Why Do We Murder?

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Taking life. Killing. Massacre. Homicide. Murder is the intentional act of ceasing and irreversibly breaking the faculties of another living being. It can be a fly, and it can be a person. It can be a colony of ants, or a city of people.

This is not an easy topic, but it is a fact of life that we either deal with, or suffer from.

Murder is bad, first and foremost, because none of us wants it to be done to them. We all want to live the entire extent of our biological ability. We want to grow up, reproduce, and quietly die as old as we can, without it becoming an intolerable experience. Idealy.

However, under the realm of self-defense, murder may become a reasonable choice. Mosquitoes that suck our blood commit an act of aggression towards us, even adding a risk of catching some nasty disease, and so we smack & electrocute them to death. And that is reasonable.

What is, then, the factor that makes murder a good thing?

Perceivable threats to our well-being, while requiring us to defend ourselves, do not justify murder. But, when negotiation is not a possibility, or the perceived threat puts our lives at risk, then we cannot take any chances! We must commit entirely to our defense!

We are unable to negotiate with wild animals. Even if it may be because we have not made the effort to learn their logic, it is still the common state of things. So, when an animal acts in aggression towards us, we must either take its' life, or risk injury and death. We cannot talk it out.

Feeding ourselves comes before the well-being of others. If the only way to feed is to use the lives of others, then pity might as well mean suicide. And no person can hold the standard of pity for all living beings, while being ready to commit self-harm or suicide.

Self-defense arts, such as Krav Maga that I practiced, are highly recommended!

And last, but not least, is the case of a negotiation that is insufficient. When another person threatens our lives, but we may negotiate the situation, it does not mean that killing is no longer an option. Negotiations may fail. The other side might lie or have a change of heart. Until it is clearly established that a death-threat is no longer held, then we must be prepared to make the first move, and kill those who do not care to kill us; be it directly and on purpose, or indirectly and by willing neglect.