Why do people take pride in being morbid and actively try to appear even more disturbed?
I've seen people die. Held them while it happened. I've heard noises come from a man's fear and pain that haunt me. And I'm very confident in my ability to actually reduce people to corpses and monuments to memories.
You know what I take pride in? My physical ability, my skill at video games, my marksmanship, my people skills, and my ability to challenge or stimulate some of the brightest minds I've encountered.
I guess it's probably one of those things where we could guess or rationalize, but the tendency people have towards being "edgy" stretches across history and cultures. So it's probably a part of society itself, or the human condition.
I understand that OP is joking, but it just reminded me of actual people I've encountered.

I think I remember reading that he was massively fucked over as a younger officer

Ridicule Mr. Newth all you want, I still think he's a better butcher than most scientists.

In my experience: No.
*Laughs in soldier*

Preach it