How much would you have to be paid

[serryjw]

to build bombs? Could you look the other way? Could you elude yourself into believing you are protecting your country?

[roguevalley]

1. I couldn't work in the munitions industry unless my entire family

was on life support and I was it.

[Selatius]

2. It doesn't matter

If you don't build the bombs for them, they will find somebody who will. That's the thing with free will. A person could choose to save himself just as easily as he can choose to destroy himself.

[serryjw]

6. Sorry, I missed your point?

n/t

[uppityperson]

9. huh? Confused here, please explain further. thanks. nt

[leftofthedial]

3. I won't work in the arms industry, the pharmo industry

the financial services industry, or the oil industry

[diamondsndust]

5. well there went my dreams of a ....

"gas station/corner drug store/gun & pawn/check cashing & payday loans" store!!

[leftofthedial]

8. dreams die hard

maybe this is why I've been unemployed for so long . . .

[wtmusic]

4. There was a time I would have had no problem with it

Young and carefree and stupid.

[TheWraith]

7. Do I get to play the "against my values" card?

I mean, can I take the job and then refuse to actually do it, on the grounds of it being against my religion, the way those half-dozen pharmacists tried to avoid dispensing contraception without losing their jobs?

Seriously, though, I'd do it for anything over $60,000 a year. Realistically, at that price I couldn't afford to refuse. Go ahead and call me a sellout if you want, but in this economy many of us don't have the luxury of turning down good paying jobs.

[serryjw]

11. Not a sell out

a real question in the real world. Remember their is a difference between working at a munitions plant and ACTUALLY building the bombs.

[Clovis Sangrail]

22. insignificant difference

If you are working for a munitions plant, not matter what you're doing, you ARE directly contributing to those bombs being built.
The munitions plants exists for that purpose, and whether you're in IT, HR, or production... if you work for them you would be an integral part of that.

Working at GE designing blenders even though GE makes components for nuclear weapons... I can see how somebody could tell themselves they aren't a part of that.
Maybe the blender company was bought out by GE or something.
But if you work in the division that actually makes parts for nuclear weapons... regardless of what you do there... there really is NO way to claim you're not a part of that.

[Llewlladdwr]

10. I do contract work for DoD now.

So I guess I already made my choice, huh?

[serryjw]

12. Do you actually

build the bombs?

[Llewlladdwr]

17. Does it matter?

What I do directly contributes to the DoD accomplishing it's mission. Would I not be just as culpable as a guy working in a munitions plant?

[Clovis Sangrail]

24. no it doesn't matter

If what you do directly contributes to DoD accomplishing it's mission you are just as culpable .

If you're not OK with that you should work on finding another job.

IMO

[Mind_your_head]

13. Your first name wouldn't happen to be "Mike", would it???

;-)

edit: grammar

[Llewlladdwr]

18. Sorry, no.

:)

[Mind_your_head]

20. Good

*phew* One of these days we'll catch that 'silly wabbit' Agent Mike.....

[noamnety]

14. 80,000 including benefits

I know my price; that's what I did (not building bombs exactly, but supporting the war effort) until the Iraq war started, then I quit and took an unrelated job for half the pay. Then my hours were cut, so it was a quarter of the pay.

I've seen my old job advertised since then, I've gotten an email directly letting me know it was available. I stared at it long and hard, thinking about whether having all that extra money would be worth it. What if I had 50k (well, less after taxes) that I could donate to Veterans for Peace? How much relief supplies would that buy for the gulf coast?

I couldn't do it, couldn't bridge that gap and send in an application; it's just not in me right now no matter what the pay is, to be honest. But I'm not sure sometimes if I'm doing the right thing, because someone else WILL take that job, and the money they accept for it won't be going to the same causes.

[serryjw]

16. Great honest post

I was offered a job ( that I accepted)working in sales on commission. Most are making very good money doing it. It's not related to the war effort at all. I am having such a tough time concentrating.In the past, I would have been kicking ass, making a lot of money. It just seems so unimportant, considering all that is happening. If I don't get to work this week they will fire me!

[rucky]

25. You are a hero!

You have my respect.

[noamnety]

27. nope

doing a bad thing, or a misguided thing, for most of my life doesn't make me a hero.

Ironically, I went into the army when I was 19 to avoid a better offer at IBM, because I didn't want to become a sell out to the corporate world. I figured 4 years in, then I'd have a stop point in my life where I had to reevaluate my goals and make some decisions. Never dreamed I'd stay working for the army one way or another for the next 15 years and turn into exactly the thing I was trying to avoid.

[Nadienne]

15. It would be kinda neat

to see everyone working at such places go on strike on moral grounds :-)

[OneBlueSky]

19. no amount is worth accumulating some seriously bad karma . . . n/t

.

[nicknameless]

21. I lost contract jobs years ago because of the laundry list of things

that I wouldn't work on.

Sometimes the universe rewards you.
After turning down a two-mortgage-payments job (not defense, but just as bad), I got a huge, high-profile pro-env't job.

Woo-hoo, Universe! ;)

[RagingInMiami]

23. I hear the Mexicans are stealing those jobs too

[rucky]

26. I can't even assemble a Mr. Potato Head.

So I'll take the job for six figures, knowing that I will completely botch the job.