No way. I can’t even see someone else get slapped without recoiling in horror.
I probably could if the person was attacking me or (especially) one of my children. In fact, I know I could if it was the only way to keep him from doing serious harm to one of my children. I would almost certainly have a lot of trouble dealing with the psychological aftermath, though.
Other than immediate self-defense, no. I wouldn’t shoot a burglar, for instance - I don’t own anything that’s worth a human life, and I don’t believe anyone else does either.
If I thought it was aboslutely necessary to save my or someone else’s life from violent attack, I would certainly be physically and emotionally motivated enough to do it. From a practical standpoint, however, I have no skills at committing violence so I probably wouldn’t be able carry it out successfully unless I used a gun. And I don’t have any guns.
Is it possible to talk someone to death? If so, I’m the baddest mofo on the planet.
Sure, why not? Like pumping gas, needs to be done once in a while.
Yes. Probably.
No guarantees on the state I’d be in afterwards though. Depending on the victim and circumstances, it may well range from righteous adrenaline-pumping glee through to total soul-destroing angruish, guilt, and devastation.
I’ve killed animals and regretted it profoundly, but there are certain humans I could kill (I think).
I honestly don’t know until it happens.
I think I could have offed Pol Pot, Hitler, Idi amin, etc without too much introspection.
Count me as another person who would be more likely to do it in the heat of the moment – I have been shot at with air guns while running from a passing car (it hit several times and drew blood, it was point blank range) , and I chased the car for several blocks and in my mind I was keeping up with it. I’m not sure what would have happened had I caught up with it but definitely, for the first time in my life I felt what in less cynical circles is known as the “thrill of the hunt”. A different plane than the usual fight-or-flight. So if I were in a physical combat situation and had that same reaction I don’t know what I’d be capable of.
Premeditated, I dunno, there isn’t anyone I can think of that I hate enough to actually pull the trigger were it offered to me even with no legal consequences. However, if I were to take up the offer, I wouldn’t really let it get to my conscience.
HA!
I’d really rather not kill anybody but, given the right circumstances, I sure could.
On the heat of the moment (or quickly therafter) front, I have personal example - no death involved. On the premeditation front, speculation only.
Onwards…
When I was 19, I’d broken up with a nice young woman, but still worked with her. We happened to be at the same party one night, and had both had a few drinks. Sitting in the basement while she was upstairs “using the facilities”, looking passed out myself, I overheard two guys talking about how they would like to get her back downstairs with the passed out dude, and show her some fun. If I’ve ever been close to a snap, that was it. I could have easily killed at that point, but was able to moan, and get up, seemingly stagger upstairs, and intercept her. Thankfully, I convinced her to go back to her Father’s place with me (by cab, nothing untoward involved), and didn’t need to explore the part of myself that would have been able to remove two pieces of garbage from the planet. I could have, though.
Premeditation-wise, a person would have to seriously piss me off, and I’d probably need a lot of time to plan.
Did I mention I bought myself Forensics For Dummies for X-mas?
Holy shit, dude! You would kill someone for drunk driving? Any particular BAL before you start blasting away?
Well, I guess there’s really no way to know for sure until (oblivion forbid) that kind of situation came up, but I’m not immediately recoiling in horror and shame at the mere thought of killing a human, for what that’s worth.
I think I could, but only if it was really necessary.
Could I kill? In defense of self or family or friends, absolutely; at random or by instruction, no.
No.
I was once so blindingly angry years ago that I had my hands almost at a tormentor’s throat. But I couldn’t go any further. Something stopped me deep inside, so I backed down, and the taunting continued. I just walked away.
I know that this means I wouldn’t be able to kill.
Yes. Don’t bother, it is not all it is cracked up to be.
Nope. I’m with Ice. I know I couldn’t.
I am fairly certain I couldn’t kill someone to protect my own child (though who knows if the circumstance arose) not cause I don’t adore him and want to protect him, just cause I’m a flaming wuss.
Oh, definitely. Like for a cheeseburger.
Say…what’s that you got behind your back? murderous glint in eye
Were some individual to do something harmful or knowingly do something potentially harmful to my children or my wife then, unfortunately for them, dying time is here…
The things I care about most in this world is my kids and when you mess with my kids you have forfiet your life to me. This may not be politically correct or the morally righteous way of thinking but it's the way I feel and the way I would act.
I'm not above torture either...... Damn, I'd find some really creative ways of making a motherf*ckers last days a living hell.
Naturally, once I was done I'd immediately have to start acting crazy as hell. (Hey, I may have it in me to kill someone, but I'm not about to go to jail over it!!)Another in the “protecting another”, be it child, friend or stranger camp.
But I’d need some powerful therapy afterwards. Not so much because I think I’d feel bad, but because I think I *wouldn’t *feel bad. And that would make me feel really, really bad.
And I’d be completely prepared and accepting of whatever punishment society determined I should recieve.
Now helping a sick human being die via euthanasia, absolutely. Without a moment of guilt or remorse. I think forcing people to live when they don’t want to is barbaric and inhumane. I wouldn’t kill a patient if they didn’t clearly want to die, but I’d help or teach anyone who asked how to do it.
i could only kill if the person did something so heinous, so depraved i had no other choice.
like cut me off in traffic.
Yes, I could. But only if it was me or him. Otherwise, I’d try to find another way out.