Do we mean this "dead" literally? I'm just wondering because people say that, but would you literally do it? I mean, if you could knock someone out and get away, or run away. Or say, in your stepdaughter's case someone hit her, as you said, would you seriously go over there and murder them for it?
I guess I think about this and say my greatest fear would be to be in a situation where I had to make a split-second decision and couldn't see a way out of an immediately life-threatening situation. But a lot of the comments here are just "if someone ever hurt" or something. I mean, I can see the logic between "to save/protect myself or a loved one," but to say, "if someone hurt someone I loved I'd go murder them" seems extreme to me. Especially if the threat has already passed.
I guess I don't really see what it would accomplish, either, but that's probably in part because I'm a pacifist. I don't see it as my right to take
anyone's life, but I also am a very forgiving person who sees no value whatsoever in vengeance. It doesn't heal, it doesn't take away the bad thing that happened, and if anything it feeds the seeds of hate and anger in people that prevent us from healing and coming to terms with bad things that do happen. And really, even if someone hurt someone you loved, killing them doesn't take that away, does it? Your loved one is still hurt and still suffering the consequences.
Okay, I'm going to share a quick story, then I'm moving on and probably not contributing anymore. I know I'm in the really weird minority on this sort of thing and would either just piss people off or end up depressed reading people telling me why I should think it's okay to kill people lol.
Anyway, here's the story. This is nothing like those shared above, btw. I was at school the other day, and one of my students was in the office in tears afraid to go home/walk to school the next day. See, he's a transexual (well, they don't say that officially, but it's basically the case), and while generally this isn't too much of a problem because he has a whole cadre of loyal friends who are very kind to him and support him, there's one kid who's an absolute asshole. Let's put it this way. When he was in class last (thankfully he's usually too busy being suspended) he went up to the teacher I work with and made a lewd sexual comment about my breasts. Yeah, that kind of asshat.
So anyway, asshole boy goes up to sweet, very kind, would never hurt a fly and physically very tiny boy on the way to school and puts him in a choke hold and laughingly tells him he's going to kill him. Now, asshole is full of shit. He's just a jerk who gets off on making other people afraid of him and the control he gets from it, but this boy was in there terrified because of this.
I am
not a physical person. I'm someone who avoids confrontation of any kind, much less physical. Hell, I do about the one martial art that doesn't require actual fighting because I don't like it. So believe me, when I say that when I heard about this, my first thought was, "If I had been there I would have kicked that boys ass," it means something.
I don't mean I'd have hurt him because he hurt someone else. I mean I'd have done my damndest to have gotten him off the kid, pinned him to the ground, and called the fucking police. It's the kind of thing that's just as likely to end up with me getting my own ass creamed as actually succeeding, but I don't care. I would have made damn sure he was no longer hurting that kid. You don't mess with people who are weak. You just don't. And this was as bad as someone kicking a puppy.
But that being said, my thought process when considering this was never vengeance or teaching him a lesson or anything of that sort, it was all about "I'd have stopped him from hurting the kid." I can't imagine killing someone for something like that, particularly when getting him pinned to the ground and calling the police would likely be enough. And I sure as heck can't imagine after getting him down honestly ever even considering actually murdering him for what he'd done.
I guess...my line of thinking is that murder prevents a person from the opportunity to change. Maybe asshole kid is going to realize the error of his ways next year and turn into a model citizen. I've known people who have. Hell, I've got a student right now who was terrible, dropped out, then came back and now he's the top in his class. People can change. Even when rare, it can happen, and do I have the right to deprive them of that? Or what if I don't know their circumstances? What if someone breaks into my home armed with a knife and I'm afraid he's going to kill me, so I shoot him? Whose to say he's a bad person? For all I know he's breaking into my house because he's lost his job, has three kids to support, and is about to get kicked out of his house and end up on the street if he can't pull together enough money for a mortgage payment. It's still a stupid thing to do, but would you consider that differently than a person who was a lifelong criminal, drug dealer who would pimp out his own children for cash? I know I would, and the truth is in that split second I'd have to make the decision, I have no way of knowing.
That's just how I look at things. I can't imagine doing it. Like I said, it's probably in there somewhere, and I would never say I'm not capable of something because I think every human being is, but the concept is just so far from who I am.
Anyway, I'm done now. Hopefully I haven't offended anyone, because I don't mean to. This is just something I feel very strongly about.
