Hello, YouTubers.
This is a response to a cdk007 video.
I don't really have much to say about it,
I don't disagree with the main point,
but I do want to say something about a choice of words.
I don't think I'm being nit-picky, because I don't think it's merely a choice of words;
I think it's a concept that too many people have in their minds.
So, he gives several scenarios, I'll just use one of my own:
An old lady's at an ATM, getting out the last of her money so she can go get her medicine--
why she doesn't just use her bank card to pay for it at the counter, I don't know,
but I have to set up the scenario--
and then an armed robber comes to kill her and take her money. So you--
What?
What's this??? That stupid crawl again?
Come on, people--it's bad enough that you mess up our TV programs,
now you're doing it on freakin' YOUTUBE???
Come on! Oh, and we're downgraded to standard-def as well!
Man, that's just great!
I mean, what's the point of saying this to people who are already watching a hi-def signal?
And this is a freakin' YouTube video!
I mean, how many people will be watching this after the 12th?
How many people watching this aren't even in America,
so they don't even know what it is I'm complaining about?
All right, you know what? I'm just gonna keep talking, if that's okay with you!
I mean, if I'm not interrupting anything! Geez...
Anyway, you know he's going to kill her, because he doesn't want to leave her alive to be a witness,
and the only way you can stop him is to kill him.
Now the question, phrased the way cdk007 did in his scenarios is, "Is it okay to kill him?"
It's the word "okay" I have a problem with.
I'm sure we'd all agree that you should kill the guy to prevent him from killing her,
but is it okay? Is it right? It might make--
Hey, look! We're back in hi-def again.
So anyway, it might make it easier for us to deal with the possibility
that we may have to make such a decision in the future,
and it may help those of us who have already been put into that situation and had to act.
I'm sure it's not an easy thing to deal with or get over.
I'm sure they tell themselves they did the right thing,
and I'm sure lots of other people told them the same thing.
But here's the thing I want to say:
in such a situation, killing the person is NOT the right thing to do,
it's NOT an okay thing to do--
it's just a NECESSARY thing to do.
And that's important distinction.
I think one of the points of this video is the extrapolation
of it being okay to kill someone in a certain scenario,
making it okay to kill someone in a slightly different scenario,
and you get that slippery slope going.
By saying it's the necessary thing to do, and not right or okay, you avoid this.
We even have this in our criminal justice system. It's called the "necessity defense."
While the law does specifically recognize self-defense
and defense of others in certain very strict settings,
there's also a general necessity defense that can apply to pretty much any crime at any time.
The idea is that the criminal act the defendant is being tried for was necessary
to prevent greater harm from occurring.
For example, a woman might legally drive while intoxicated
if it's the only way she can escape a rapist.
If the defendant can show that this was her only means of escape,
that the situation wasn't her fault,
and that she stopped driving as soon as the rapist was evaded,
then the necessity defense can be used to argue for a verdict of "not guilty."
So I think the necessity concept is appropriate here.
This keeps the concept contained,
and not contaminated by ideas of morality or justice that just don't apply.
So, while in the scenario I mention,
it's necessary to kill the thief to stop him from killing the old lady,
it is NOT necessary to kill the abortion doctor to protect the unborn.
Because if nothing else, killing the abortion doctor DOESN'T protect the unborn!
The pregnant women just end up getting an abortion from someone else.
And once you have the concept of "necessity" as your basis for this,
I think you'll be completely grounded in reality.
Well, that is, unless you're already deluded,
which was probably the case with Scott Roeder, so, there we are.
Well, that's all I wanted to say.
Thanks for watching, and I hope that--
WHAT???
Come on--you were just doing this two minutes ago!
Man! When will the 12th get here???