Readerquestion:
Pleaseexplain "onthefiringline" inthissentence: "Easyforthemtotalkbecausethey'renotonthefiringlineasweare."
Mycomments:
Thisisagripeagainstthosewhodon'tsympathizewiththespeaker'splight - hardshipatworkfromdaytodayorsomeotherdifficulty.
Perhaps "they" eitherdon'tunderstandwhatthespeaker'sgroup ("we") aregoingthroughonadailybasisortheyarejustpeoplewhodon'thaveanyempathy. Thismeansiftheydon'tsharethesamelifestylewithus, theydon'tunderstandwhatwearegoingthroughinlife.
Forexample, anarmygeneralmaynotunderstandwhysoldiershavesomuchtocomplainaboutbecausehestaysinthesafetyofhisdirectingroom, perhapsinthebunker, allthetime. He, therefore, doesnotunderstandwhatsoldiersareafraidof.
Well, tocomebacktothephraseinquestion, soldiersfearbulletsanddeath.
"Onthefiringline", yousee, originallyreferstothefrontlineofsoldierswhosejobistoopenfireagainsttheenemy. Whilethey'refiringshotsattheenemy, soldiersbehindthemgettolaydownlowandthereforenotexposethemselvestoenemygunfire. Afterthesquadonthefiringlinerunoutbullets, anotherlineofsoldiersstepuptotaketheirplace. Nowthesemenareonthefiringline, firingshotsattheenemywhilealsobeingexposedtoenemygunfire.
Thisexpressionclearlyoriginatesfromthebattlefield, frombattlesintheolddays, whenlongrifleswereinuse. Anyways, tobeonthefiringlineistobeonthefrontline, tobeexposedtodangerdirectlywithoutanyprotection. It'slikehealthcareworkerstreatingcoronaviruspatientstoday, forexample, withoutfacemasks, glovesandotherprotectivegear.