Divine retribution feels good, and karma does too. Sometimes, someone has stepped beyond normal human boundaries so much, they no longer have the right to live as a human being. However, if someone killed your family members or sexually assaulted them, what would your reaction be? Would you end their life quickly and quietly, or would you let the police handle it? Would you take vengeance? Why or why not?

For me, the taking of life is an absolute last resort. Only in the defense of myself or others would I even seriously consider it. I'm someone that believes that everyone pays for what they do at the end of the day and that vengeance isn't mine to have. I can be somewhat juvenile sometimes, maybe somewhat deceptive and kinduh manipulative, but I'm not spiteful. I'm even against things like the death penalty. I don't see labor camps as out of the question, but I don't think we should kill convicts.

Oh no, it would be silly to take their life. Take a limb or two so they won't want to live.

Maybe take some of their senses like sight and sound. That's good enough for me.

If someone harmed my family,I will hurt them in any way I can,making them suffer before I end their life painfully and slowly. Unfortunately,I believe in an eye for an eye. I also believe in revenge and making someone suffer. I have no problems at that point in being the judge,jury,and executioner. They ended my loved one's life,I will end theirs.

I don't really get mad. Especially not in a "I want to make them suffer" kind of mad. Whether this is a good or bad thing is up to you, I'm neutral on the subject. Then again, I have never been in a situation like those before me.

I'm not really close with people. There are very few people I care about, and my family members aren't included in those. If I imagine one of those people having something terrible happen to them by someone else, and there was something I could do about it, I'd personally try to make the person who did such thing better themselves (That's a word jam sentence right there).

And I know how society views that. People would tell me how terrible I am for not seeking vengeance, retribution, etc..., and say that I didn't care about the person. I know that people think that vengeance and "Justice" is a good thing.

I personally don't agree on that. Torturing and killing a person who has killed someone I care about won't bring them back. There's nothing I can do to bring them back. Torturing and killing the person who did it won't make me feel better. If that person saw no option but to kill someone, then something is wrong with them. The only options I have left is to try and make them better themselves, or bring them to the police and let governmental justice take it's course on them.

Ultrajeff : Human reactive attitudes are well and good, and even the instinctual reactions are the most human things we can do. These reactions must be curtailed by another human trait, reason. Reaction is due, of course, but the kind of reaction must be purposeful.

There is little purposeful in the death penalty. I do not rule it out, especially for heat-of-the-moment situations (self-defense, war, defense of others, political necessity, etc.), but for the large majority of scenarios death does not seem appropriate.

Ideally, punishment should be to rectify the situation. A thief should be giving what was stolen back. Also, it might be prudent to make the thief pay for the court costs or forced to also give interest due on the amount stolen as a further means of discouraging future illicit activity. Jail time for petty theft seems to not have a purpose beyond initial capture.

In circumstances like murder or rape, there doesn't seem to be a way to rectify the situation. You can't un-rape or un-murder someone. However, death doesn't seem like an appropriate response either. If the thief cannot pay back what he steals, we don't kill him. Instead, we do what we can. In the situation of murder or rape, the perpetrator ought to be made to do what he can. There are multiple ways that people can make lives better for others, and these are the things that should be explored to find what is appropriate due to the gravity of the crime.

So Kurapika would do well to not kill those that killed his family for their eyes, but would do better to make them benefit all those that are oppressed. Their deaths end the threat, but often that is not the best possible outcome.

I only get revenge when it's convenient. In fact, I find the best way to get revenge is to keep living your life normally till one day suddenly you realize the other person finally got what they deserve, while you sitting in their place. I've gotten revenge against most people who moved against me merely by doing what I do best and not searching for it, and it's always very satisfying to see Karma do it's work for me. Focusing on revenge your entire life is too negative though, and I wouldn't recommend it. Self defense in the moment of something is one thing, or even standing up for yourself and walking away. But a wider, more long term and loathsome concept of revenge is not exactly healthy. At least not if you are focusing on it all day.

If such a person did something like that, death would be a kindness that I would not allow. I'll let the police take him/her so I can at least he/she is rotting in a jail cell. That would be more of a vengeance than ending his/her life.

"Death would be a kindness I would not allow."

"I will hurt them any way I can."

"For me, the taking of a life is the last resort."

There sure is a lot of aggressive, violent conversation. It's interesting how the people that talk the big game haven't actually done any of it. How many of you here are trained to kill others, either via the military or any other government training? Being a yellow belt doesn't really count for anyone since that's not the real world.

Vengeance is something people who are full of themselves desire. The need to avenge yourself is basically against anything the Bible taught, and is counter-productive. Violence begets violence and if someone hurts my family, I go and hurt them. Now their family is angry and they hurt me. Now my family is angry and hurts the extended family. And on and on it goes, Hatfield and McCoy style, until everyone is dead.

Why is it so hard to walk away from something? Sometimes bad things happen. And for those of you who actively threaten or think you can really kill a person haven't tried it yet.

Me? I forgive, forget, and move on with life. Peace comes from within. Killing someone doesn't bring anyone peace.