Indifference to Death

iv never experianced a tragic event such as witnessing a murder or suicide. but in terms of natural events and unfortunate accidents im fairly emotionaly detached. i imagine i couldnt handle a tramatic event well. but i can understand your stance

i cary a fatalistic view. if im meant to die on a given day, or in a given way. its gunna happen irregardless of what i do. think the movie Final Destination. everyones got a place and a time. some of us are later than others

It all stems from your personal views on life itself (i.e. philosophical world view). For some, it won't be odd. For others the view might be "out of this world crazy." The thing to ask, however, is if the question you present is gun related or not...

ID_shooting said:

I am not glad or do I experience jubilee, but I am certainly not saddened to any degree I can acknowledge.

Does this make me strange? Anyone else not bothered by death at all?

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There's a difference between "not caring" about death and having learned to face it. I'm a medical doctor and over the course of my training (in major trauma centers) I witnessed quite a few deaths. Some were patients I knew personally. Folks I had treated at some point. Others were patients I had never met.

After a while, you learn to deal with it. You figure out ways to keep functioning and doing your job without losing your composure. But that's not the same as saying you "don't care."

If a guy in your company dies and it doesn't bother you, then that's probably normal if you've learned to deal with death. But if your fiance dies violently before your eyes and you feel no sadness, then that signals a problem in my mind. This is presumably someone you love dearly...otherwise why marry her? I would be troubled if my fiance died and I was indifferent.

The thing to ask, however, is if the question you present is gun related or not...

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Since most of us here (on this board) really should be aware that there's a possibility that we may someday have to use a gun to take a life ( or even have, already )... I'd have to say that it is gun related. Sort of.

For me, I'm pretty much of the opinion death is just a part of life. One we'll all get to experience, sooner or later. So I suppose I'm a lot like ID_shooting in my opinion of death in general.

As for having to shoot/kill another person... I guess my feelings are more about them putting me in a position to have to kill them than they are about death it's self. *shrug*

Make any sense at all?

J.C.

I think a lot of one's attitude and reaction to death is very dependent on the person dying and the circumstances. When my grandparents and my father died, I was rather sad for a while, but it was time. The quality of their lives had become very low. However,if one of my children (now all in their 20's) were to die, I'd be devastated.
Lately, I've been dealing with cancer. A few months ago, I had some of my insides removed, and soon I'll probably be starting chemo. Things are going good, but there is always a possibility that things could take a bad turn. I'm not bothered by the thought of my own death, but, as I told one of the nurses, like Woody Allen, "I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens."
Marty

Sorry to hear you're ill Marty - get well soon.

Hi, Marty.

bumm said:

Lately, I've been dealing with cancer. A few months ago, I had some of my insides removed, and soon I'll probably be starting chemo. Things are going good, but there is always a possibility that things could take a bad turn.

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Sorry to hear about that. These days, chemo is not as bad as it used to be. Keep you chin up and good luck!

hm

i'm not indifferent. i still feel quite sad about my cousin's death a few years ago from leukemia. he was six years older than i and although we spent no more than a few weeks together in all our years, i feel it quite deeply that he is gone.

but i can't say that i've ever shed a tear for anyone.

it's neither something to be proud of or worried about. it simply is - and as long as it doesn't affect your trigger finger or your good judgment, then i suppose that is the end of that.

Quote:

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come".

Such talk reminds me of how I thought during my teens. That was a long time ago now.

IMO I would say yes it is odd for someone who has been on this earth for a length of time to not feel loss at the death of a friend, or loved one.

They are gone and you will never get to experience any more of the life you have left with them ever again. When it's someone who matters to me and they get taken out of the game, it makes me sad.

Don't really have anything else to say on it dude. Sorry your missing out, good luck, enjoy what you can I guess.

bumm said:

Lately, I've been dealing with cancer. A few months ago, I had some of my insides removed, and soon I'll probably be starting chemo. Things are going good, but there is always a possibility that things could take a bad turn. I'm not bothered by the thought of my own death, but, as I told one of the nurses, like Woody Allen, "I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

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Sorry to hear about your condition. Good luck. A good attitude is one of your most important weapons in this fight. As someone dealing with the same issue, well, getting shot at is more fun. At least there's a threat one moment and things are resolved the next. With this the danger doesn't go away ten minutes later.

It's also perfectly alright to be afraid. It's your body's natural reaction to a threat to your life. Courage is your ability to soldier on and prevail in spite of it. I think it was Heinlein who said that a man without fear is without courage. He is also a fool.

I don't know yet, but I think I share your general indifference. I have always been more afraid of suffering than of death. Even when shooting small game and varmints, like squirrels, I refuse to allow them to suffer. Even big game animal I've ever shot has been shot at close enough range that it is still alive when I get to it. Though the original wound would have been quickly fatal, I have always dispatched the animal with a close range shot to the base of the skull.
Death is a funny thing for me. I cried more when my mom's Highland Westy Terrier, Daisy, died than when my grandma on my mom's side died. This only made me feel worse. I didn't shed a tear when my mom's dad died. I tried. I missed them, and still miss them, but never shed a tear. I think that is perhaps due to my being much closer to my dad's side of the family than my mom's, but it makes me feel heartless and cruel nonetheless. Even though thought of my brother dying is enough to reduce me to tears. I have, in fact, woke up crying after a particularly vivid nightmare about just that. And I know I'll cry when my grandpa on my dad's side dies, because he has been one of the most influencial people in my life. He is the one who taught me to shoot, when I was four years old. So in terms of people I know dying, I guess I am not all that indifferent at all. But others, I am not so sure.
I am not a religious person. I don't believe humans have souls or live beyond the grave. I believe humans are flesh and bone, living creatures, animals, just like everything else. In this respect, I sincerely feel like if I am ever in the position, I will pull the trigger on my fellow man as well. I know it sounds like, as the original poster called it "bravado" and "chest thumping," but I have given quite a bit of thought to it. I really hope I never have to find out, but from here, now, I can't see how it would ever affect me more than putting the crosshairs on a deer's chest and pulling the trigger. In fact, it should mean less since that deer has never done me any harm, and if I ever drop the hammer on another human, it will be against the threat of lethal force against me or mine.

Thanks for those with words of encouragement on my cancer thing! I suppose I chose a rather melodramatic way to make a point, and also get to use Woody Allen's wonderful line! But like I said, I'm doing well, and have every expectation to be a very old man someday. Spending 10 days in a cancer ward after my surgery though, and occasional trips back, make it clear to me how many others are MUCH worse off than I.
Marty

I think you have a large advantage over other people in this aspect of life - good for you.

I wonder if you are indifferent to killing as well but that would be unwise to test I think....

Everybody has to deal with death (others as well as their own eventually) at one time or another. You have to 'learn' how to deal with it and each and every one of us will deal with it in their own way. We need to recognize that and to see that there are many ways to do it and what others do to cope is not necessarily 'wrong'. Often, a little support from somebody close helps a very great deal.

Folks, this topic isn't at home on THR. Try posting it on our sister forum, APS.