Last week was fun, wasn’t it? Unfortunately, in the process of getting just the right angle for a photo, I managed to wrench my back, and I therefore won’t be doing any touristy stuff this week. Good thing I have that second week off, isn’t it? In any event, the pain and frustration are taking an emotional toll – perhaps that’s why I decided to re-blog this rather dark post from 2014. I still don’t think I would kill anyone – but the question is moot anyway since I couldn’t currently chase anyone down. Enjoy!
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In her post, “Killing You, Killing Me,” blogger Marilyn Armstrong (Serendipity) posed the question:
“Under what circumstances might I commit murder — or kill someone — for any reason?”
My immediate response was:
“Normally, I would say I am not a violent person. I have trouble yelling at people, much less killing people. However, if anyone ever hurts one of my kids, there is absolutely no question that I could kill and not regret it.”
At least one other blogger agreed with me. Never mess with any mother’s child!
A little later on, however, I reconsidered the subject. Sure, I could absolutely kill someone who has hurt my child or someone else I love – but the bigger question is: “Would I?”
There’s a huge difference between “could” and “would.”
I hope the situation never arises where I have to face that moral dilemma. Should it happen, however, I suspect that while I certainly could consider murder, something – or someone – would probably stop me.
As another blogger pondered, if you don’t catch the evil-doer in the act of causing harm, would you later be as motivated to cause harm to the evil-doer? I don’t know. I imagine if the criminal went uncaught for, say, several weeks, by then I might have time to consider the consequences of my own choice of actions:
Do I really want to go through a trial and possibly jail? Do I want my family and friends to view me as a murderer, no matter how motivated? Would killing that person bring my child back? Could I be content just sending the criminal to jail? (Should I hope that another prisoner – maybe one with kids of his own – would take care of the situation for me?)
While there would be a strong urge to feel my hands around my enemy’s throat, would it really be worth the consequences? Again, I don’t know. Again, what I could do might not be the same as what I would do.
There are those who would view an act of reciprocal violence, done immediately against someone who has done harm, as understandable and possibly justifiable. Others view any kind of violence as inexcusable. I’m not sure which camp I fall into, and I hope I’ll never find myself on a jury deciding the fate of some mother or father who has killed the killer of his or her child.
(I also hope that I am never on a jury where the accused is someone who has ended the suffering of a terminally ill loved one. That scenario cause me serious conflicting thoughts.)
How about you – under what circumstances could you, or would you, kill another human being? And could you forgive yourself afterwards?
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by: A J Cann, and Matt Freedman, respectively
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
I can imagine wanting to kill someone … but I don’t know that I could do it. I’ve got a lifetime of internals control that boil down to “thou shalt not kill.” I doubt I could overcome that in a flash moment of need. I don’t think the human psyche works like that.
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I don’t know, Marilyn. I can envision myself thinking, “This person needs to die,” and then pulling the trigger or striking with a tire iron or something. But it would have to be a pretty dire situation.
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Oh, this is a tough one for a cat, CM! I don’t think I could or would kill anyone. If I’m really angry, I’ll just scratch the human with my claws and then I’ll hiss and walk away. ლ(=ↀωↀ=)ლ
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Cat scratches can cause nasty, possible fatal infections.
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Oh, I never thought I could kill someone slowly with my claws. ლ(●ↀωↀ●)ლ
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Cm, I know about backache I hope yours improves very soon. 🤗😇
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My own fault, Willow. That’s what I get for trying to act like I’m still 25.
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If someone threatened my family, then I would not hesitate to do whatever is necessary to protect them.
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Amen, Vic. I think that is the one scenario where pretty much anyone would act without hesitation, and without guilt.
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So sorry to hear you hurt your back. I would not kill anyone. I have a hard time killing bugs and pulling weeds.
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For me, it depends on the bugs. Some insects, like ladybugs, I catch, take outside and release. Others, like spiders, have no business anywhere near me, so they’re history. 🙂
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I enjoy questions like this because we get to see the realism from people. I’d use the word “would” for me… but I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
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Jason, I have no doubt in my mind that you would kill anyone who threatened your gorgeous family, but I think most of the rest is bluff. I can’t really picture you killing a stranger in cold blood, for instance, unless it was wartime.
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Only on a blood moon… 😂🤔😉👻
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Woah, heavy topic! I can’t think of many situations in which I might kill someone other than the obvious ones: to defend myself, to defend someone else under savage attack, to defend my country in a war. Um… that’s about it, I think.
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I believe that puts you in with the majority of the human race – and that’s the way it should be.
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I guess so. 🙂
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