What Could Cause You To Kill Another Person?

[Youch]

As an aside, I wonder if you were not making a subtle point that we humans are responsible for harming others, since no one said “carrying a firearm”.

As an aside, since you obliquely asked, among other things, I am making the point that to kill is utterly natural and normal. It is what happens in nature as a natural course of events.

And yet, people have been molded in an unnatural way to assume/assert some other "normal." This coinsides with my long-posted assertion that (western) humans now live outside nature.

[Raven's Trikes]

to save my life...there's no one i like that much, no one who can't be put down, if they should choose to attack me. So far this has never come up, and I sure hope I never have to be put into that situation.

[Kimmy]

As an aside, since you obliquely asked, among other things, I am making the point that to kill is utterly natural and normal. It is what happens in nature as a natural course of events.

And yet, people have been molded in an unnatural way to assume/assert some other "normal." This coinsides with my long-posted assertion that (western) humans now live outside nature.

I would have to agree and, by that logic: murder, rape, theft, infanticide, cannibalism, homosexuality, and communism are also “natural and normal” since they routinely occur in nature.

For the most part, I am content to live outside nature.

[Youch]

I would have to agree and, by that logic: murder, rape, theft, infanticide, cannibalism, homosexuality, and communism are also “natural and normal” since they routinely occur in nature.

For the most part, I am content to live outside nature.

I am so happy you have returned to the forum, as your reasoned and logical positions are...what is the word? Missed?

However, I am concerned about your desire to live "outside nature." How is that possible???

[kokigami]

You don't see this as a survival instinct? Do you really find issue in the nuance of "spiritual development" as opposed to real interactions?

If I am taking all your possessions, you do nothing?

If I am raping our family, you do nothing?

At what point do you escape the mule fitters of political correctiness and instead act as an alpha male in your species?

so, you fail to imagine any other solution to those problems than nothing or kill?

[Hyper Real]

OK I bite: what is the point of your question?

Let me repeat hat is the point of your question.

You said I missed the point, so I ask you what is the point?

[Songster]

What Could Cause You To Kill Another Person?

Unreasoning, uncontrollable anger.

I was once saved from commiting the act (through the grace of God and the restraint of several men), and that's all I'll say about it.

[Fawzo]

At what point do you escape the mule fitters of political correctiness and instead act as an alpha male in your species?

I can give a rats hiney about political correctness. I do care about my Spiritual Development and that of those I love though. As the Buddha has stated to save others from experiencing the negative karma of certain acts I would be more than willing to accept that karma onto myself to save those I cared for from experiencing it.

[Crzyme]

During my lifetime I believed I could have killed other humans in substitution, I was a very angry and often violent young woman full of rage without an outlet for my emotions as the main perpetrator and target of my hate was dead and beyond my reach; however I did not do so. Even as I wrote I "could have" I knew that to be a youthful fantasy and really should have wrote "I often desired to act upon my emotions and take someones life out of my own misery" because that is the bottom line truth.

Until I was 40 I had never raised a hand to harm anyone then I took a karate class and even then it was incredibly hard for me to be the aggressor and tended to simply defend myself/my position and found the aggressive role too challenging to continue the classes past the purple belt stage.

Outside of the martial arts class I have still never raised a hand to harm anyone, never spanked a child, never slapped a face, but I have placed myself physically between someone who was being aggressive and their victim on more than one occasion, (a couple of time with total strangers in public places) but the act of interference was enough in all the cases. I do not know what I would have done had the aggressors not stopped their aggressive actions.

I have been harmed without fighting back with more than words on many occasions.

So I do not believe I could kill a human, out of anger, out of protection of others or protection for myself, because I have faced those cases and not done so. Maybe because I was raised by a pedophile grandfather whose lessons were "Never fight, Never yell, Never scream, never tell" or maybe because I was so much smaller than my peers in school who regularly bullied and harmed me, maybe from choosing to marry an abusive man (thought little of myself back then), maybe because I am chicken or all of it in conjunction that I am just conditioned to pacifistic reactions.

But I do think I could end a human life if the conditions were such that it was needed to end someones suffering, I have in fact passively assisted nature (or at least believed in my heart and soul I was actively participating in an action I believed at the time would hasten death) when my 40 year old younger sister was already in hospice care, dying from brain cancer and oh so close to death and making sounds of great pain I remembered that when my dad was dying the hospice worker told me "often turning the dying person would bring on death", I had the nurses turn my sister in hopes of ending her life and in fact she did pass from her ailing body less than five minutes later. I do not in fact know if this helped her escape from her body, but I do like to think it did because her pain ended at long last.

I am a pacifist, by design or desire I can not really be sure but while I would stand between danger and others I have no reason to believe I would be capable of taking the life of the perpetrator only in offering my own. I no longer have the rage or anger to fuel a homicidal attack on anyone. So only in the case of helping would there be even the slightest possible chance of me taking a life.

[grateful]

I am reading the third book of The Hunger Games, not particularly my style but out of deference to my nephew, I am reading the series so we can talk about it .. It begs the question posed by the op, I think ; that it is kill or be killed?

Alas, I have no idea what I would do ultimately, I have never been in a situation even remotely resembling a life or death struggle,though

[Bluecat]

The question remains largely unanswered.

But not by me.

[Dan56]

Frustration, anger, greed, revenge, jealousy, control, inconvenience, protection, defense, money, property, religion, war, and a host of other things cause people to kill. I'd kill to protect, defend, and in war. I think all other reasons to take a life are illegal, except inconvenience (abortion). JMO

[Kimmy]

I am so happy you have returned to the forum, as your reasoned and logical positions are...what is the word? Missed?

Thank you! When I first returned, I was disappointed to hear that you had stopped posting once you reached 10,000.

(Congratulations on your impressive post count!)

However, I am concerned about your desire to live "outside nature." How is that possible???

It was a frivolous comment in response to your assertion that “humans now live outside nature” following my list of various practices found in nature, all of which I have no desire to participate in.

Perhaps I should have added a smiley face...

[Atwater Vitki]

I do not entertain this question lightly by any stretch of the imagination, but the threatening of bodily harm or death of a significant other and/or self is my answer.

Even so, the question will always remain, did they deserve to be killed?

Blessings of Peace,

"Al"

[Youch]

so, you fail to imagine any other solution to those problems than nothing or kill?

Of course not. I was trying to briefly create situations in which our kind-hearted Buddhist might come to realize that certain circumstances might lead to a 'do or die,' 'you or me,' type choice. I understand some people cannot ever imagine such a decision-making situation, even if such decisions have historically been very natural, so I am just curious to hear the opinions of others.

But not by me.

You only very rarely disappoint!!

[Youch]

During my lifetime I believed I could have killed other humans in substitution, I was a very angry and often violent young woman full of rage without an outlet for my emotions as the main perpetrator and target of my hate was dead and beyond my reach; however I did not do so. Even as I wrote I "could have" I knew that to be a youthful fantasy and really should have wrote "I often desired to act upon my emotions and take someones life out of my own misery" because that is the bottom line truth.

Until I was 40 I had never raised a hand to harm anyone then I took a karate class and even then it was incredibly hard for me to be the aggressor and tended to simply defend myself/my position and found the aggressive role too challenging to continue the classes past the purple belt stage.

Outside of the martial arts class I have still never raised a hand to harm anyone, never spanked a child, never slapped a face, but I have placed myself physically between someone who was being aggressive and their victim on more than one occasion, (a couple of time with total strangers in public places) but the act of interference was enough in all the cases. I do not know what I would have done had the aggressors not stopped their aggressive actions.

I have been harmed without fighting back with more than words on many occasions.

So I do not believe I could kill a human, out of anger, out of protection of others or protection for myself, because I have faced those cases and not done so. Maybe because I was raised by a pedophile grandfather whose lessons were "Never fight, Never yell, Never scream, never tell" or maybe because I was so much smaller than my peers in school who regularly bullied and harmed me, maybe from choosing to marry an abusive man (thought little of myself back then), maybe because I am chicken or all of it in conjunction that I am just conditioned to pacifistic reactions.

But I do think I could end a human life if the conditions were such that it was needed to end someones suffering, I have in fact passively assisted nature (or at least believed in my heart and soul I was actively participating in an action I believed at the time would hasten death) when my 40 year old younger sister was already in hospice care, dying from brain cancer and oh so close to death and making sounds of great pain I remembered that when my dad was dying the hospice worker told me "often turning the dying person would bring on death", I had the nurses turn my sister in hopes of ending her life and in fact she did pass from her ailing body less than five minutes later. I do not in fact know if this helped her escape from her body, but I do like to think it did because her pain ended at long last.

I am a pacifist, by design or desire I can not really be sure but while I would stand between danger and others I have no reason to believe I would be capable of taking the life of the perpetrator only in offering my own. I no longer have the rage or anger to fuel a homicidal attack on anyone. So only in the case of helping would there be even the slightest possible chance of me taking a life.

Thank you for the time you took to answer the question!!

[simplicitys-brother]

The only reason why I would take the chance of killing someone would be if they pose what to me amounts to a lethal danger to myself or any other person. I would hate to have to do that. That would be the only way I would be able to justify it.

There is no way I would push the plunger on a lethal injection sentence.

I am very much against the death penalty although I strongly uphold the idea of self protection.

[Dan56]

The only reason why I would take the chance of killing someone would be if they pose what to me amounts to a lethal danger to myself or any other person.

Perfect answer...... Nearly everyone else said they would kill to protect themselves or loved ones, I had wondered if anyone would kill to protect someone they didn't even know. That's very unselfish

I do not entertain this question lightly by any stretch of the imagination, but the threatening of bodily harm or death of a significant other and/or self is my answer.

I'm a little surprised that you wouldn't want to kill some of those nasty people who dump their cats.

[Atwater Vitki]

I'm a little surprised that you wouldn't want to kill some of those nasty people who dump their cats.

"I want to "kill" so and so for...." is a highly misused, and abused term these days. People should really think before using it.

[Cornelius]

Depends on the situation. To protect, defend, and also survival. If the situation warrants it of course.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Mad Fellow