Negative. Squirrels do not possess the capacity for evil. Squirrels aren’t out to kill you.
You’re not a pansy-assed she-boy.
I wouldn’t feel bad about not being comfortable with taking any life. Many are, including me. IIRC Sgt. York was one of them.
Hunting, rather than combat, is probably a better way to get in touch with the realities that sometimes taking life is a necessity. I may do that someday, both for this reason and to improve my survival skills. I don’t think I can live on just nuts and berries. :o
Yeah, I have felt bad after I needlessly killed an animal myself. These days, if I kill a beast, it was either a threat to me or I am hungry.
This sums up my thoughts perfectly… especially the thought about your kids. I was getting lazy about carrying consistently. Having a kid was what kicked me in the ass to get back to doing it. There is no way some scumbag is keeping this dad from coming home.
Thanks Howard. I own two copy’s of “On Killing” I keep one in my work space, and one at home. The one at home is right next to my bible.
I have also been to a couple of his classes, great stuff. I might add that I went twice to re-learn what I had learned, or thought I had learned by attending the first class.
Pre-mind set is a whole different ball game then post-mind set. Once it’s over the police have multiple responsibilities that soliders generally don’t.
Sounds like your in the business, so I won’t bore you with after action stuff, you already understand.
D Williams
read Russ Clagett’s : After the Echoabout his post shooting experience.
I am not an animal hunter by any stretch of the imagination.
While I have killed animals, most of them did nothing to deserve it, unlike the human ass-hats I dropped.
I like animals a lot more than I like people.
I dont hunt anymore either. Combat changed how I look at shooting 4 legged animals. I “hunt” now with a camera. All the skills, but none of the other stuff.
I agree that it is mindset and preparation that makes the difference. Paul Howe said it best in his book. His is the simplest and easiest to apply
I agree with Failure2Stop, and the others.
If you found you had cancer, and survived the treatment, would you not rejoice?
If you were attacked by a wolf in the wilderness, and drove it off, wouldn’t you be happy to have done so? Spent, but glad to have survived?
If you found a thief stealing your car, and scared him away, would you not be pleased?
So why would I not be glad that I defeated a wolf that tried to steal my life?
If they tried to harm a hair on your child’s head, you would react with ferocity, and literally try to dismember them.
So why would you not do the same if they tried to slay your children’s father?
Actions have consequences. Some are more dire than others.
Probably one of the most honest posts I’ve seen on a gun forum in I don’t know how long.
Good for you Bro. Killing is some heinous shit and there is a lot of Bravado on these gun forums. It takes a serious set of nads to say what you did.
I hope that “terrible day” never comes for you because for some of us; for whom that day has come, it continues to come back sometimes when its ok and sometimes when it’s not.
And that Sir, takes a whole different set of nads to push through.
I regret nothing but am no fool when it comes to knowing that my opportunities to drop hammer on another human came with a pricce.
Shit talking around base or on the internet is one thing. Waking up at night hoping you didn’t scare your wife or kids too bad is something else.
Worse than that, FOR THE MOST PART the soldier is expected to kill, and not instantly second guessed when he fulfills that mission. When a police officer kills someone, the media frenzy is harsh and instant, and always immediately sides with the bad guy.
Lets not forget the officers own agency will usually distance themselves from the officer. This is always a disheartening event. That and the officer often gets sued by the bad guys family. Bad guys family may not win in court, but that is usually a two year ordeal. The after effects of shooting someone in law enforcement is far different from shooting someone in combat. The principle of “Its me or him,” is the same, except the soldier overseas does not face the same repercussions.
Just a thought from a 20+ year cop, who has had to step through that mental door…
It is the bad guy who decides that some one is going to die, you simply have to choose who… and if you are reading this, you made the right choice.
If you do not dispense with this mental hurdle up front, then by the time you make your choice it may be to late…
+1 for Ltc. Grossmans “On Combat” also…
Capt Kirk, your right on point, in either application military or police no dilly dally, shoot/don’t shoot, your on top or your on the bottom. I guess my point for bringing up the cop shoot is in fact the psycologial difference in shooting an enemy combatant VS a fellow citizen.
Other then pressing the trigger being the same, NOTHING else is the same. Ive learned that a military guy grieves just like the cop one way or another but for different reasons.
Seems to me that the grieving is different because generally the soldier is not grieving the shooting of an enemy combatant, but the terrible terrible losses and injuries to his brother/sister soldiers.
D Williams
It is all about how you look at things. Consider this…
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If you are a “religious” person, don’t you think you owe God for the gift of your life? If you are truly thankful for the life he gave you, then you should be willing to defend it at all costs.
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Bad guys essentially kill themselves by choosing to attack you. They made the choice, not you.
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Hunting will help your mindset. I don’t seek to make things suffer. But, it does not effect me in the slightest to kill an animal. You are only whining about hunting because society has tricked you into this mindset. Hunting and killing are as old as man.
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Everyone and every animal dies eventually.
well, here is more whining for gjj.
I dont see a challenge in hunting the Deer anymore. the Deer aint gonna shoot back. But if you get adrinaline from it, by all means kill away.
That and I dont get excited about talking about hitting/missing a deer sized target at 150yards with a 3-9X52 scoped howitzer from an ambush postion.
Sorry if that is whining. and IMHO society has tricked you into thinking you have an idea what you are talking about
It is all about knowing yourself. I feel no artificial bambi like remorse from shooting a deer, coyote, or duck. Your statement about it not being a challenge tells me you really do not understand hunting. I don’t know where you hunt. But, most people where I hunt hike for miles and miles over days to try to get a shot at an animal that has superior hearing, smell, and sight in their own backyard. Most of the time, you come back empty. But, it is not about the killing. It is about the hunting. The kill is just the end of the process of hunting. Usually, it is the easiest part.
I have hurt people in fist fights that deserve it as a kid. I did not feel bad about their pain because they deserved it.
I hurt people (and get hurt myself) in my martial arts training 3-4 times a week. It does not bother me. It is part of the experience.
After 48 years of life on this planet, I can tell you I would feel no remorse in killing some bad guy that was going to hurt me or my family. I know this for a fact. I would not enjoy it. But, I would not torture myself with ridiculous girl like emotion that I killed someone. Not all humans are the same. Self defense is not murder.
Would you cry a river of tears if you killed a rapist?
Wow. ok, well, I hope you never have to do it for real, but if you do then somethings change. I promise you that.
70% of the posts in this thread were from people who have really dropped a bad guy. I would re-read those posts rather than wasting your time comparing Combat to your fist fight 40 years ago
Agreed, whole hardedly.
To the OP:
Some people deserve it, especially if trying to take your, or your men’s, lives.
Some people have an aversion to hurting another human being or any living thing. Pacifist who don’t know that they are, and that’s ok, but given a killing situation you are actively engaged in, you have to make a choice. Whether killing societies scum when confronted or the nations enemies, you are performing a “public service” and choosing your life to save, in either case. A choice I can, pardon the pun, live with.
I apologize to the Forum and the OP for my tone with another member in public. I should have PM’d him. I will try not to derail the thread any further.