Would you take the law into your own hands?

soulsinging · February 2009

Pearl Jam wrote:

What about all the thousands of people who have killed out of revenge. The majority might not but your stating that like it's fact, nobody would ever do such a thing. Some would and have. It doesn't even have to be that your child is murdered, even a daughter being raped can cause a parent to kill. Anyone who thinks that some parents aren't capable of that is very naive.

I'm not saying it doesn't, I'm saying I suspect all the people posting here talking all tough about how they'd kill someone are full of shit. Sure, some parents do it. But compared to the number of parents that DON'T do any such thing, it's a pretty miniscule amount. Shit, with sex offender registration laws and the ability to google and find all such people with ease, how come there haven't been dozens of murdered child molesters at the hands of their victims' parents? Because most people, as much as they love their families, 1) are not capable of murder and don't want to be and 2) realize that spending life in prison for murder is not the best way to heal their families.

cornnifer · February 2009

i'm seeing two types of responses here. Those from individuals without children and those from individuals WITH children.
Its hard, i think, for someone without children to make this call. Until one experiences the immediate, life changing, unconditional love that comes with having children, its impossible to appreciate it. Speaking as someone with three small boys, i can say that the instant i saw each one of them i knew that i would lie down on train tracks for them and NOONE had better ever fuck with them.
Would i kill? Hard to say. i would definitely WANT to. i think it really depends on the situation. How long has it been since they harmed my son? If its been awhile and i've had time to deal with emotion, probably not. i'm not the killing type. If i happen to catch them in the act however, the fucker doesn't stand a chance. That's not bravado. Its just truth.

flywallyfly · February 2009

Yes.... and I sure would try to do it where i didnt get caught and go to jail. My daughter means everything to me and I couldnt stand the pain of knowing her killer was free and capable of killing another's child.

Cosmo · February 2009

I would hope my answer would be 'No'. I would hope I'd have the strength to forgive (but not let the person escape responsibility or justice). But, i would hope to believe i would not kill in vengence.
and, 'No... i don't have kids'. And i don't think it mattters. I have brothers and sisters and neices and nephews that I love very much. and i don't think that having kids gives you the ability to corner the market on love.
Consider this: You love your kids so much... if one of them murdered... and you knew they did it... would you turn them in, knowing they'd face a Lethal Injection?

Surf Rider · February 2009

Cosmo wrote:

Consider this: You love your kids so much... if one of them murdered... and you knew they did it... would you turn them in, knowing they'd face a Lethal Injection?

Of course not. You'd hide any and all evidence and then if push came to shove you would say you did it yourself.

Cosmo · February 2009

Pearl Jam wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

Consider this: You love your kids so much... if one of them murdered... and you knew they did it... would you turn them in, knowing they'd face a Lethal Injection?

Of course not. You'd hide any and all evidence and then if push came to shove you would say you did it yourself.

...
That's my point... you would protect a murderer.
I wouldn't. I love my brothers very much... but, if they ever commited a murder... i would feel that they would HAVE to face justice and own up to their responsibility and be accountable for their actions.
Of course, i would try to convince them to turn themselves in because that is the right thing to do. If they failed to sdo so... THEY would leave me no alternative but to turn them in. The Family of the person murdered by my brother deserves justice too... don't they?

Commy · February 2009

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

I just watched a movie about someone's son being killed and justice not being served, the father of the boy finds the killer and attempts to take justice into his own hands.

We've all heard these stories before, and honestly I don't know what I would do since I have no children. So I was wondering what the rest of you feel on this matter. (I don't think I could kill someone, but I don't have children yet that I'd give my life for.)

seems like more and more movies are coming giving the hero an excuse to do all kinds of terrible things. most recently its Taken, where the hero is completely justified in torturing his daughter's akidnappers. I think we need to realize these are completely made up scenarios, that chances are they never happen.

but at the same time these movies are conditioning us to be a little more accepting of things like torture and murder and revenge and "justice". just be aware, that no, these things are not ok, and that these scenarios rarely, if ever, happen.

imo/.

cornnifer · February 2009

Cosmo wrote:

and, 'No... i don't have kids'. And i don't think it mattters. I have brothers and sisters and neices and nephews that I love very much. and i don't think that having kids gives you the ability to corner the market on love.
?

i don't think anyone implied anything about cornering the market. i'm sure you love your brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews very much. Having children is entirely different, however. Entirely different. Again, its impossible to understand until you experience it.

Cosmo · February 2009

cornnifer wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

and, 'No... i don't have kids'. And i don't think it mattters. I have brothers and sisters and neices and nephews that I love very much. and i don't think that having kids gives you the ability to corner the market on love.
?

i don't think anyone implied anything about cornering the market. i'm sure you love your brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews very much. Having children is entirely different, however. Entirely different. Again, its impossible to understand until you experience it.

...
I'm sorry... but I find that difficult to buy when there are so many single mothers out there whose deadbeat fathers don't give a shit... when there are so many neglected or ignored kids out there. If parenting is such a magical thing, how do you reconcile the number of fucked up kids?

soulsinging · February 2009

Cosmo wrote:

...
I'm sorry... but I find that difficult to buy when there are so many single mothers out there whose deadbeat fathers don't give a shit... when there are so many neglected or ignored kids out there. If parenting is such a magical thing, how do you reconcile the number of fucked up kids?

I was thinking the same things. Plenty of people are as capable of cruel indifference to their kids as any other loved one. I've seen it firsthand. To those who love their spouse and are very taken with the idea of having a family, I'm sure it's magical. But that doesn't make it automatic and I'm quite bored of hearing about how nobody can ever love as much as parents do.

cornnifer · February 2009

soulsinging wrote:

. I'm quite bored of hearing about how nobody can ever love as much as parents do.

No one said that. Certainly not me. Deadbeat, loser parents don't change the fact that that TYPE of love, the love a parent has for their children cannot be understood outside the context of parenthood.

soulsinging · February 2009

cornnifer wrote:

soulsinging wrote:

. I'm quite bored of hearing about how nobody can ever love as much as parents do.

No one said that. Certainly not me. Deadbeat, loser parents don't change the fact that that TYPE of love, the love a parent has for their children cannot be understood outside the context of parenthood.

Fair enough. But I still don't see why that makes my statement - that the people on here claiming they'd turn into cold-blooded vengeful murderers are lying - wrong. Parenthood does not make shit people into angels... as abusive parents prove. Nor does it make otherwise peaceful, law-abiding citizens into Chuck Norris. The numbers prove that too. Maybe I don't understand what it's like to be a parent, but you don't have to in order to look at the numbers and know that many parents say stuff like this but almost none follow through.

People here are reacting like I'm saying they don't love their kids or something. I'm not. It's a good thing.

cornnifer · February 2009

soulsinging wrote:

cornnifer wrote:

soulsinging wrote:

. I'm quite bored of hearing about how nobody can ever love as much as parents do.

No one said that. Certainly not me. Deadbeat, loser parents don't change the fact that that TYPE of love, the love a parent has for their children cannot be understood outside the context of parenthood.

Fair enough. But I still don't see why that makes my statement - that the people on here claiming they'd turn into cold-blooded vengeful murderers are lying - wrong. Parenthood does not make shit people into angels... as abusive parents prove. Nor does it make otherwise peaceful, law-abiding citizens into Chuck Norris. The numbers prove that too. Maybe I don't understand what it's like to be a parent, but you don't have to in order to look at the numbers and know that many parents say stuff like this but almost none follow through.

People here are reacting like I'm saying they don't love their kids or something. I'm not. It's a good thing.

Understood and agreed. Which is why my initial response to this thread was that it depends on time. If its been awhile, certainly cooler heads may prevail. If not, i can easily see myself taking someone out.

Thoughts_Arrive · February 2009

An eye for an eye.....

melodious · February 2009

that's old testament....very strict...

The Lord is my Shepherd....

One LOVE: one law...

Love and Forgiveness. That's why we have juries so that a meeting of minds can join together in order to implement law of the land...peace.

_ · February 2009

I don't think anyone can really say what they would do in this situation until they're in this situation.

melodious · February 2009

very very true...

soulsinging · February 2009

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

An eye for an eye.....

makes the whole world blind. You forgot the second part.

FinsburyParkCarrots · February 2009

No, but if I thought the process of law had failed me, I'd make noise and garner enough community and media/Internet attention to force "the law" to act in the public interests, and pursue my complaint further.

Often the police do what they can, if they've the resources. It's the social services and the legal profession who foul up for one reason or another.

Flutter Girl · February 2009

know1 wrote:

Do animals kill out of revenge?

Ya, actually..There have been a number of documentations of this. Namely with Apes and Elephants. specifically some Elephants in India. And a mother's natural instinct is to protect their children at all costs, even if it requires killing..That rule applies to most species.

I would in a heartbeat if the system would not lock them up. Particularly if it happened to my Godchildren. It's not just for vengeance. A most extreme case scenario- If there is a child molester/murderer who was going to get off scot-free, many people would want to kill him, not only for justice for those he raped and/or murdered, but also cos you know damned well that if you don't, he will do it again.

Rather than an eye for an eye, it's "one death to save a million."

Would you take the law into your own hands?

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