7 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
It's herd mentality and the bystander effect. Most soldiers will follow orders of a superior without question unless someone stands up. Most soldiers could internally disagree with an order but if no one stands up and voices that dissent then they all will fall in line.
Comment by LogoffWorkout at 02/02/2025 at 18:40 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
People are naive to think that these "illegal orders" are going to be 'super obvious'. Its also boiling the frog. In a situation like this, most actions are going to seem innocuous. They're not going to get some order that is, "We're creating concentration camps, like the Nazis did, so here are your Nazi orders, and go do your war crimes." It will be some small part of a larger plan that isn't really that objectionable. Posted as a guard at camps holding illegal immigrants. Some soldiers will protest, but most will go with the flow. You just need a majority of officers either following orders, and a very small amount ideologically tied to the presidency. Its pretty easy for them to promote ideologically aligned people to the positions they want them in, and they've shown no problem firing any that would resist.
There will be protests by the public, in the media, etc. but, its just going to be drowned out by all of the other crazy stuff going on.