Oh, you would not kill anyone, but who would you let die if you had the means to save them?

There is no one that is not worthy of saving if a viable solution is on hand. Even vile people aren’t worth living with the guilt that I may have prevented their death.

I won’t change your diapers. I told that to my father when he let my grandpa die. I reminded him a couple of weeks ago.

I find it difficult to imagine giving up my own life to save someone else’s – though I have never been in a position to make that choice, so who knows.

Short of that, I would save anyone if I could. So, it comes down to assessing the risk presented in a given situation. If I thought I could get up your ladder and down again with a potential victim, I would certainly try to do that. And sure, why not throw a rope?

I would not make a choice about who to save based on who the person was. I don’t believe that some people deserve life more than others.

There are a couple of jerk-wads I would let die. One was a shop foreman I worked with, the other was a branch manager at another place. The former was a nazi and the latter was just a major, self-serving, lying douche bag!

It really depends. I would have no problem bending over backwards to save a murderer. Especially a mass murderer.
But then I never said I couldn’t kill anyone. I really don’t know if I am or not capable of murder under the right conditions. I think I may chicken out at the last moment and save them if I started to feel really guilty. But if I feared they may kill me and it was them or me, I would chose me to live.

The only reasons I could see for having the ability to save someone and choosing not to, is that saving the person at risk would put my family or I in imminent danger from them. Perhaps they’re a murder who is coming after one of us and they’ve become trapped and I can help them to survive. Other than a situation like that, I can’t imagine why I’d allow someone to die if I could save them. Even if it was someone I dislike or disagree with, I don’t see myself as being anyone else’s judge and jury. I might consider letting them die, I don’t know if I could go through with it if I didn’t think they were likely to harm me or mine.

@kritiper The former was a nazi and the latter was just a major, self-serving, lying douche bag!
Interesting….and why would that make them worthy of death by your opinion, just out of curiosity?

Oh plenty, rapists, child molesters, serial killers, wife beaters, animal abusers…..I could easily walk away. I’m a very caring person but some don’t deserve care.
I could also kill if my life or the life of a loved one depended on it, we all could under the right circumstance, lets not pretend otherwise.

^ Would you say the others were capable of letting the same die as you would but just not saying? Out of curiosity sake

I can think of a few people that I wouldn’t mind killing.

What @Earthbound_Misfit said, basically. With the added thought: Based on your examples, the person I would “let die” would be in agony. That’s the part I could not take. If I just had to decide whom to kill in their sleep, that would be easier.

I am not sure my natural reaction would be to leave anyone behind if I had the ability. I’ve tried to be “mindfully” selfish in certain situations but I’ve found it takes some real mental effort to stop myself from habitually playing the mother-type or care-taker.

Realistically, the only person I would even remotely think of not saving would be someone who should be in jail for the rest of their lives. So I would save them and let the law take its course.

But I would kill, a sick fucking paedophile who dared to even dream about my kids.

@ucme That’s extremely inhumane. If I personally knew a pedophile, I would want to get him/her medical or psychological help.

That’s fine, but we’re not talking about you are we?
That was my personal response, one which I stick by regardless.

This is an interesting question.

The knee-jerk liberal answer is “no one deserves to die, they can be saved” – we can see that answer from @rockfan @Earthbound_Misfit and @Pandora among others.

But this is theoretical, not practical, and I have no real power to do any of this. So I’ll answer as if I did have the power.

The first category of people who I would let die would be those who have betrayed trust, specifically against children and vulnerable adults. Meaning that I agree with @ucme about pedophiles, but also priests (and other clergy) who have betrayed their vows and diddled with their parishoners.

The second group who I would let die would be those who have enriched themselves while others suffered at their hands. I would include Chavez (Venezuela), Mugabe (Rhodesia and ZImbabwe), most of Hamas, the N. Korean leadershsip, etc.

Basically, everyone that is not me.

There are a few that I would pretend I didn’t see and just quickly walk away, no need to go into great lengths on who they are,but the world would definitely not miss them.

@Hypocrisy_Central I believe that no matter how caring and civilized we like to think we are, we all possess the ability to kill if necessary. To think otherwise is delusional. Would I kill someone because they were texting in a movie theater. no. Could I kill someone that was threatening my life, absolutely.

@Hypocrisy_Central OH, MAN, if you knew these guys!
The first guy was always trying to get his underlings to look stupid, or like they had no brains, or that they were incompetent. He would lie about them to management. He would tell them to do things that he knew were dangerous. Like I said: A nazi. (nazi, (uncapitalized) meaning “a harshly domineering, dictatorial, or intolerant person.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.) And he went to church every Sunday like he was God’s ONLY chosen one!
The other guy, was supposedly run out of the Salt Lake City shop for being a such a douche, became the service manager and then branch manager of the shop I worked at here. MANY stories I heard about this guy! But he one that sticks in my craw THE MOST is this:
I was involved in a spat with a co-worker. At some point, some “unknown” woman called this guy’s wife and says he might be cheating on her. WELL! Everybody thought I was the culprit, or rather, my grandmother was the caller. I didn’t know anything about the call but this weasel says that everybody thinks it was my grandmother, so I got stuck with the blame. Ended up losing my job over that call. 5 years later I figured out that it was this same branch manager’s wife who had actually made the call, he must have known, but didn’t say anything so that I would get the blame. A supposedly good, Christian Mormon, too. Just another religious hypocrite, and they are the worst!

@kritiper I hear ya, my pet peeve I could kill over is passive aggressive crap and sneaky manipulative types. You know, the ones when called out go all doe eyed with that shocked ” Who, ME?” look. Grrrr….makes me want to tie them up and drive them far, far out into the woods and dump them naked in the weeds. lol

@cheebdragon I can think of a few people that I wouldn’t mind killing.
Do you believe your desire to kill someone trumps or is more just than other’s desire to kill someone for their own reason?

@cazzie I’ve tried to be “mindfully” selfish in certain situations but I’ve found it takes some real mental effort to stop myself from habitually playing the mother-type or care-taker.
If it takes you that much effort to walk away from someone about to drown or roast in a flaming building especially when you could safely save their life, where does that leave the person who could calm and coolly walk away knowing the person will perish, or even those who would watch and not be horrified?

@ucme But I would kill, a sick fucking paedophile who dared to even dream about my kids.
Something tells me you would only use a threat to the kids as justification. Because if it was a man on a flyer passed out by the cops 4 weeks prior who was just released from prison who had no knowledge of you or if you even had kids, if he were drowning and you knew who he was, but he had no idea who you were, the rope would not leave your hands. You tell me if I am wrong

@elbanditoroso But this is theoretical, not practical, and I have no real power to do any of this.
That is one thing I find very curious, people are so sure who they would kill, but when it comes to if a person who owns a gun that they may not have the heart to pull the trigger if they pull the gun out, thus getting it taken from them and shot with their own gun. If this thread is any indication, if a person felt their life or that of their family was in question ”gonna come in here, you better not, false move, BANG, ambulance cot”.

@Coloma I believe that no matter how caring and civilized we like to think we are, we all possess the ability to kill if necessary. To think otherwise is delusional.
(Scary, we actually agreed on something)

Would I kill someone because they were texting in a movie theater. no. Could I kill someone that was threatening my life, absolutely.
If someone thought that it was OK to pop someone who was texting in a theater, stealing a stereo from a car, whistling at a white woman, beating a dog, because they were in the wrong neighborhood, etc. aside the law might arrest them, why would their reasoning be less valid in practicality, not ideologically?

@Hypocrisy_Central Okay, you’re wrong.

^ So, as long as he/she wasn’t threatening to your family you’d toss the rope you say, even if he/she was one of those vile pedophiles?

Stop pointing, it’s most unbecoming.
I shall now take myself off to a happy place by picturing a baby elephant running, so, so funny.

^ Stop pointing, it’s most unbecoming.
I am not pointing. I am just trying to determine if you have some artificial criterion on which so-called social pariahs you would toss the rope to, or the only disqualification is if they would involve your family and baring that, they would get a rope toss, how hard is that? If you have no answer, then you don’t have one, and if I cared enough to fill in the blanks I silently will to myself.

“Mommy, the silly man off the internet made the baby elephant all sad & now it’s not running anymore”

I take it it is not just anyone who threatens the family, it would be all of them, the family threat is a convenient way to justify and not seem coldblooded I suppose, thanks for your participation.

Thrill me with your acumen

@Hypocrisy_Central where does that leave the person who could calm and coolly walk away knowing the person will perish, or even those who would watch and not be horrified?

I don’t know. They are sure they are right, but I know I would question myself about the finality of my decision. (It’s what I do…I guess some of the Scandinavian existentialism is rubbing off. ) If they are happy to play police, judge, jury and executioner and can live the rest of their days with that, so be it, but I honestly think people think they could so these things, but when it came down to it, it would be harder than they thought. I simply can’t think in such harsh black and white terms. I’m old enough to know that about myself.

^ Gadzooks, she got lurve out of me, mark it on your calendar

@ucme Do you think all people who are diagnosed with pedophilia should die?

@elbanditoroso It’s not a liberal, knee jerk answer at all. It’s just reasonable. Letting someone die because they have a psychological disorder, echoes the mentality of a psychopath.

Pedophilia and psychopathy are incurable conditions and unless these types are kept isolated from any possible contact with children/society yep, sad to say but euthanasia is probably the best thing.
Threats to the health and well being of innocents must be eliminated for the greater good.
If a Hyena nabs a lion cub the lion will show no mercy to the Hyena. It’s the way of nature and there is nothing sociopathic about it.
The death of one pedophile child killer or serial killer could save the lives of dozens of children/people and if we have no problem killing terrorists for the same reason why shouldn’t other violent threats be included?

Obviously this is where LWOP comes into play but out on the Savannah of life I’d have no problem digging my claws and teeth into a pedophile that was threatening my cub. haha

You could call it “Vernichtung unwerten Lebens”

@Coloma Euthanizing pedophiles who haven’t even molested anyone or shown signs of wanting to molest anyone? That’s just plain sick. Can’t believe you actually made that comment. If you’re going to euthanize people with the illness of pedophilia, then I guess euthanizing people with severe anger issues should be the next step right?

@rockfan No, they should be locked up forever.
Yeah, I know, sounds contradictory right?
Of course it does, but when you factor in the personal tragedy & the ensuing volcanic rage, then hey, fucking sue me for wanting to slaughter the sick fuck.

@ucme So you favor the idea held by Adolph Hitler that mentally ill people should be killed and not helped? You sound just as crazy as religious fundamentalists who think gay people should be put to death. You need some help, along with Coloma

@rockfan Haha, dear me & you were doing so well, courteous & receptive to courtesy.
You think you can dissect me with that blunt little tool.
Do carry on & lose yourself in delusional claptrap, amateur psychology at it’s worst.
Oh & by the way, it’s Adolf, spell it right next time.

Well you said that you want to “slaughter the sick fuck”, even if that person hasn’t molested or harmed anyone. You can see why I think you’re completely nuts right?

@rockfan Euthanizing pedophiles who haven’t even molested anyone or shown signs of wanting to molest anyone? That’s just plain sick.
That is how hypocrisy works, without some sort of bias it can’t be propped up. It is the same type pf mentality that at one time had people getting life in prison off one joint; the thought if you let them go, they will go to harder drugs and erode society so best get them out the way forever now. I suspect if it were not seen as coldblooded and blood thirsty they would have sent those caught with a joint to the chair. At one time gay people were on that same boat, how quickly they forgot where they crawled up from.

If you’re going to euthanize people with the illness of pedophilia, then I guess euthanizing people with severe anger issues should be the next step right?
Hypocrisy doesn’t often work off logic but emotion. Just about everyone will or could get very angry, so no one would make a law that they might fall victim to themselves. That is why there seems to be no restrictions on where and how alcohol can be sold and advertised because a lot of people drink and find it fun, the sigma has not been put on drinkers as smokers even when you cannot deny the direct carnage to society is off drinkers and not smokers. Why? Because smokers are them over there I will never be one of them, but drinkers are my boys, or I can see myself being one of them one day. To make it so people with anger management problems (which is just as risky to the young, weak, and innocent) subject to termination would run the risk of them being snared in their own net.

So you favor the idea held by Adolph Hitler that mentally ill people should be killed and not helped?
If one were to stand on their complete logical soapbox, as with what to do with those who even have a hint of pedophilia, yes, but then, people short circuit that logic with emotion and thus become hypocrites and respecter of persons.

Okay, I shall say this slowly, but only once more, for the terminally bewildered.
In my personal scenario, with my children involved, the overwhelming rage, coupled with the overbearing loss would compel me to kill the sick fuck responsible, all fucking day long.
Such extreme emotions tend to see people act out of character & that is the situation I would foresee.
As I quite clearly said in response to your initial query, paedophiles in general, lock them up.
You can see why I think you’re completely out of your depth right?

You said “even dream about my kids”. If you discovered that he had feelings towards your kids, would you still murder him? Or would you act like a rational human being and call the police?

And as I said before, if you support pedophiles being locked up, then what about other mental illnesses? Lets say hypothetically, your significant other suffers a mental illness. Would you rather her be locked up than get psychological help?

@ucme but you are talking about a hypothetical situation that has not ever happened to you and your babies, right?

@rockfan Whoa, whoa, whoa. I did not make “that” comment. I was assuming we were talking about known pedophiles who had abused others, not someone who had never crossed that line. I, in no way, advocate killing innocent people based on heresay, but…..IF an active pedophile threatened my child or any child I witnessed being harmed yep, I’d go to bat, literally, in a heartbeat. Ditto for rapists.

I hope I have made myself crystal clear.

@cazzie I shall refer you to my earlier comment, “that is the situation I would foresee”
I don’t see any other way to answer but hypothetically when when discussing such issues.
Thankfully one which has never darkened my door.

@rockfan I believe we’re through here.

@ucme Sorry, I took your earlier comments way too literally, my apologies.