I sometimes talk about awkward subjects (more often in the past then lately). Things that might upset some people. So recent readers may be a bit surprised at this.
I don't watch many movies and the ones I do are usually old. Not OLD old like 'Wizard Of Oz' but not "new" like the newest movies on HBO. I watched 'Red Dawn' (1984, I think) tonight. Well, sometimes the nature and science CDs start to feel repetitive, you know?
The movie is about WWIII when some collection of Soviet-based countries decide to attack the US in the "near future" *hey it was 1984 at the time of the movie*. It had a decent explanation, not about the reasons, but about the methods. Some Coloradans decide to fight back.
So some older teenagers/young adults were away from home hunting in the countryside when the attack hit. With typical hollywood bravado and skill, they fought back. They got better at it with experience.
No deaths were glorified (much), some of it was difficult, some was sad. A person had to kill his brother after a betrayal; a young mortally-wounded woman saved her last grenade to take an enemy soldier with her; a sacrifice was made for honor... One of the best things about 'Red Dawn' was that it ended ambiguously; no resolution to the war is provided.
What struck me was the practical lethality. And this is what causing me to write about this tonight. And let me state upfront that I was never a soldier and never had to face that choice of killing another human being. But if there is something abhorrent about killing someone who is trying to kill you for no really good reason, I don't know it.
The deaths were mostly long-distance rifles and machine-guns and anonymous. Bombs set off at distances, grenades dropped into tanks, simple ambushes.
I do not like death. I stopped hunting deer when I killed a lactating doe with an arrow, realizing that there must be a fawn somewhere that would die of starvation slowly. I cried about that. I cry when I read of a cat who dies, even though all such deaths are inevitable. I weep for the innocent...
But I just can't feel the same for those who attack other people. One of the lines in the movie was something like Enemy: "Why are you killing us"; and the response from the US partisan was "Because this land is mine". I understand THAT!
Killing in that situation wouldn't cause a single tear from MY eyes... I wouldn't know the enemy's family (or beloved cats). My conclusion after watching the movie was "I could do that easily".
Having said that, I am taking some time to decide whether or not to post this. 8:56 pm Post or not, hmmm... Could be a lot of objections; could be angry responses from veterans who say I don't know what killing a person is like; could be angry replies from anti-hunting people. I'll think on it a few hours...
OK post it. I'll be interested in the responses, if any.
4 comments:
I think most people, if they were honest about it, would kill for something or someone. Though I regret that I said it to a kid (probably 11 or 12) I once screamed that I would kill their dog if it came into my yard again. At the time I was protecting my nieces and nephew (girls were 3, boy was 6) from being bit by said dog. I know I probably would have hated myself, but I was serious, I'd have killed it to keep it from biting my kids. Call me terrible, hate me even, but the kids welfare was more important to me than the life of what could have been a vicious dog who had chased my kids up a small hill and was circling them barking his fool head off. Every time I think I could not kill, I remember that moment and know I could.
Sorry, that was probably way off subject. But I understand, there are some deaths that break your heart, and some that you can live with.
Anyway, I have no problem with anything you posted here.
This is a topic I've been thinking quite a bit about, because I'm going to buy a sidearm to carry when I hike/bike solo. Given the choice between Me or THEM, I'll choose my life every time, especially if I'm not the aggressor.
I've never been able to kill an animal. My husband used to hunt years and years ago, and I tried plumking at tin cans - but aim was terrible. I know I could never never kill an animal. Not sure about a human. If I were threatened and really scared, maybe I could.
I'm a hypocrite because I eat meat but hate the thought of factory-like farming practices and the inevitable death of the animals. I appreciate that someone is willing to do it so that I can eat meat, and I'm glad that I'm not required to do it for myself.
I read a lot of murder mysteries, thrillers, crime/police procedure novels and watch similar kinds of programs on TV, so I do think from time to time that I am over-exposing myself to murder and violent deaths. I wonder whether it has made me less sensitive to violence against humans. I think that I would be able to kill someone if I believed that they were threatening my husband's life. There would be no stopping me. My own life? It would depend on who they were and why I thought they were trying to kill me. Sounds weird, I know. If they were simply some violent creep, and I figured it was me or them, then I think I'd fight hard. If it were a life and death situation in a natural catastrophe, I may be willing to give up my life if I felt that by doing so, someone else might be saved.
Lots of different nuances to consider.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
Post a Comment