See, this is getting frustrating, because this has nothing to do with emotions, I have no skin in the game, I am not here to defend US "war crimes" or "bad actions." I came name you 20 things that US have done that are actually indefensible and inhumane.
Lineback I/II, Rolling Thunder, Laos/Cambodia Bombings, Contra Affair, United Fruit, 53 Coup, I could go on and on. Simply put, Hiroshima and Nagasaki do not belong on this list.
They are not false and emotionally charged numbers at all and the highlighted part shows there is some severe ignorance on this topic which I will go into.
By 1945 the US had four options to defeat Japan.
1) Diplomatic attempts.
2) Operation Downfall/Olympic - Invasion of mainland Japan.
3) Continue Strategic bombing over years until Japanese capitulation.
4) Nukes.
1) Was already pretty much a non starter. The japanese reached out to the Soviets to negotiate and the Soviets said that their demands were insane. Some feelers were sent to US but the US felt again they were insane demands and quickly gave up on any attempts.
2) This is where your contentions really matter. To highlight the bolded - this was not the case. The Japanese's main fighting force was stranded in China/Mengkuko and Korea, there was no way to bring them back to the home islands. What was left of Japanese Army in Japan were a few professional units, some ragtag militia with rifles and...civilians forced to fight. What would have happened when the US invaded was not soldier vs soldier - it would be civilians (men, women and children) charging into American lines armed with maybe a rifle and fecking bamboo sticks. You think I'm joking? Here are some photos of High school girls and Widows being trained with how to charge Trench lines with Bamboo sticks.
During the battle of Okinawa, this was actually implemented. After it was obvious the Island was military defeated, what was left of the Japanese forces forced civilians to charge American lines with fecking nothing but sticks and stones. They ordered civilians at gunpoint to throw stones at American soldiers from windows, gave grenades and rifles with one clip to the men who had not been conscripted. After the total defeat of Okinawa, Japanese soldiers went around telling families to commit suicide. Those who refused were sometimes rounded up and put in a wooden building and the building set on fire, others were shot by what was left of the Japanese Army. The population of Okinawa was 280,000 pre war. During the battle of Okinawa 240,000 Japanese died. We don't have numbers of how many people were in Okinawa at the time but even so this is a casualty figure that is abhorrent.
There were documented plans, distributed throughout, giving instructions to replicate this when the mainland was invaded.
This was the reality - this is not emotion. The Japanese already did this at Okinawa. This was heavily discussed in the minutes meetings when discussing whether to use the bomb or not. The sheer devastation and civilian brutality seen at Okinawa really impacted the decision to use the bomb. More Japanese civilians died in Okinawa than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.
That was one small island. Not even in the main island chain. So the point that a high casualty rate with Soldier vs soldier was the better choice is just absolutely bullshit because the actual Japanese army was stranded across the sea and the Japanese were planning, and had already done so, to send wave after wave of civilians with nothing but sticks and stones and occasionally a rifle against US Marine Divisions. The plan was quite literally, "Fight until we're all dead, or they don't want to kill anymore."
3) This was just continuing what they were doing (which took far more lives than actual Nukes did) and it would cost far more civilian lives.
4) This was what was done.
What would you have done guys? Seriously? Do you genuinely think that Option 2 or option 4 were the better options?
We can discuss history all we want and I disagree with some of your points, but regardless of whatever hypotheticals, one thing happened: the US killed countless civilians in a major war crime. Calling this crime mercy is absolutely insane and if you can't see it, I don't know what else to tell you.