• ChihuahuaOfDoom@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I might catch hate for this but I never understood why it wasn’t automatic the entire time since it’s illegal to not register.

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Not any more at least. Prior to this bill, failing to register for Selective Services was a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine of not more than $250,000.

        Now you’re automatically enrolled. I think it’s actually better this way.

        • InternetUser2012@midwest.social
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          5 months ago

          Eh, military service now is 8 years right? I’d take jail and file bankruptcy. At least you’ll be alive instead of cannon fodder, and it’s 3 years less.

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            We were always forced to register. The fine and imprisonment were penalties for avoiding registration. You’d be registered at the hearing as well as facing consequences.

              • FutileRecipe@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                if they draft it’s because cannon fodder is needed.

                That’s a big if, as you noted US hasn’t drafted in forever. But even if they did draft, the US hasn’t used “cannon fodder” tactics for several decades. Their technology is so advanced (and military budget/spending so high) they don’t need to in order to win. Trench warfare ain’t really a thing anymore.

    • homura1650@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Because there has not been a draft since the 70s, where automatic registration was not feasible.

    • TAG@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      It was not automatic so rich people can avoid it. I have never heard of someone facing criminal charges for failing to register. I have heard that failing to register can impact eligibility for college financial aid and scholarships.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      It should be automatic, and it is now. Why did I have to worry about it 40-years ago? Now? Now worries, done deal. Nothing has changed.

      Of course lemmy thinks that serving means you’re on the front lines as a grunt with an M4.

      • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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        5 months ago

        Might as well be. Giving a gun to a murderer is as bad as pulling the trigger, and that’s what supply officers do. Mechanics fix killing machines. Cooks feed killers while they’re off killing. The military is a machine, and every cog in that machine is a murderer.