On Killing
It sometimes seems to me as though people think killing makes everything better. That's probably a strange statement to make, and perhaps an overly cynical one. After all, most supposedly civilised people would swear that murder is wrong - but then, after all, they'd sit down to eat their bacon and, sadly shaking their heads, affirm that war is sometimes a necessary evil and sing of the bravery of our troops. Putting those sentiments aside, when you give those supposedly civilised people an internet connection or a gun, their behaviour changes. Suddenly, they'll be threatening to kill people they've never even met, trying to murder people in fits of anger, or going off to serve their fatherland by killing those bloody foreigners. At this point some readers may protest and say "Well, I don't do that!". They may feel stung, hurt, even... offended . And I acknowledge that offence. I acknowledge that people don't want to think of themselves as murder...