Could you kill someone?

[psychokillerornotkiller]

I was at a social event where a we were talking about gun crime in America. One woman said she had lived in America and was talking to an American women who had a gun which she said was for self defence. The woman at the social do said she said to her, ' But could you really kill someone with it?' To which the American woman apparently went silent, and the British woman at the social do declared, ' It was like she have never really thought about that!'.

The clear implication of the British woman's argument was that, of course no right minded person could shoot anyone, so there is not point in having a gun.

But I thought, ' I could kill someone. If someone was coming to kill me, and they were fair minded enough to give me time to reach into my bag and retrieve my gun, I would shoot them. And if they were coming for my child I would definitely shoot them. |I might be traumatised afterwards, but I would shoot them.'

I'd always assumed everyone was like me. But the British woman obviously assumes everyone is like her.

So, in genuine curiosity as to find out whether I am an outlying psycho, I thought I would put it to the vote.

YABU - I could never kill anyone
YANBU - I could kill someone.

It is so healthy that you can experience that anger. I wish I could.

You are definitely not alone, I would do exactly the same and feel no guilt

I’d kill to defend my children or in retribution if someone did something awful to them or even pay someone to do it. I couldn’t live knowing the perpetrator had got some mealy mouthed sentence which they’d only do half of.

Yep. Been on the cusp twice. First time the pistol wasn't where it should have been (not UK) and the situation changed by the time I found it (a relative had call to use it some years later and it misfired. That might have saved him from being shot during the robbery. He was very lucky to survive). The second time I was pulled off someone just before they blacked out.

Doesn't bother me in the slightest, thinking back. Never has. It's surprisingly easy to reach the point of intending to kill someone - it would take most people far less than they imagine in reality. It's probably best not to have easy access to efficient weapons to be honest. Which is why eeVry time I hear of yet another massacre in America now I shrug my shoulders. It's obvious what needs to be done but it won't be.

@Liv999 ✊

“it would take most people far less than they imagine in reality.”

Indeed. The line is a lot thinner than most want to imagine. The Stanford prison and Milgram experiments come to mind, as well as real life examples. Given the ‘right’ conditions, and I’m not referring solely to fight or flight scenarios, ordinary people can and do approach killing as essentially a bureaucratic exercise.

If I or my children was about to be killed then yes, I would kill.

I’m finding it a bit scary in places too.

If I was attacked I would absolutely go for the kill, anything else would be stupid as they would likely be larger and stronger.

First punch would be to the throat, knee to the groin and then.... well it depends at that point but I'd quite willingly knee them in the throat. Doubt they'd survive that unless an ambulance was 30 seconds away.

First punch would be to the throat, knee to the groin and then....

I'd recommend a hard kick to the shin first. It's low and with most people, unexpected.

Definitely a good idea. In heels (not me, I don't wear them) a stamp on the foot also helps.

I walk with my keys in my hand, with one key (the sharpest) sticking out from my middle fingers, hand in a loose fist as I walk.

Trust me, a punch to the throat with a sharp key will absolutely disable them. Helps that I know how to punch. Too many women don't.

My grandad killed people. During the war he shot Japanese soldiers. It was shoot or be shot. He was a shy quiet man who wore slippers and cardigans. Every so often the young soldier appeared, e.g a man broke in and he knocked him out. I think no one will know until they were in the situation .

I've thought about this before and I 100% could. I would do it to protect myself and my loved ones even strangers so pretty much anyone who was in danger. If someone is trying to kill/hurt someone they know that there is a consequence and that may be that someone will intervene with force

Im fairly certain in a roundabout way that my DH & I contributed in someway to a neighbor death who died last year .
The the neighbor was a bully and tried to bully us and others but we just used to laugh at him. He was a big bloke and used his size to intimidate people .

He had a heart attack a few years ago and was told to lose weight and avoid stressful situations .
He was also a long term crack & weed addict - although the size of him that was the absolute the last thing i suspected him of doing .

He used to try and intimidate both myself and DH as we successfully got his best friend out of the street by way of a lifetime RO and that really pissed him off but we just laughed at him if he said anything and that really used to wind him up as he was used to people being scared of him .

However The last few months of his life if he saw us he would try and get into his house quickly or if he was leaving the house he would wait for us to walk past as I think just seeing us made his blood pressure rise even though we had never done anything to him physically. I think it really pissed him of that we just didn’t put up with his bullying ways .

Anyway one morning we saw him drive up our one way street the wrong way and almost knocked us over
I did shout at him and call him a fucking asshole and a few other choice words 😂
and then a few hours later he had a heart attack and dropped dead

do I feel sad - no
do I feel happy - yes
do I give a fuck that’s he’s dead. Nope he’s a crack head and a waste of space as far as I’m concerned .

I don’t know if we did contribute to his heart attack - I certainly hope so .
This probably makes me a bit of a psychopath that I really don’t give a fuck but I really don’t give a fuck if I did contribute to his death - he and his friend picked the wrong people to bully and they both paid the price

Don't bother with the shin, aim directly for the knee.

They don't bend backwards. No one will be running after you then.

I had an abusive Ex and the worst thing that I can imagine happening to him is if he was suddenly being able to think and feel like a normal person, so that he then understands what he has done and has to live with the shame and guilt and remorse.

If there is a hell, that is what it would be.

Those are my revenge fantasies!

My Granda too- including the Japanese soldiers.

In answer to the OP, yes I could kill someone in self defence or defence of my family.

Don't bother with the shin, aim directly for the knee.

Personally, I would go for the inside of the knee, or inside thigh, there are a couple of very effective pressure points there, if you know where they are and they will go down like a sack of shit.

We practice that one when training every now and then. In a warped way it's good fun, but I'm a bit weird that way.

If I really thought they'd kill me or harm my children, then yes, I think I could.

I'm with @RunningUpThatMill myslef.

I don't fantasise about torturing anyone, but when it comes to children, animals, or people who have been treated with deliberate and heartless cruelty, then I think the punishment should fit the crime. Whatever these people do to their victims should be visited upon them.

I think, going back to your OP, it's a big assumption that her silence meant that she hadn't considered it. I think it's a challenging discussing to have casually with people you don't know well.

At times in my life I've thought i could happily do a death bed tidy up, at the very least i could learn to aim for knee caps or shoulders, but the reality as I've got older is that i don't think it's a solution that will improve humanity. Don't get me wrong, i think we're fucked, but i don't think killing the dregs will improve things.

There is apparently a new TikTok craze, where young people shove their way into other peoples' houses - particularly vulnerable, or elderly people who are easy to intimidate, and then film the reactions of their victims.

I would love to see @BashfulClam 's grandad deal with one of those idiots. I could promise you that if they did it to my neighbour (he's 80, but a fit old bloke) he would probably beat them to death - really. He is an ex-career soldier, and a lovely, gentle man, but he takes no sh!t from anyone, and if he or his wife were threatened he would make sure that the aggressors were thoroughly incapacitated before he rang the police.

Even by TikTok's standards this is a stupid thing to encourage kids to do, it really is. Either they will get hurt, or some older person will have a heart attack or something and it will all end in tears.

Oh that’s horrible, the people would be really scared. My gran bc and grandad had been out bc and Dane i to the house just as some idiot was climbing in the kitchen window. My tiny grandpa pulled him fully through the window and threw him into the wall. He was knocked out and my gran called the police. They then stood over him armed with a fire poker and screwdriver in case he came round and tried to fight lol. My gran took no nonsense and could be a fiery redhead.

Yes I could depending on the situation. If you were trying to kill/rape me then yes. If you were trying to kill my pet, yes, If you were trying to kill my child, yes.

if you annoyed me or made me angry, cheated on me or stole from me, for example, no because these things are not deep enough to kill someone.

I killed a dog that was attacking me and my child. Given the right circumstances, yeah, i think I could.