The Joy or No Joy in Killing

(Update: 10/7/13, 6:26 am. Episodes 99.99% complete.  Once stupid gov't reopens, I can register my copyright and self-publish the darn thing. Only took me about 14 months or so start to finish. I had an easy start because my autobigraphy's already written, so it was easy to pull the foundational scenes from that. That'll be one of my last books out.)

 Here we go:


As far as I know, there only seem to be a few types of killing (let me know if there's more):

1. Self-defense. In the act of protecting one's person, property, or another, or one's country. And for that matter protecting another country, say Afghanistan against the terrorists and fanatical Taliban. (Is there any way to ameliorate their impositions on others?) We fought in Vietnam against our enemies, the communists, and in the Great Wars etc. We had enemies and the goal was to incapacitate and stop their aggression, by their soldiers and their equipment. That usually means killing other human beings. So, you could say those were forms of self-defense.

Gang shootings do not fall into this category, they are more of #2.
 

2. Insanity. This is tricky. Fanatics and ideologists who destroy people and property can appear rational, and speak rationally, but really they aren't. Killing another human being is not rational except for #1 above. Columbine, Aurora, Newtown and millions of others are killings by one or more insane persons. Again, except for #1, there doesn't appear to me to be any rational reason to kill another child, youth or adult human being, of any ethnic background or religious belief or nationality etc., in self-defence. 

Insanity is also tricky because we have millions of Americans roaming the streets, like me, being bipolar, or psychotic or schizophrenic, who have been identified with one or more mental illnesses. I really shouldn't have access to any kind of weapon when I'm having a bipolar episode. Not a good idea. 

Because then its not the "normal" Rodney Richards in control. Not at all. I don't want to take a chance I'll do something really terrible - or the worst, by harming or killing someone in my family, or in the family of man. So I'm putting you all on notice: Don't ever give or sell me a gun, under any circumstances. The end of my pool cue for self-defense is good enough -- and I actually keep one in my closet.

All suicide bombers are insane by definition, because at the very least they want to kill themselves, let alone others. That's the only way to get committed to an institution in most States; wanting to hurt yourself or others. Unless you voluntarily commit yourself. That's being smart when you feel weird. To bad there's only 100,000 beds (all overflowing), in the whole country when millions may be severely mentally ill right now. Most bad cases are in and out of jails, like the average 2,500 in Cook County jail on any given day.  (Heard these stats on NPR and 60 minutes within the past three days.) 

3. Crime of passion. This is really #2 on a temporary basis. Usually caused by greed or passion, or hiding a crime, thinking it will protect one's identity. There's plenty of reasons for this, usually anger, or the other extreme fear. The fear of getting caught.

4. Hunting. Killing animals or men. Sometimes we need professional hunters to wheedle down marauding deer herds in cities. And that's government controlled, as it should be, and licensed. Hunting criminals by licensed bounty hunters or police etc. is really sanctioned murder. Hence the Iraq War deck of cards, which I hope is still active, for every sane person's sake.

This could also be called premeditated murder. A plan to kill a person. Called First degree murder in the US and elsewhere. What Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby did, would be premeditated, although the case for either of them could be ameliorated with insanity or crime of passion aspects. They don't have a category for stupid ideological insanity, that I know of.

5. Last and controversial, is accidental death. This does not rely on the means, for example by automobile or gun, but also by the circumstances and something called  degree of guilt. Was the death from carelessness? On who's part? Or on both parties? So its tricky and should always be trialed, I think, well all murder should be, has to be, in a civil law-based society.


In the U.S. there are five degrees or classes of murder, from premeditated to involuntary. There's probably a few more major ones I'm missing, but these to me appear to be the top four. 

And why do we make any moral distinctions at all? Man has been killing man for over 6,000 years, ever since it all figuratively began in the outskirts of Garden of Eden. Then came tribes, protecting each other from other nasty tribes, and so on to city-states, and states (Civil War), and country against country. And we're still in the same mode to large an extent, not realizing the 21st century calls for man's actions to catch up with his morally smart heart and brain, and laws. For the betterment of global society.

Well, sorry, I got on my soapbox, and I apologize. Nothing's ever that simple, is it? We all know war and death is inevitable right?  It's only the extreme idealists and religionists that believe in Peace on Earth anymore, right? Not some of us, the materialists, secularists, agnostics and others.

Ah, someday I'll explore those questions, but right now I gotta get back to polishing and cutting Episodes. My goal is to have it on Amazon by 10/10.

by Rodney Richards