Evil just won in a big way in the election. My capacity for empathy for those who choose to do bad shit has been stretched to the breaking point. I don’t condone murder (and that includes legal indirect murder like what insurance companies do), but I sure as hell won’t mourn when pieces of shit get killed.

I think differently. Murder is bad by default, and every killing is a failure of society to resolve its issues properly. But just because someone is bad and a failure doesn’t mean it’s the worst state. A dead nazi is worse than them changing their ways, but still better than a living nazi

Violence is often not the answer, but sometimes it is.

I had a friend back in the day who spent 25 years in jail for killing his father. His mom called him from three provinces away (Canada) and told him she was in hospital because his dad had beaten her so badly. My friend wasn’t exactly a shining member of society at the time and was part of a street gang (1970’s) dealing drugs and getting in brawls. The police in his city knew him by name and he’d spent time inside. He hadn’t spoken to either of his very religious parents for 7-8 years at that point.

Upon hearing this form his mom, he stole a car immediately and drove until it had no fuel then stole another. He did this until he arrived at the farm where he grew up. He walked in the door, grabbed father by the lapel and drug him outside. Mother was still in hospital. He literally beat him to death right there with just his fists at the bottom of the steps of the family house and then phoned the police and turned himself in.

He was one of the genuinely nicest people I have ever met and would go out of his way on the regular to help anyone who needed help. I met him over 25 years ago. He’d be in his mid eighties now.

Murder is bad by default, but if everything else goes to hell in a really bad way, it can cross over to good or even moral obligation in some cases.

But it’s more a sign of how screwed up everything is rather than something about murder in general.

Ken McElroy also springs to mind. Known as the town bully, escaped justice multiple times, eventually the town got together and did what the law couldn’t or wouldn’t and resolved the issue.

I’ve said this a few places now, but I’m pretty sure everyone has situations where they believe killing someone is justified. It could be the death penalty, or removing a dictator, self defence, whatever. And everyone will have some they think are wrong that others don’t. I’d obviously want to avoid it as often as possible, and in instances where there is another viable alternative I’d prefer that to be taken, but there are plenty of situations where unfortunately there is no other method. I think relying on any rigid set of rules to definitively say something is wrong or right in all contexts is flawed. Laws shouldn’t be some ultimate measure of morality, and things that should generally be unacceptable can still have exceptions, because nothing exists in a vacuum and the judgement of an action can’t be done without understanding that context.

That was a jury of good people.