Emotional Scars of Self Defense

I'm sure you've seen movies where some punks try to rob a convenience store and the owner pulls out a gun and shoots them. "Bam Bam, You're Dead!" The store owner is hailed a hero and he lives happily ever after.

But, in the real world, killing someone, even if he or she is an armed robber, can have a lasting emotional effect on you. Living with the fact that you killed someone can be very difficult. I think sometimes people get the wrong idea about vengeance because they grew up watching vigilante movies.

I read an article in the New York Times about local store owners who defended themselves by using lethal force. There were a few who had no problems with using lethal self defense to protect themselves. But most store owners carried around feelings of remorse.

Some of the store owners were just so sick and tired of being robbed, they decided to take matters in their own hands. Some of them shot and killed the robbers after the robbery took place and the thieves were leaving.

These store owners said they regretted making the decision to pursue the criminals. They wished they had just stayed in their stores and not killed anyone. Seeing someone die a violent death is not the same as watching it in a movie.

Even when the store owners were just defending their lives and they used deadly force, these owners still felt remorse. They know that they were right to use deadly force since their lives were in danger. But they also wish they were never placed in that position.

Some of these store owners ended up closing up shop because they either couldn't deal with what happened there or they were just sick of being constant targets for robbers.

On my website, I deal mostly with non-lethal ways to defend yourself, but sometimes deadly force might be the only option, especially if a criminal is threatening your life.

Just realize there is an emotional toil when you take someone's life.