Armchair warrior
Armchair warrior is a pejorative term that alludes to fighting from the comfort of one’s living room. It describes activities such as speaking out in support of a war, battle, or fight by someone with little or no military experience.
Typical "armchair warrior" activities include advocating sending troops to settle a conflict, lobbying to keep defense jobs to make outdated military equipment as part of the military industrial complex or to make political messages on radio or television talk shows in favor or using armed forces in a conflict over trying diplomatic channels.
An early example of using the term "armchair warrior" appeared in a Twilight Zone episode originally aired on March 3, 1963 called No Time Like the Past. Rod Serling wrote a speech for the episode that is made by a time traveler directed towards a banker calling for sending young soldiers to fight a war against American Indians in the late 1800s.[1] Serling had received a Purple Heart for injuries incurred while serving as a paratrooper in World War II.
This differs from slacktivism in that no action needs to be done by an armchair warrior beyond stating a point of view versus an act to give the appearance of making a difference from a slacktivist. It is closer to being a variation of Chickenhawk which was a slang term used during the Vietnam War to describe a superior officer that was not on the frontlines.
Don Henley refers to armchair warriors in his song "The End of the Innocence".
See also
- Armchair revolutionary
- Back-seat driver
- Champagne socialist
- Chardonnay socialist
- Chickenhawk
- Gauche caviar
- Internet petition
- Limousine liberal
- Narcotizing Dysfunction
- Poverty pimp
- Slacktivism
References
- ↑ Internet Movie Database : No Time Like the Past (1963)