Do you think you could kill someone?

[Kibble29]

In the literal sense of the word - could you end someone’s life?

Taking the legal consequence out of it, I’m wondering, on a moral level, if you think you could/would do it? Do you have that in you?

I appreciate this is very much a “you don’t know until you’re in that situation” question, but I think that if my life was at genuine, serious risk, or if my child was in the same situation, I’d do it without hesitation.

Yes.

And it worries me how little that worries me.

@lonelywater - can you throw in the Tub Thumping herd pls?

I could kill MIL for minimizing what happened to DH and laughing it off. Also for simply being her evil, grasping, game-playing self. I consider myself to be extremely humane - with this single exception.

That must have been terrifying. I don't think it's an instinct that you should be ashamed of though, you're her mother and there to protect her!

Yes, I think so

The first time the midwife handed ds to me was the moment I knew 100% that I was capable of killing another human and it, along with many other though and feeling in that moment, scared the living daylights out of me

My dream job.

Lay a hand on my children, absolutely.

Before I had my son I would have said no. Now I definitely could if it was to protect him. Someone shouted at him and made him cry today and I’ve been fantasising about ways I could hurt them. I’m not going to do it obviously, but it’s surprised me how much I’ve changed in that way since having him. I didn’t use to have violent thoughts at all.

This.

To protect my children I wouldn't think twice

Like everyone else on here, I'm confident that I would kill anyone with zero moral qualms if my children or family were at risk. I'd kill to save friends and wider family members. I'd even kill someone who was trying to kill a child who I didn't know, and I wouldn't need much context or prior knowledge of the situation. I don't think I'd find it hard, morally emotionally, but I could be wrong.

More difficult are those apocalypse-like scenarios, where you might need to kill someone over resources or out of fear. I don't know. I perhaps have it in me to kill someone if we were competing for food for my children, but I'm not proud of that instinct and I don't really have strong feelings about whether I could or would.

I absolutely would not kill someone for the sake of it, though, or if they weren't somehow threatening someone else.

The child of someone I once worked with was horribly abused by someone they knew well. She said it was so hard not to kill him. Like, it took every tiny bit of strength she had left, to not kill him.

Pretty sure I could, yes. I've thought about it with STBXH enough times....

Thanks @AshCrapp I suppose that is the way to think about it.

I think so but I've never been in that situation so perhaps I wouldn't. It's hard to know.

There's a list in my head of people the world would be better without. No consequences? Yes, I could.

I'd like to think that yes I could to protect my children (although they're all grown men now and much bigger than me!) but I don't think any of us can know for sure until placed in that situation. Real violence isn't like watching it on a crime drama or movie - it's visceral and sickening and can leave you profoundly traumatised.

Yes

Yes

Me too. Shall I send you my list? Strangers on an Internet Site - not the most catchy title!

I have a recurring dream where I've killed someone and they are hidden in my loft, I don't feel guilty I'm just terrified of being caught and going to prison! So I reckon if there weren't any consequences then I could!

Absolutely yes without any hesitation if my life or my kids were being threatened. I would stab/beat to kill too not just to maim.

Taking Out The Trash In a swapshop stylee? 😁

I think that everyone could given the right circumstances

In self defence or to protect someone I love, yes, I think I could. It would be a lot easier to do it from a distance I think, so probably less traumatic to do something like shoot someone or detonate an explosive than to stab or strangle them for instance. But then I'm really small and quite old so my chances of success in hand to hand combat wouldn't be great anyway. But if it was kill or be killed I reckon I'd try almost anything.