It also helps to remember that it’s a lot easier for pilots to ignore shit. To them, it’s a blip on a screen or a faraway target. For the grunts on the ground, it’s up close and ugly. That’s why the Russians had to resort to literally shooting fleeing or deserting soldiers; the ones who have a conscience and don’t want to have to fucking kill kids have to be forced to by threat of violence and intimidation. Especially when the government knows who they are and where to find their relatives, and can thus use threats of violence against family as leverage to force people to behave. Pilots are far enough to removed from the violence that it’s easier to abstractify the horror. The same is true with any kind of standoff (long range) combatant to some degree.
It also helps to remember that it’s a lot easier for pilots to ignore shit. To them, it’s a blip on a screen or a faraway target. For the grunts on the ground, it’s up close and ugly. That’s why the Russians had to resort to literally shooting fleeing or deserting soldiers; the ones who have a conscience and don’t want to have to fucking kill kids have to be forced to by threat of violence and intimidation. Especially when the government knows who they are and where to find their relatives, and can thus use threats of violence against family as leverage to force people to behave. Pilots are far enough to removed from the violence that it’s easier to abstractify the horror. The same is true with any kind of standoff (long range) combatant to some degree.