4 ms·

> Two words: Stanley Milgram. In the study, he didn't ask his subjects to kill. And they didn't actually murder anyone. > Rwanda ... Cambodia ... Nazis ... In

> Two words: Stanley Milgram. In the study, he didn't ask his subjects to kill. And they didn't actually murder anyone. > Rwanda ... Cambodia ... Nazis ... Interahamwe People killing on behalf of the State is a whole other matter than what the article is talking about vis-à-vis pedestrian fatalities. The State has been the largest single driver of misery, destruction, and death in human history, and I don't disagree that mass murder has happened and is evil. But drivers ensuring the death of a struck passenger stands in stark contrast to the kill-or-be-killed nature of State violence. On this point, I would agree with your assertion about "compelling justification," which in the case of the State is the threat of violence against the killer for not doing the bidding of the State. But even in the face of multiple genocides and huge wars, including nuclear bomb blasts, the fact remains that the vast majority of humans have never and will never kill another human. > A great number of Americans ... See a sibling response for murder rates and compare to my assertion that a vast majority of people don't do it. And self-defense is not murder by the legal definition, which include premeditation.

fapjacks 11y ago
While I think murder is a bit outside the in-built nature of human beings, I absolutely believe that violence in general is one of the core human behaviors. People resort to violence very often, and very quickly. Sure, there's incentive to get the other guy or girl to back down without expending the energy of physically attacking them, but I'm not limiting my definition of violence to only be physical. Psychological violence is half of the infantry's job, anyways. I also offer another[0] interesting story about this fact (that most humans will not voluntarily murder another human being). [0]: http://www.historynet.com/men-against-fire-how-many-soldiers-actually-fired-their-weapons-at-the-enemy-during-the-vietnam-war.htm http://www.historynet.com/men-against-fire-how-many-soldiers...

fapjacks 11y ago

While I think murder is a bit outside the in-built nature of human beings, I absolutely believe that violence in general is one of the core human behaviors. People resort to violence very often, and very quickly. Sure, there's incentive to get the other guy or girl to back down without expending the energy of physically attacking them, but I'm not limiting my definition of violence to only be physical. Psychological violence is half of the infantry's job, anyways. I also offer another[0] interesting story about this fact (that most humans will not voluntarily murder another human being). [0]: http://www.historynet.com/men-against-fire-how-many-soldiers-actually-fired-their-weapons-at-the-enemy-during-the-vietnam-war.htm http://www.historynet.com/men-against-fire-how-many-soldiers...