# Why would you pour gasoline on someone and light a fire to burn him to death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 11, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516 "2008-10-11T21:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/1 "2008-10-11T21:09:49Z")
Just because he’s [homeless](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-homeless11-2008oct11,0,6383567.story) and you think no one cares? This event shows both the worst and the best of L.A. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/2 "2008-10-11T22:02:34Z")
For fun perhaps. I seem to recall an incident some years ago where a homeless man was killed “for sport” in San Francisco. We’ve certainly dehumanized and demonized them enough for that to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/3 "2008-10-11T22:06:50Z")
I reckon people ALREADY care more about a person if they are homeless. Homeless people are in a dire situation and we care about that and feel sorry for them. Would WE want to be them?! hell no. > [@](#): > > Regulars at the California Donut shop bought him coffee and doughnuts in the mornings, a couple of Asian men took him for showers and a haircut, and poor Central American and Mexican immigrants would give him spare change or food ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/4 "2008-10-11T22:06:52Z")
Makes you want _Dexter_ to become a reality, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Pimms\_o\_clock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bb73d2/32.png) [@Pimms\_o\_clock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pimms_o_clock)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/5 "2008-10-11T22:07:43Z")
I wouldn’t. I might do it to a lizard or similar for a trivial reason, say a bet. ETA: Although this did make me laugh: [QUOTE=The Article] His girth limited his movement. [/QUOTE] Only in America could that ever be said about a homeless man! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/6 "2008-10-11T22:10:48Z")
How the best? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/7 "2008-10-11T22:12:22Z")
> [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](#): > > How the best? > [@](#): > > Regulars at the California Donut shop bought him coffee and doughnuts in the mornings, a couple of Asian men took him for showers and a haircut, and poor Central American and Mexican immigrants would give him spare change or food .. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/8 "2008-10-11T22:40:07Z")
I can’t think of any reason I would set light to a person - unless it was one of those GD hypotheticals where if I don’t do it, five children have to drink the Hitler chemical. I just can’t fathom the notion of being OK with setting a person on fire. What has to happen to a person to make them accept such an act as an acceptable course of action? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/9 "2008-10-11T22:45:43Z")
I’m not at all surprised that there are people who do things like this. There are worse people, like people who put the world population at risk for personal financial gain. THOSE are evil. Setting fire to people is evil too. But none of these things surprise me. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/10 "2008-10-11T22:46:54Z")
> [@Pimms\_o\_clock](#): > > I wouldn’t. > > I might do it to a lizard or similar for a trivial reason, say a bet. Well, surely nobody would say there’s anything wrong with that, unless they have a problem with torturing an animal to death for no reason. > [@Pimms o'clock](#): > > ETA: > > Although this did make me laugh: > > “His girth limited his movement.” > > Only in America could that ever be said about a homeless man! Or any country in the industrialized world. Glad you got a chuckle, though. Just curious – is there something wrong with you? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/11 "2008-10-11T22:50:18Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I can’t think of any reason I would set light to a person - unless it was one of those GD hypotheticals where if I don’t do it, five children have to drink the Hitler chemical. I still wouldn’t do it. I’d wait til they grew up and became Hitler, then light fire to _them_. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/12 "2008-10-11T22:53:01Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Just curious – is there something wrong with you? He’s not American. That’s what’s wrong with him. ---
**Author:** ![Pimms\_o\_clock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bb73d2/32.png) [@Pimms\_o\_clock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pimms_o_clock)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/13 "2008-10-11T23:26:27Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Well, surely nobody would say there’s anything wrong with that, unless they have a problem with torturing an animal to death for no reason. I didn’t say no reason, what I said is I would do it for a relatively trivial reason. The lizard would care for, what, two or three seconds? > [@Baldwin](#): > > Or any country in the industrialized world. Glad you got a chuckle, though. > > Just curious – is there something wrong with you? I live in London (that’s London, United Kingdom, or as I prefer to call it Great Britain, to you) and have never seen a fat tramp let alone one whose girth would cause them problems. In fact I’ve never even seen a human being whose girth would cause them problems (apart from to fellow passengers on public transport or fellow theatre viewers or so on where behemonths are taking more than their fair share of space in a confined area) EXCEPT in America. Where I’ve seen plenty on my relatively limited travels. Any civilised country would be able to house someone way before they got to a seventy inch waist band. In fact I’m not sure if you can even buy trousers above say 42 inch waist here without going to, er, specialised shops. And we’re not exactly slim! (And neither is 42 inches by the way, I think that might just come under obese to overweight in an 8 foot tall chap) ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/14 "2008-10-11T23:39:31Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I can’t think of any reason I would set light to a person - unless it was one of those GD hypotheticals where if I don’t do it, five children have to drink the Hitler chemical. > > I just can’t fathom the notion of being OK with setting a person on fire. What has to happen to a person to make them accept such an act as an acceptable course of action? Best guess for this situation - Dude wants to be in a gang, must prove himself to his overlords. I hate to generalize, but the report of a Latino man [or men] jumping out of a civic, to burn a man that is completely random? That’s got to be a ritual to prove your toughness to a gang. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-pour-gasoline-on-someone-and-light-a-fire-to-burn-him-to-death/467516/15 "2008-10-12T00:38:51Z")
Antisocial Personality Disorder?