# Would You Use This Power **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 1, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432 "2009-09-01T02:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/61 "2009-09-01T19:34:49Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > There are very few problems in the world which I would want to solve, or could even solve, by killing people. How about getting that corner office you are lusting after? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/62 "2009-09-01T23:40:10Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Those on the Terrorist list by the State Department Would you kill everyone on [this list?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations) ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/63 "2009-09-01T23:44:39Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > But if they’ve already been convicted, why do they need to be killed? The courts have already decided their punishment–a fine, a prison term, life imprisonment, or death. Why do they need you to help out? Or do you think that the courts are too lenient, and they are imprisoning people who in a just world would be put to death? If the courts are that flawed from your point of view, why do you trust them to find the people deserving of death? Those lenient yes. For instance I don’t think repeat drunk drivers who kill people should live. Also speed up the process and therefore save the prison system money., > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Would you kill everyone on [this list?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations) I will study each group one by one and I will make decisions based on my studies. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/64 "2009-09-01T23:54:41Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Those lenient yes. For instance I don’t think repeat drunk drivers who kill people should live. Also speed up the process and therefore save the prison system money., But that’s a pretty poor reason to kill someone–to save the government money. Why not kill disabled people, or those with chronic medical conditions? That would save a lot of money wouldn’t it? What makes you better qualified to decide whether a person should live or die than the judges, attorneys, jurors, witnesses, law enforcement officers, and legislators who make up our criminal justice system? How about letting the guys who have made this their life’s work make those decisions? And if you don’t like the way they make their decisions, advocate that the laws be changed? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/65 "2009-09-02T00:03:48Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > But that’s a pretty poor reason to kill someone–to save the government money. Why not kill disabled people, or those with chronic medical conditions? That would save a lot of money wouldn’t it? > > What makes you better qualified to decide whether a person should live or die than the judges, attorneys, jurors, witnesses, law enforcement officers, and legislators who make up our criminal justice system? How about letting the guys who have made this their life’s work make those decisions? And if you don’t like the way they make their decisions, advocate that the laws be changed? But you’re much more likely to get the results you prefer if you ignore all established law and instead slaughter people willy-nilly based on your own whims, don’t you know! If you leave it to those courts, they may decide that that embezzlement isn’t a capital crime, or that being a telephone solicitor isn’t punishable by death! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/66 "2009-09-02T00:37:16Z")
The problem with killing dictators , is another one would just move in. The countries are screwed up. They are not set up for another system and would just have a new one. Some of you people scare me. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/67 "2009-09-02T03:09:13Z")
A very interesting point in all this is the way the deaths would be interpreted. It’s true that Bin Laden is ill. But what if, as has been posited the user killed all known Al Quaeda members. The great majority of the world would probably interpret this as an act of God. I know some fundamentalist Christians who would probably see that as a sign of approaching apocalypse. If everyone on the State Dept.s watch list suddenly succumbed mysteriously, I’m betting the CIA would get the blame. The conspiracy theorists would go hog wild. How careful would you have to be? Might there be an eventual necessity to kill someone completely random, just to throw trackers off the scent? Look back to your initial thoughts about the use of this power. Would your first five-ten kills have given some clues as to who you were as the count climbed? (Mine would have, now that I think of it.) ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/68 "2009-09-02T06:36:33Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The problem with killing dictators , is another one would just move in. The countries are screwed up. They are not set up for another system and would just have a new one. Assuming that the number of people who would become horrible dictators is smaller than the number of people in the country, you’ll run out eventually. 😃 Even before then, one of the potential candidates is going to notice the pile of corpses and think, “Maybe being a dictator isn’t such a good idea.” > [@TruCelt](#): > > How careful would you have to be? Might there be an eventual necessity to kill someone completely random, just to throw trackers off the scent? Why would you need to go out of your way to throw people off the scent, when every person who thinks it’s God or the CIA has _already_ been thrown off the scent? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/69 "2009-09-02T09:58:58Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I am imagining what would happen if everyone had this power. It would be very quiet. But to answer the question: Yes. I would use it. Of course. But only to win bar bets. It’s a \*good \*life. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/70 "2009-09-02T12:12:02Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > But you’re much more likely to get the results you prefer if you ignore all established law and instead slaughter people willy-nilly based on your own whims, don’t you know! If you leave it to those courts, they may decide that that embezzlement isn’t a capital crime, or that being a telephone solicitor isn’t punishable by death! Maybe it would be better to determine who should die by some sort of committee or, I don’t know, a “panel”. All we’d need is a catchy name for it… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/71 "2009-09-02T12:26:16Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > …use it to kill AIDS and the flu and the common cold and malaria and cancer cells. Won’t _someone_ think of the viruses? What did they do wrong? They’re just trying to live and procreate the best way they know how, like all of us. You people are so _unfeeling_. Sniff. ---
**Author:** ![jpei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@jpei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jpei)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/72 "2009-09-05T03:04:12Z")
Y’all are too ambitious for me. Or maybe I’m too selfish. There’s several ways I’d react, but none of them would have a significant effect outside of my immediate surroundings. Non-usage: The power and verification thereof would serve as evidence of the supernatural and possibly of an afterlife, so I’d need to convert. If only I knew which was the one true religion… Animal-usage: Presumably a power that grants such control over humans could work on critters. No pests in my house, ever again. Dreamy, no? Human-usage: Frankly, much of this screams possible abuse, and I don’t think very many could feel safer reading the papers and finding out that all tyrants and terrorists have died. I’d prefer if it came with penalties. Possible limitations include a maximum of three uses, a time limit on the user’s life, eternal damnation, or - heaven forbid - having to finish a super size serving of Diet Coke in one sitting. That way, I’d only use it if it were absolutely necessary. If I had to transfer it and there were no conditions, I’d say that there were anyway. People who focus on the grandiose miss out on the tiny joys of life, like killing the bee that just stung you. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/73 "2009-09-05T03:17:34Z")
As nearly everybody in this thread has pointed out, the bigger question is could you stop using this power, once your good “work” was finished? That’s the story of [Death Note](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note_(film)), which has already been mentioned upthread. I prefer the movies to the cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Cesario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Cesario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cesario)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/74 "2009-09-05T04:21:01Z")
> [@jpei](#): > > Y’all are too ambitious for me. Or maybe I’m too selfish. There’s several ways I’d react, but none of them would have a significant effect outside of my immediate surroundings. > > Non-usage: The power and verification thereof would serve as evidence of the supernatural and possibly of an afterlife, so I’d need to convert. If only I knew which was the one true religion… > > Animal-usage: Presumably a power that grants such control over humans could work on critters. No pests in my house, ever again. Dreamy, no? > > Human-usage: Frankly, much of this screams possible abuse, and I don’t think very many could feel safer reading the papers and finding out that all tyrants and terrorists have died. I’d prefer if it came with penalties. Possible limitations include a maximum of three uses, a time limit on the user’s life, eternal damnation, or - heaven forbid - having to finish a super size serving of Diet Coke in one sitting. That way, I’d only use it if it were absolutely necessary. If I had to transfer it and there were no conditions, I’d say that there were anyway. > > People who focus on the grandiose miss out on the tiny joys of life, like killing the bee that just stung you. Chances are the bee that just stung you killed itself in the act of doing so, making that kind of a waste. As for the rest, seems to me that killing off the people who would kill me if given the chance is a perfectly legitimate use of this power, and I have far too many people who would kill me given the chance. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/75 "2009-09-14T15:49:00Z")
> [@Cagey\_Drifter](#): > > I seriously doubt this would end it. We have this constant need to define ourselves in opposition to someone else. We’ll always find someone to hate and who we think poses a threat to us. Really? Who exactly were we demonizing during the 90’s? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/76 "2009-09-14T15:58:45Z")
> [@col\_10022](#): > > Really? Who exactly were we demonizing during the 90’s? Bill Clinton. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/77 "2009-09-14T19:18:51Z")
_As some day it may happen that a victim must be found, I’ve got a little list–I’ve got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground, And who never would be missed–who never would be missed!_ Oh, yeah. I’d use it. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/78 "2009-09-14T19:31:08Z")
Possibly. I also think this is a stupid question. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/79 "2009-09-14T19:39:12Z")
Hell yeah I’d use it…but I’d like it to be a little harder. Because as soon as I get it it will be hard not to go “Don’t think JohnDoegoodbyegoodbye…oh damn. There goes another.” I would want it to be more complicated and less prone to mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432/80 "2009-09-15T05:07:46Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Would I take out Hitler? Yes. Psst, I think someone beat you to it.😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-this-power/508432.md?page=3)