Do you think you could ever kill anybody? (longish) (pray, virtual, children)

[20yrsinBranson]

This kind of goes along with the "have you ever hated" thread. LOL

Back in the day, I attended college in a Criminal Justice program and one of the things that stands out in my memory from that was a lecture that I had one time where the professor was talking about people who are armed in self defense.

Apparently, part of the problem with people having guns in their house is that, even under the most frightening circumstances they are reluctant to take another person's life. He told us countless horror stories about criminals breaking into houses, facing loaded hand guns only to virtually walk up and take the gun out of the persons hand and shoot them with it!!!!

Now, mind you, I am a STRONG proponent of the 2nd amendment and I think that EVERYBODY should have a gun and know how to use it. I, myself, would have no problem shooting someone if the circumstances warranted it. In fact, the same professor made the statement once that in the time that you shout "Stop, or I'll shoot" many criminals will SHOOT YOU. So that, in theory, you have to just shoot someone as SOON AS YOU SEE THEM (and hope and pray they aren't the substitute meter reader, I guess).

Like I said, I could definitely shoot someone that I felt was being overly aggressive to me, ESPECIALLY on my own property (which in Missouri now is OK to use "deadly" force to protect your property - YAY). But I know that a whole lot of people could not do it.

Oh, mothers always say....."if my children were in danger" that they could virtually rip a criminal's heart out with their bare teeth, but really, and truly, I wonder how many of those mothers could pull the trigger and splatter "God-knows-what" all over their living room wall and rug.

So...my friends....could you do it? Could you kill someone, take their life, tag them, pop them, "cap them" as it were? Could you do it and under what circumstances? How bad would it have to be before you could pull that trigger and could you live with knowing what you had done afterwards?

20yrsinBranson

[sanspeur]

If it came down to him or me or one of my loved ones I'd do it in the blink of an eye.

[Travelling fella]

I'm not sure if I could do it because I've never done it, but if someone threathened my life or the life of my loved ones I'd do it, just in that case

[cncracer]

I am one who recognized I would have to analyze the shooting and would be one of those shot with his own gun. I value life, and feel most people are good by nature, but I recognize there are flaws in this logic. I counter that weakness in human nature by living in areas where crime is low, and social rules or laws are enforced. The area I live now is rated as the 3rd safest place in the US. A suburb of 250,000 connected to a larger city well over a million we feel safe walking at night, and leaving for weekends without a worry.

[EarthBound?]

When I was going thru the Sheriffs Officers training course, the same question was asked by a well seasoned veteran Officer/instructor. Out of 30 men and women in the class only three of us said, "I don't know". Thats when the instructor told the ones that said "yes they could" that they were liars. Why they asked? And he replied, "know one knows until that last second if they'll pull the trigger or not".
So again I'll have to say, "I don't know".

[SuSuSushi]

Yes, I could. I came home to three men burglarizing my house once, and I had my two small children with me. I had some swords hanging on the wall in the entry way, and I was immediately so angry that those men were in my house that I grabbed one off the wall and ran at them with the intent to skewer whichever one I could catch.

If they hadn't been faster than me, I would have attempted to kill whomever I caught. I knew it, I felt it, and I intended it. So yes, I could kill someone.

[ShepsMom]

Kill them before they kill you comes to mind. When you have no time to think, and adrenaline rush is making your decisions for you, then how do you stop and think? Perhaps, if you have 2 choices, to live or to die, which choice would you make?

[ptsum]

Ordinarily I am not a violent person, I don't go looking for it, however if backed into a situation to where that is the only alternative left, I would not hesitate in the least, if it came to where I had to defend myself or protect my family, I would not hesitate in the least to take whatever action was necessary, even if it meant killing someone. I am a Vietnam Veteran, I was trained by the military to be one of the most effective killers they ever had and at the time I was very good at my job and I was very young, today I'm a little older and a little wiser and I'll do whatever I can to avoid violence but I'm not afraid to do whatever is necessary to protect myself and family.

[Miss Blue]

I don't know how my mind and body would react in a life-death situation..Maybe no one really "thinks", they just act?

[effie g-tad]

knowing only from dreams to be capable of going that far in defence of loved ones.