What is your definition of self-defence?

[Crystalgate]

Assaults can happen anywhere, at anytime, indeed, but there is a difference between what can happen and what usually happens. Usually bullies pick victims that don't muster an effective defense. Usually muggers will not pick victims that are armed and aware of their intent. Usually burglars will not go for a house where the owner is home and armed. Usually when a fight occurs in a school, it's between two students and not between a student and an invading gang member.

When some sort of violence occurs between an aggressor and a victim, it's more often the aggressor striking the victim than the opposite. I find it hard to believe otherwise.

 

[skirtboy]

First off, in many american public schools, any use of violence is punished to the fullest extent. My cousin was jumped by three larger students about three years ago. He managed to defend himself enougn to avoid serious injury, but was given the same punishment (a two week suspension) as the tree who attacked him, because as per explictly written directives from the board of education, he was equally guilty for the fight.

The same often applies to the legal system. In Ohio, until the new law goes into effect in September, any person who fires on and injures or kills an intruder is considered guilty of either assault with intent to kill or manslaughter unless a blatantly hostile act has been committed. Being openly armed with a deadly weapon and brandishing it is not considered  sufficient justification in the eyes of the law.

 

[Stardust]

First of all, I don't see how defending someone else is considered 'self-defense'.  Isn't that 'someone else-defense'?  I think I saw that in there somewhere, but it's way too long for me to consider going back and finding it.

Now, self-defense should simply being defending oneself, but the main problem with that idea is that no one besides whoever was involved knows what truly happened.  The secondary problem is that the extent to which one goes to defend oneself is sometimes considered excessive.  And then comes the attitude some people have that violence in any situation is wrong.  This is going to be a long post, so I'll put it in spoilers for you.

Spoiler: The Truth

When trying someone for a crime, both sides find as much evidence as possible to prove their side and present it to a jury, who makes the final decision.  The amount of evidence has greatly improved with the development of DNA testing technology, but sometimes you can't find enough evidence to clearly show one side correct.  In these cases, it's up to the (hopefully, but unlikely) unbiased jury to decide whether or not the defendant is guilty.  In public places, it's sometimes easier to find evidence from store cameras or witnesses.  However, in a private place, it's hard to find solid evidence since there's no one making sure that nothing has been tampered with.  Sometimes, it seems unfair to convict someone when they claim it was self-defense, but if there is enough evidence against them, then it's usually decided that it wasn't self-defense, or that it was unreasonable self-defense.  Unless we enter the era of Big Brother, we'll never truly know what happened when there isn't other video evidence.

Spoiler: Extent

Now, the extent to which someone goes to defend themselves is a much more complicated case.  It's hard to tell if they had a right to take those actions unless there's evidence that they were harmed (like if they were shot, stabbed, etc.).  I believe that, in most cases, as little violence as possible should be used.  The person who's being attacked should work to subdue the attacker, not try to kill them.  If the person has a gun pointed at you, please do something if you have the power to stop him.  However, if you're facing an unarmed criminal, trying to knock him down and keep him still long enough for the authorities to get there is a much better option.  If you're in a public place, running is often a good thing to consider if the attacker doesn't have a weapon.

Spoiler: Attitude

The anti-violence attitude bothers me.  If someone is threatening you with a weapon, do something.  If someone's in your house, don't call the police and hide.  Sometimes talking will work, but that's better for younger people who obviously aren't comfortable with the crime they're committing.  In most cases, if you're obviously going to work to defend yourself, the attacker or criminal will think it's not worth the risk of being captured.  If someone broke into my house, I'd wake my parents, call the police, then investigate.  Sometimes, you can't rely on authorities, and sometimes they arrive way too late, so it's much better to try and take care of the situation, or at least stall the criminal or attacker by talking to him/her or threatening them.  If you tell someone to never use violence, you seriously need to think about what you would do in the situation they were in.  If you know you'd do what you're telling them, then you need to think about a little longer.  There's no reason to cower in the corner and let someone abuse you or your property just because you don't want to get in trouble.

 

[Xaixis]

To me it's simple.

If something threatens you, you are allowed to extinguish that threat. But don't over-do it.

Example. Let's say your walking the streets and someone raises a gun at your head. IMO you would be able to retaliate in any way to put you out of harms way, but not necessarily kill the guy (or gal).

 

[FlippyD]

To me it's simple.

If something threatens you, you are allowed to extinguish that threat. But don't over-do it.

Example. Let's say your walking the streets and someone raises a gun at your head. IMO you would be able to retaliate in any way to put you out of harms way, but not necessarily kill the guy (or gal).

I think in such a situation I should be allowed to completely extinguish the threat. In an emergency situation, if you have the time or the edge to disarm a target then sure, but by the time you find yourself in such a situation you're usually being ambushed. No hostile with a weapon is going to stand around and wait for you to get an advantage. Plus there's no telling if the person with the gun might hurt someone else.

 

[Mr. Thunderpussy]

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to respond, I've been busy preparing for the army so I haven't had much time to really pursue the topic further that much. 

To me it's simple.

If something threatens you, you are allowed to extinguish that threat. But don't over-do it.

lol, that sounds funny. Kinda sounds like, you can kill the person, but you can't wound them.
But then again, I totally get it.

Edit: Whoa, what? I posted like a whole paragraph depicting my views and stuff and it never came up! Weird, maybe I should learn a bit more XML.
Well, I can't remember what it was that I posted exactly, so I guess that I'm just going to leave it as it is. Sorry for posting such a lame response 

 

[Brimstone-x]

If they intend to harm you, Depending on the situation, either run or fight. Running is the harder of the two.

If they intend to do major harm/death. You need to incapacitate them(Dead or alive), or escape. If you need to break there legs before the police get there, and there waving a knife around....Well, I'd recommend it. Now, who knows if there going to use there weapon or not? Who wants to find out? Personally, thats the offenders decision. They should know, if I draw a weapon, this person will turn to desperation.

Now, naturally its not that simple. Don't overdo it. If someone curses at me, and I splash there blood on the floor with a pipe, thats a little much.
And if someone tried to kill me, and I killed them, unless I'm mentally unstable after the incident, I wouldn't recommend mutilating the body or anything.

Self Defense: The use of nessecary force to save your hide from an attacker. You'll probably know whats NESSECARY and whats not.

 

[kyonides]

to do whatever it takes to stay alive...

 

[Dissonance]

lol, that sounds funny. Kinda sounds like, you can kill the person, but you can't wound them.

Leave a good lookin' corpse.  For open casket funerals and necros.