Man who opened fire on Texas church shooter hailed as 'good Samaritan'

[moriah]

50. Can death ever be mercy?

I know the obvious answer is yes in certain situations because of losing my father to AIDS and having gone from dealing with his suicidal impulses as a response to the diagnosis very poorly to at the end being willing to help him to a peaceful death, a nd would have if I could have even if I went to jail for it, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Who is your neighbor when you're dealing with an active mass shooter who is still armed?

Is there ever such a thing as a "just war"?

I am Pagan by practice, but I have explored the philosophies behind the tenets of Liberal Quakerism. Naturally I am a pacifist. But I believe that my life is valuable, and that someone attempting to take it from me doesn't have that right. That I have the right to do what is necessary to stop them. I feel the same thing applies if they were attempting to rape me, even if I wasn't certain that they would kill me. All too many murder victims were raped first, and besides, it's my body. No one has the right to use it against my will.

I hope in a life or death situation, since I have been in one before involving someone I loved or me, I would place a higher value on the person I loved's life than my own. I did in that instance, at least, without hesitation. I wasn't armed, dealing with someone who was but hadn't yet shot, and was able to use my words as my weapon to solve the problem. Still was "staring down the barrel of a .45", but was doing my best to ignore it and look him in the eyes to make my words more effective.

If it'd taken lethal force to get that gun not aimed at my mother and out of his hands, though, I would have used it. And it would have been mercy to my mother, who was my neighbor in that situation.