On Killing Chapter Summary & Analysis - Section 1, Killing and the Existence of Resistance: A World of Virgins Studying Sex: Chapter 2, Nonfirers Throughout History Summary

Section 1, Killing and the Existence of Resistance: A World of Virgins Studying Sex: Chapter 2, Nonfirers Throughout History Summary and Analysis

The author discusses the "black powder era" and records that compare the number of troops, amount of ammunition, and injuries and casualties. There were "signs" that indicate that the soldiers were not making the most of this opportunity to destroy one another. One symptom of this in several Civil War battles was that weapons were abandoned on the ground. The author argues that wet black powder wasn't the real problem.

Drills have been used for millennia as training methods to achieve automatic responses. Nevertheless, soldiers "overcome the training" and resist firing. Others fake fighting, simulating the firing actions. The author shows that "nonfiring" is a major combat concern. The most aggressive or most responsive to the authority that want or need the killing done, are the ones who do the killing. Artillery personnel and the most aggressive infantrymen, are the ones who did most...
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