Without thinking. Especially if I was defending someone whom I know.
I’ve had a loaded gun stuffed in my face before. I didn’t lock up.
Put me in fear for my life, and I’m going to do whatever I need to do to make that fear go away, right NOW.
Double and triple that reaction if it was my wife or children at risk.
I am a complete weenie and would probably freeze.
I sure to God hope so, especially if it was in defense of a loved one.
And Jesus would smile.
Yes, I would kill someone in self-defense or in defense of loved ones.
My father came home to find two teenagers in my parents’ bedroom robbing the house. It cost one of them nearly all of his teeth, a fractured skull, and several broken ribs. The other one just shit his pants and laid down in the driveway trying to avoid the ass whipping he knew was coming his way. Had he had a gun, I have absolutely no doubt that my father would have killed them both without a moment’s thought or remorse.
I guess we’ll see what happens when then bullets come flying out of my gun
Maybe I missed reading this in a post but taking out an armed assailant prevents a repeat of the event with someone else. It would be a public service.
When I think of that POS in Florida who raped and then buried a little girl alive … How can anyone argue against shooting him.
I don’t think I would freeze in an emergency (I’m actually really good in emergency situations), but I don’t know if I could kill another person, even if it was him or me. Of course, I am a pacifist, and try my best to do no harm to any other person on purpose.
Those of you saying you would do it in a heartbeat, and feel absolutely no remorse, I think you’re either lying and full of bravado, or you’re talking like sociopaths. Normal people don’t kill other people and feel no remorse, even if they were threatening you. You think cops kill criminals with no remorse? I hope to God they don’t.
I don’t think I could. If somehow in the heat of the moment I did do it, I don’t believe I would be able to live with myself afterwards.
I have asked myself this same question many times: Could I shoot to kill – without hesitation – an intruder who intended to harm me?
I am a woman, and a gun owner. I know how to shoot it, and practice several times a year so that if I ever have to pull the trigger, I will be comfortable with it and be able to hit my target.
I was taught that you should never point a gun at something unless you intend to shoot it, and that you should never shoot someone to injure them, because that may not stop them from attacking you. You must shoot to kill.
I think it’s easy to say, “Yes, I would shoot to kill without hesitation,” because it’s very easy to picture the event in your mind, and imagine how you may react. I think reality is an entirely different thing. And while I’d like to think that I could – would – defend myself by pulling the trigger when I knew harm was imminent, I really don’t know how I’ll react until the time comes. All I can do, really, is prepare myself for such an event.
I’m very curious, too, how many of those who said they would shoot in a heartbeat were men, and how many of those who said they would freeze are women.
Large Marge, it’s probably fairly obvious from my name, but I’m female.
I should make clear that I don’t think my reaction would be because I was shooting a person. I just think I’d probably freak out or freeze because I’m just that type of person. Useless in a crisis.
A little strong on the condemnation, there. I’d like to see some evidence for the sociopath comment.
I have done it before, and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if I had to.
Given the scenario of the OP (100% knowledge of the situation, 100% accuracy), a person who freezes is really someone whose genes want out of the pool.
If you’d actually stop to consider YOUR life over the life of someone who’s bent on killing you, then you’ve lost the fundamental natural drive to survive. However nice a person you may be, too bad for you. There are times to lay down and die for the good of someone else, but a knife-armed intruder bent on killing you should rarely be the “someone else”. For that to be the case, it would have to be under convoluted circumstances that are not included in the OP.
It’s even worth it to die trying to kill them (100% knowledge that you’ll die if you don’t act, remember) rather than give your life up for cheap.
Knowing who I am, I’d kill in a heartbeat, and then second-guess myself forever (yes, even with the 100% knowledge). But I’d still rather the other guy die than me.
Definition of sociopathic behaviour:
I think lack of remorse after having killed another human being is definitely in the ballpark. To me, it sounds like people here saying they would kill another human being who was threatening them with no remorse at all are almost bragging about their lack of normal human reaction to taking another life.
I also don’t think that most people actually would have no reaction to killing a home invader - I think they would have a strong reaction to it, regardless of what they say on a message board like this. If they didn’t, that would get dangerously close to sociopathic behaviour, and I don’t think there are a whole bunch of sociopaths posting here. Or maybe I’m wrong; maybe I’m assuming that everyone else feels as strongly about killing other people as I do, when the norm is actually closer to not really caring if they do or not.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what the other human being is doing - trying to kill me, or a loved one, or being an enemy soldier - taking a life is taking a life, and not something I would do lightly and without a second thought.
OK, thank you for the quote. OTOH, I still think you’re reading that way too broadly. I really can’t see any having remorse for having killed someone threatening my family’s or my life(s) - They choose to threaten my family or me, they choose the consequences that go along with it. I may regret the necesseity, but not the act. I don’t think you’re going to find many mental health professionals agreeing with you that that’s sociopathy. Ask me about any other situation in which I might be involved in a killing, and you’ll get a different answer.
Actually, very few of the responders have said “no remorse.” I certainly would have significant emotional response to the situation…after the fact. But I sure as hell wouldn’t waste a picosecond killing someone who was a lethal threat to me or mine.
The OP’s situation is a ‘corner case’ situation, and much easier to deal with than a more realistic situation would be.
For myself, I may lock up in fear, but I have nearly killed before - and I know I have it in me to do it, when I’m worked up. I think in the OP’s situation I could do it, with no real problems. At the time.
Afterwards I’d have some trouble. Even if I still felt the shooting were 100% justified.
Actually, 7 and a half of the responders said they would have no remorse. You make an interesting point though - I was also reacting to people who have posted very light-hearted comments about something I consider extremely serious (even though I didn’t know it until I went back and re-read the thread).
I am also finding it interesting that people think they would feel no remorse or hesitation if they feel the person basically needs killing. I’m not putting myself above anyone else; I would probably kill too, if it was him or me, or a loved one was endangered. I’m not kidding myself about consequences of this, though - even if I was 100% justified in killing another human, and there was no other way to handle things, it would still seriously affect me.