Very good post. I'm glad someone is brave enough to finally come out with this thread. But man Oh man, are you going to make alot of Foes today.

Originally posted by Ghost in the Machine

Now for those who still say that killing cannot be justified, Place yourself in Mr. Harvey's shoes. If a stranger rushed at you with a knife, Putting yourself and your family in danger, Would you still say that killing this man is wrong, Would you try do the right thing and talk it out*sarcastic*? Or would you pull the trigger?

considering it's just a knife, and he is charging me with it, I would hit the guy with the butt of the gun. 2.5 ft reach vs 5-10 in knife.. Who do you thinks going to win? No need to kill.

under certain circumstances, if you have to kill or be killed, murder is justified, it's called self-defense and most countries do not imprison people for it. However, killing 1 million people because some group supposedly killed 3000 people is not justified, especially when it is highly suspect the said group did not actually do the killings.

An uninvited person entering my home is going to leave in a heavy zippered bag. Some people live in the real world; some people invent a world and then pretend to live in it. These are the hand-wringers who who feel that the "sacredness of life" trumps every other consideration. Notice that I said "feel" rather than "think". These people feel everything and think nothing.

Although I do generally oppose violence, in the scenario you give, there is not much to argue with. If someone is coming at you in your own home as an intruder with a knife, then you can reasonably assume they are going to kill you if they can, or in the least do you harm.

Last time I checked we still have the constitutional right to defend ourselves and our property. It would be a horrible decision to have to make, but I think our survival instinct would make it for us very quickly.

If someone's coming at you with a knife, there is not much time to evaluate options.

I'd try to shoot to maim, not necessarily to kill. Aim at the legs/feet. A shotgun wound to his legs will stop him in his tracks, I don't care how well-trained he is in the martial arts, that's one wound he won't be able to overcome.

here is your negative feedback:

"-"

why does everyone here appoligise for their posts?

I don't care what anyone says. If I caught someone raping my wife, mother, or sister, I would kill them right then. I don't think I would be able to stop myself from doing so.

Guess what? I would also kill to protect my children.

Originally posted by Ghost in the Machine


Mr. Harvey is your average working class man. He lives in a small house with his wife and children. One night he hears noises coming from the living room. He grabs his shotgun and proceeds to search for the source of the noise. Upon entering the living room he sees a man wielding a knife. Mr. Harvey yells a warning at the intruder, Who then rushes towards Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey fires off two shots and kills the intruder.




*Expects alot of negative feedback*

Hello,
The situation you presented that I quote above is not in my opinion "killing." I would call that neutralizing a threat, self defense. If I want to prevent my life from being brought to an abrupt, and violent end, I would avoid trying to rob or take what does not belong to me from somebody else.
Good thread!

How many causes are worth dying for anyway?

You can usually serve those that are worth dying for better by staying alive.

I guess Schindler could have stopped playing ball with the Nazis, gone up to an officer and said “I won’t cooperate with you anti-Semites, I hate Hitler”, and got shot on the spot to make a point, or he could have played it cool and saved all those people from death.

Only extreme pacifists will say killing is never justified. Most of us agree that under certain circumstances killing can be justified, like the situation the OP brought up.

There is of course room for debate as to when killing is justified. Many reasonable people say state imposed death penalties for duly convicted murderers are justified killings, while many reasonable people say such death penalties are not justified.

One real brain teaser is a situation in which you see a train heading towards two innocent people. If you do nothing, the train will hit the two people and surely kill them. Your only option is to flip a switch which will redirect the course of the train. If you do flip the switch, the train will surely hit and kill one innocent person. You are a conductor working for the railroad line. What do you do?

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint


One real brain teaser is a situation in which you see a train heading towards two innocent people. If you do nothing, the train will hit the two people and surely kill them. Your only option is to flip a switch which will redirect the course of the train. If you do flip the switch, the train will surely hit and kill one innocent person. You are a conductor working for the railroad line. What do you do?

Easy, I'd stop the train if enough time is allotted to do so.

Edit; If I can't stop the train, I will look for another line of work!

[edit on (3/12/1010 by loveguy]