General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIt seems to me that anyone who commits murder - mass or otherwise - is insane.
I use the word "insane" in the layman's sense. Which is what I am. A layman.
The spouse who murders the other spouse and the other spouse's lover when caught enflagrante is likely not all there at the time of the murder.
The person who plots the murder of a rival and then carries it out can't possibly be sane.
The bank robber who shoots to death the pursuing cops was, at least at the moment he pulled the trigger, not in his right mind.
And then there are the real sickos.
None of this is to excuse these actions. The best of them is horrible and they get worse from there.
This is about the death penalty. What kind of society kills as a way of meting out justice?
DJ13
(23,671 posts)If someone commits murder, but they are judged sane, its like saying murder is a sane act.
PDJane
(10,103 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)hlthe2b
(102,357 posts)Stinky The Clown
(67,818 posts)Self defense is never deemed wrong.
War may or may not be wrong, but the warriors are not the same as the warring powers.
To commit murder, one has to go against moral/societal/cultural conventions.
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)But sometimes it is a matter of perspective - a killing in self defense from one perspective is a murder from another. Both positions may be accurate and not mutually exclusive.
malaise
(269,157 posts)expensive and he/she is not prepared to give up his/her wealth. What if said partner rationalizes that murder is better than poverty.
Now if said partner does not examine the rational possibility of ending up in prison or worse, then you have a point, because sane, rational people should evaluate all sides and consider the worst possible consequences.
I've never understood violence let alone the type that ends up with people dead.
Stinky The Clown
(67,818 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)Stinky The Clown
(67,818 posts)obamanut2012
(26,137 posts)They are sociopaths.
Stinky The Clown
(67,818 posts)They're insane (by the definition of "insane" as used/defined in the OP.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)A primitive society, like the United States of America, or Japan.
NashvilleLefty
(811 posts)PDJane
(10,103 posts)That's the point.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)And there's everything in between.
The 9/11 terrorists were not insane, IMHO. They were malicious. There is a huge difference.
Stinky The Clown
(67,818 posts)woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Question at 4:00
Gman
(24,780 posts)Killing another human is not a rational act unless it is in war. Then it's the commanders and profiteers that are insane.
I'm with you in every aspect of what you describe.
Archae
(46,345 posts)Were Tim McVeigh and Eric Rudolph "insane?" Hell no.
They were dedicated to their respective causes.
And Holmes is dedicated to his cause.
Himself.
"Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!"
weonlycut
(3 posts)I call it cruelty and an animal act to kill anyone. If they are insane then what about the murders which are planned and over think ed. they are willingly doing this utilizing all their senses and resources. But some murders are sign of courage as for the soldiers, any security person, police officer etc. So killing an innocent is a cruel and insane act. no doubt.
obamanut2012
(26,137 posts)Why conflate them with people who are sociopaths? How is that fair?