but not actually damaging.

I think people should be free to do stuff that doesn't actually harm others. What is described could be seen as a good (because ultimately harmless) way of dealing with frustrations about JC's politics.

The soldiers are not inciting anyone to violence.

the idea all members of the armed forces are brutal people with a desire to take a life is so wrong.
It comes from muddle-headed pacifist thinking; those who do not believe in defence.

For context, I have shot arrows at a target displaying a boar. I wouldn't shoot* one in real life. The gap between those two things is eNORmous.

*Quite apart from the fact that hunting with bow and arrows is illegal in Britain. It's also not humane unless you get a perfect shot.