| This thread may have spoilers Lol, I'm sorry, but this has been bugging me ever since I finished Death Note two or so weeks ago. Do you think what Light does in Death Note is right? Watching Death Note, I encountered many comments saying what he is doing is completely rational and needs to be done. I don't agree with this whatsoever. I think Light definitely abused the power of the Death Note to the maximum. I kind of understand the first one and the second one to be a test, but when they came up as positive, the man went ape shit. From the first episode he is saying that he'll be the 'God of the new world'.... Wtf how delusional is he? i don't know how it was worded, depending on whether you watched dubbed/subbed and who subbed, but I liked it when Ryuk said, "so when you kill all the bad guys, the only bad guy left will be you." because it's completely true. He see's nothing immoral about what he is doing. I'm sorry, but I don't know where he gets off thinking that it is his right to pass judgment onto others because they're 'bad people'. A lot of the people he killed were already in jail.... They weren't doin' anything to the world in there. I think it is a totally different thing omitting them to prison or jail, but to kill them? That is a whole new level. I understand the world would be a much better place without criminals, surrrrrre. But criminals are still people. There are still people that care for them. I could never take someone away from someone else, but Light doesn't even second guess it, so clearly he was a sicko from the beginning. First episode I watched I was kind of on Light's side because I could kind of see what he was doing, and he was my friends favorite so I was a little biased. Later on into the series (like, 3-4 eps, lmao) I realized the guy is a loony. His thoughts are so convoluted! How does anyone like this character unless for the pure enjoyment they just wanted to see him be a dick. K true, I won't say anything to that, but I will say: how does anyone think what he's doing is right? As soon as he killed his first person, he was just as bad as those criminals, which I think is the scariest thought that he doesn't even notice. There is seriously something missin upstairs. Seriously. - - this is where the spoilers kick in ;) - - He's such a sociopath. He watched his Dad die because of the use and abuse of the Death Note. How could you do that to your own family? Seriously, it's not just a stranger this time, it's you're blood. From the first episode he said that he might have to kill his family in case they find out about DN. It was like a switch just turned on in Lights mind (no--really bad--pun intended) after finding the death note. Like he had this evil ambition dying for a way to get out. He (although this wasn't necessarily his fault; it just happened through the use of the DN) let his sister Sayu become practically a vegetable because she was traumatized. He killed L, which burned a special place in my heart. Well, you can say that Rem killed L but it was because of the bitch named Yagami Light. I felt bad for Misa too. He didn't love her. All she wanted was his love and he gave her some cheap gimmick. When Takada-san comes into the picture he completely jumps ships as if he has liked her all along. In the end she dies. about the ending... But seriously...... :) But yeah. Your views? Light = Sociopath or was what he was doing completely reasonable? |
 "It's just...a bad dream! Wake up, wake up...!" |
| I'm getting a huge case of TL;DR lately. My view is that Light was doing the right thing up until he started going after L / the police, because then it's not just taking out criminals, but it's taking out innocent people who are trying to catch you, which is a dick move. Then you have the whole "criminals could be innocent" debate, which always sways me against corporal punishment, but just look at prisons these days: full, happy places, hell, homeless people even commit crimes over here to get into prison for a warm room and food (as said by my law teacher). A little killing to ease up the prison population and put a little old fear into the hearts of men goes a long way. |
BakaKawaii said: I'm getting a huge case of TL;DR lately. My view is that Light was doing the right thing up until he started going after L / the police. I can't agree with that. (and lol, he went after the police & L like, ep 2) Maybe I'd be completely fine with him if he was seriously getting rid of only the really bad people that the police hasn't caught yet, but he just went ape shit with the death note after he killed the first two 'tests'. s-o-c-i-o-p-a-t-h. |
"It's just...a bad dream! Wake up, wake up...!" |
| I'm pretty sure he killed more than two "tests" before going after the police, as he was targeted by the police because he had killed so many and gained a following, or it's been a while since I've seen it and I've forgotten many things. I never said he wasn't a sociopath, but he was doing the world a favour. |
| don't flame me, but I think he had the right idea in the beginning but then he lost the plot. IMO I think that those who kill people deserve to die, an eye for an eye. Because hes first killing ACTUALLY helped people, but then her just went off and started killing and going mad with power. |
fluttershyDec 14, 2010 3:47 PM
BakaKawaii said: I'm pretty sure he killed more than two "tests" before going after the police, as he was targeted by the police because he had killed so many and gained a following, or it's been a while since I've seen it and I've forgotten many things. I never said he wasn't a sociopath, but he was doing the world a favour. I said he went ape shit after his two 'tests', I didn't say those were the only people he killed before the police were onto him. The first two tests was that guy on TV who was in some preschool or something and the guy with his gang who were harassing that chick when Light was in the convenience store. After that, you see Ryuk looking at the Death Note and there are pages full with names. That's when you know he lost it. And then when he said, "I'm going to be God of the new world" it confirmed. paperbomb said: don't flame me, but I think he had the right idea in the beginning but then he lost the plot. IMO I think that those who kill people deserve to die, an eye for an eye. Because hes first killing ACTUALLY helped people, but then her just went off and started killing and going mad with power. I think the second person that he killed deserved to die, too, lmao, so I'm not really complaining there. I guess the first one as well, but not as much as the second one. I'm not saying that a lot of the people that he killed didn't deserve to die, I just didn't think that he should have been the person choosing whether someone should die or not. That being said, though, I don't think everyone he killed needed to die. Like Ray Penbar. He deemed Light under no suspicion and the FBI were gonna be out of Japan pretty soon. They weren't much of a threat. And then killing his wife.... I'm sorry, I guess you can argue 'he needed to do it to survive' but the way he killed her was just brutal. She wasn't a criminal and he had so much pleasure seeing her walk away to go kill herself. That is psycho at it's worst, my friends. |
"It's just...a bad dream! Wake up, wake up...!" |
| Sociopath all the way. For those of you who don't know what is is..I have a clink for you. Truyst me it sounds JUST like Light. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&defl=en&q=define:sociopath&sa=X&psj=1&ei=7esXTZO6NMT38AbCmL2YDg&ved=0CBYQkAE Anyway, I can say that Light and I agree on one thing and one thing alone. "The world could do without criminals" Lord knows that I was at-the-screen-high-fiving him but he went about do it ALL WRONG. I could never say that he was right for what he was doing, if I did then I would be lying my ass off. |
| [Catchy, cool, insightful quote] |
| Definetly a sociopath. But he is adorable without his memories |
| How about a practical sociopath. 0_O |
| Bro, Johan Liebert is a sociopath , Light? Hmm, kind of reasonable |
| His intentions were understandable, but he obviously went way too far. Once he started killing innocent people who got in his way, it became ridiculous. The lengths that he was willing to go to operate the death note, hell no, wtf are you doing, Light.. As a side note though, I'm glad that Light was unstable rather than have him stay in control and get away with what he did. |
| "LET'S HOSPITAL!" |
smokahontas96 said: Definetly a sociopath. But he is adorable without his memories I agree |
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| He was power hungry that is all. An opportunist who got a hold of a book and couldn't discipline himself to use it in an ethical way (as if there was such a way). |
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| There is a large difference between what you all deem being a "sociopath" and what it really is. Being a sociopath does not equate being crazy, actually sociopaths are generally quite good logicians; that is why many people with sociopathic tendencies end up being either murderers or CEO's. Light was definitely a sociopath, but he wasn't crazy. He was extreme, but crazy is too much of a stretch. Now on to the was he right or not part of the discussion. Many have brought up that killing criminals is ok, but not if they are in jail, I disagree. If I were to kill criminals off on a mass scale, jail mates would be some of the first I kill off. This would be for two reasons: 1) Their names are easily available in registries. 2) A single jail mate costs around $75,000 a year to keep penned up. That is a huge economic strain when you consider how overflowing jails are worldwide. The move to kill them is not only one of justice, but it is also one of accessibility and economics. |
| He was an extremist...I don't think he was really a psychopath, he didn't suffer from any apparent mental disorders. He's a "chaotic good" character taken to the absolute extreme. |
| I was totally on his site, he wanted to make the world better. Sure, he made a lot of "evil things" like killing fake L in the second episode, but for me Light is the hero. |
| Umm...I think it was pretty obvious that he became a sociopath. No matter how good his intentions were, in the end, he killed because he loved that position of power. He killed, because he wanted to achieve a world, were he could reign over as god. In no way are his acts justifiable...especially, as the person above me described, when he killed off the people close to achieve his "goal" of a world free of crime. beanwantaburger said: He wanted everyone to worship him, look up to him.. As to this day, I'm unsure why. It could be pure insanity that he just hid for a while, or maybe the ego of high grades and good looks caught up to him? Probably a mix of the both. It is my belief that perhaps living in a society defined by status and structures where even the school system separates people by their academic abilities, he felt that this power was not enough...that he was capable of achieving so much more. If he graduated high school, he would go off to a prestigious university, get a job, get married...he could not escape the system no matter how great of a genius he is. Of course, he would be provided with more opportunities able to achieve more than the average person, perhaps being the owner of a company, CEO...(etc.), but the reality is that he probably realized as a student that this was not something he wanted. When that notebook fell on the ground, it was his ray of hope, his opportunity to be able to change the world...to change that system. An opportunity, to reign as a god of the world he can create. |
| He was just a naive kid with dumb ideas who then got corrupted by power. |
 |
| Honestly- he doesn't count as either. There is no right and no wrong- why don't you guys think about it that way? Light was right in a way, but he was far, far more wrong. It's like L says, "He has a very childish concept of right and wrong." So do you guys. Stop judging things that can't be judged. No one can determine if L was right; while he was pursuing a mass murderer, he was also simultaneously preventing the deaths of tons of people whose lives were entirely unnecessary. When you think about the crimes those people committed, Kira's right. When you think about their families and try to put yourself in their shoes, or even think about (partially) undeserved death by a stranger's hand, not knowing when or how you'll die (and that too, for an experiment? A whim?), he's wrong. They were all lives he took. People. Living, breathing, thinking people with lives like yours. Maybe they were happy once. Maybe Light took that away from them. Or judge their actions- rape, murder, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion... you'll say they deserved every second of it again. It's endless, guys. No one's right in real life, and no one's wrong. We're all just humans, like Light or L. Would you have done the same with a Death Note? Maybe not. Maybe you'd have killed your innocent enemies. Maybe Light was creating a better world after all. Maybe his actions were generous. Maybe we all have a twisted sense of right and wrong. Either way, you can't group him as a sociopath OR reasonable. Point proven? |
| Nothing is here desu~ |
FloatingIdiot said: He was just a naive kid with dumb ideas who then got corrupted by power. Seriously? You cannot be serious right now. Are you high? Were you high the whole series? ...Well, watch it again! Or maybe you just can't appreciate true genius. Still, Light didn't pull off impossible shit for 12 volumes and 37 episodes for this, y'know. |
| Nothing is here desu~ |
Marloges said: I was totally on his site, he wanted to make the world better. Sure, he made a lot of "evil things" like killing fake L in the second episode, but for me Light is the hero. Well fuck you. Light was... troubled. He was genius, sure, but he didn't get the concept of right and wrong at all. And the Death Note only further corrupted him. Giving people what they "deserve"? Right, you think? What about mass-murdering to suit your own whims and your FUCKING INCURABLE GOD COMPLEX? Still right? Still a hero? Think about it. I actually pity him, but not because I support him or anything. |
| Nothing is here desu~ |
WhichOneIsKirk said: I'm getting a huge case of TL;DR lately. My view is that Light was doing the right thing up until he started going after L / the police, because then it's not just taking out criminals, but it's taking out innocent people who are trying to catch you, which is a dick move. Then you have the whole "criminals could be innocent" debate, which always sways me against corporal punishment, but just look at prisons these days: full, happy places, hell, homeless people even commit crimes over here to get into prison for a warm room and food (as said by my law teacher). A little killing to ease up the prison population and put a little old fear into the hearts of men goes a long way. He was NEVER doing the right thing. What gives him the right to play God and to decide what is or isn't right? Making that decision by itself makes him evil. He's a psychopath, plain and simple. I haven't even finished the series because I find his character so unlikable. I can't believe there are people out there who think he's the good guy. Everything he's done so far is all for him. So he can be God, so he'll be worshipped because hes the best, the smartest and everyone else should bow to his vastly superior sense of wisdom and judgment. Even when helping his sister out with her homework early on it was still all about him. He didn't do it because he cared or to help. He did it to show her how much better he is. The simple fact is that killing criminals was just an excuse for him. Notice how he starts with murderers and rapists but not too long after is going after simple thieves, jaywalkers, the police, and anyone and everyone who gets in his way. He has a God complex. He is evil. He is the very definition of evil. We are not judge, jury and executioners and as horrible as it is sometimes even criminals have rights. That's what sets us apart from them. We must do things as fair as we can, with honor and with justice on our side. If not then we are no better than they are. He wasn't corrupted by power. Power just revealed his corruption. He was always rotten inside and without that book who knows, maybe he'd be a Senator or lawyer or any other number of professions that Psychopaths can flourish so well in. Light is evil personified and humankind at it's worst. He is what we all would be without empathy. He's incapable of love, of caring of any real emotions. He's only able to experience the lesser emotions such as jealousy, anger, resentment, etc. I tend to feel bad for people without empathy because empathy is such a beautiful gift. It's what connects us all and without it you get someone like Light. |
| Motive, and Means. Without my condoning it, Light's initial impulse to make the world better by ridding it of violent criminals and "bad people" (think genocidal politicians and warmongering world leaders) is at least understandable; Light's not wrong when he points out to Ryuk the web-responses to Kira versus the rote-responses of "killing is always bad." But then we get to the two big problems with his means: 1. All people have the capacity for Good and/or Evil; few are solely one or the other. And, the human population is always regenerating itself every day as old people die and babies are being born, so, the the capacity for Good and Evil is always evolving and renewing. 2. Kira's "New World Order" is based upon Fear and Intimidation of his "God-Like" ability to kill those he perceives as Evil; this is egomania taken to an extreme. Then, we get to the fact that Kira begins to see anyone who opposes him, even police (who might be somewhat sympathetic to his initial motives) as his enemies, that must be eliminated, and then Light progresses to seeing anyone who disagrees with him as worthy of death (newscasters and editorial commentators). Added to the fact that he "lowers the bar" of Kira's judgement to killing people suspected of crimes, but having never been convicted in a court of law. Police have been known to make mistakes, and may bring in the wrong person as a suspect, just to have them cleared a short time later when further investigation reveals their innocence. So now Kira's "World" is bereft of not only any semblance of Justice or due process, but also bereft of freedom of religion (priests denouncing Kira as a false god) as well as freedom of expression (those who oppose Kira's judgement on moral principle and publicly say so). I'm not a clinical psychologists capable of rendering a diagnosis of sociopathy, but in my book, the boy ain't right in the head to start with, and goes downhill rapidly in the series. |
| I am the one you warned me of. |
Flevalt said: "Evil"What "evil" is a thief? Is it the fact that they took something from someone else without permission? That they did not bother with local customs or tradition? Or because they broke a law? Don't people sympathize with thieves who selflessly rob for the sake of others a la Robin Hood? So through different reasoning, taking something without permission can become something that is considered the right thing to do or the wrong. So that's not what makes a thief evil. A mass murderer is on a COMPLETELY different scale than stealing. This is taking away another human's being life we are talking about. I would also like to point out that Yagami Light even kills innocent people, and basically anyone who opposes him or tries to stop him. |
WhichOneIsKirk said: I'm getting a huge case of TL;DR lately. My view is that Light was doing the right thing up until he started going after L / the police, because then it's not just taking out criminals, but it's taking out innocent people who are trying to catch you, which is a dick move. Then you have the whole "criminals could be innocent" debate, which always sways me against corporal punishment, but just look at prisons these days: full, happy places, hell, homeless people even commit crimes over here to get into prison for a warm room and food (as said by my law teacher). A little killing to ease up the prison population and put a little old fear into the hearts of men goes a long way. Even before he went after L and the police he was doing the wrong thing. He was NEVER a good guy and is a textbook psychopath. One does not play God. It is not up to him who is good or bad and we have laws and even criminals are protected under those laws. As much as I dislike it at times those laws are in place for a reason. Light NEVER did anything else for other people. He was NOT trying to make the world a better place. He was NOT trying to help society or victims of crimes. He was doing it for selfish reasons. He wanted to be God. His sole reason for taking out criminals was so the masses would see him as he sees himself. As better, smarter, greater.....as a God. Even when he helped his sister with her homework he did it for selfish reasons. He did everything for himself. Narcissism and a massive ego go hand in hand with being a psychopath. They have NO empathy and do not view others as people. Another human is the same thing as a piece of trash to them. They're to be used and disposed of as they see fit. He was a villain and was so unlikable that I could barely keep watching the show. It's hard to follow a show with such a clear cut psychopath. How do you root for someone so evil? The ting that really gets me is how people prop him up and think he's the good guy. That is very troubling. As much as we'd all love to just do what we want and "make the world a better place." The ends do NOT justify the means. I'm sure the Nazi's thought they were the good guys during WWII. Hitler probably perceived himself as a hero and was ridding the world of what he hated. That's what happens when we start to play God and think we and we alone have the right to choose what is right or wrong for the world. What makes Light so darn special that he should get to do this? Because he can? Because he's smart (although his intelligence is highly debatable) or because he's good looking (again debatable)? His sense of sense of self entitlement is off the charts. He should not be looked up to, praised or even given a second thought as a hero. No more than Hitler should. Evil is evil no matter how you want to dress it up. I remember reading about school's banning Death Note or Death Notebooks because all the kiddies who had seen the show were going around and making their own death books where they'd write the names in it of other people that they didn't like. How ridiculous is that? Death Note is a anime, a cartoon and has no basis on reality. Instead of using a stupid fantasy to try and deal with one's problems they would be better served by looking at reality and taking some action. Maybe talk to someone, talk to the person you don't like, try to make friends with them, understand them. You might find you have a lot in common with them. If you're unable to befriend them then turn the other cheek if you're able. Defend yourself if you're not. Tell an adult, teacher, someone instead of playing make believe and making a Death Note(book). That is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read about. Would you really want all these kids to have a real Death Note? Can't you see how even the most altruistic person around might be tempted to use that for their own selfish purposes. And let's be clear here Light was not altruistic, nice or kind...not even in the beginning. He truly wasn't helping anyone. He wasn't tempted because of the notebook and it wasn't the note book's fault. All it did was enable him to be himself and to show his true colors. The only thing that had held him back was fear of retribution or being caught. Having that Death Note took that fear away from him and he thought he could get away with it. He was never a good person, period. Evil rarely views itself as evil so be careful who you decide to raise up. |
| A kid who played God then corrupted by power. At least his development and ideal is great. Though the way he approach it is dumb. or he just used that as excuse and go mad with his killing. |
| He is an anti hero, rooted for him throughout the series! |
TheBuddahman said: Only a complete sociopath would disagree with how Near defined Light: "A twisted mass murder who thinks of himself as god. Nothing more, nothing less." I disagree. He was a twisted mass murderer. But I ain't a complete sociopath, and sociopaths have to be antisocial, so if anyone was antisocial, it was L. |
Flevalt said: "Evil" "Sociopath" "Psychopath" People want something they can articulate in order to describe their feelings. That's what these words are. They describe something people want to despise. But in the very moment you have to resort to using them to describe someone, you are distancing yourself from the attempt to understand what they are supposed to stand for. What "evil" is a thief? Is it the fact that they took something from someone else without permission? That they did not bother with local customs or tradition? Or because they broke a law? Don't people sympathize with thieves who selflessly rob for the sake of others a la Robin Hood? So through different reasoning, taking something without permission can become something that is considered the right thing to do or the wrong. So that's not what makes a thief evil. Local customs are what people consider to be proper behavior where they come from. In a different culture, you might find yourself to be the bad guy quite fast no matter what you consider "objectively" right and wrong. Thievery is something that is looked down upon in (almost) every country of the world. If something is considered to be proper, then you are expected to act that way by others. That's what morals are. And if your morals dictate that thievery is wrong, then it is wrong. It works that way very much like the law itself. When it is written that something is wrong, then people believe that this is how it is supposed to be. Again, what evil is a thief then? The thief is but a petty dancer to the rhythm of his surroundings. His intentions are clearly of importance to people, but the intentions don't decide whether he is right or wrong in his doing. Above all else, it is the law that decides. In the eyes of the people, he is the idiot for getting caught and deserves to be punished. The CEO of a corporation getting over 1 Billion in revenues every year goes against everything that is considered to be morals by international standards. His corporation is above the law, since his corporation earns comparatively so much more money than other companies, that he can easily bribe courts and political representatives alike. Neither morals nor law can make this person evil. He stands above others almost like a god. He is the person who deserves to be where he is and do whatever he wants, because he was smart enough to manage to get there in the first place. People approve of that which they claim to hate so much. They embrace being the evildoers. As long as they are on the side of the winners, that's all that matters. The fact that it is so easy for people to be so indifferent towards the truth and live with themselves so light-heartedly and happily is the proof of their wrongdoing. Gandhi said the same thing his own way once: The Earth provides enough for every human's needs, but not enough for everyone's greed. And that's what it runs down to in the end. The human is not a being of reason, and how could it? In every village and city I can point you to a person who lacks it entirely and to another man who was blessed with more than he needs of it. But greed is something every human has. It's what moves us into action. Greed is what makes us human. An animal on the other hand has no greed, it stops desiring after it's basic needs are covered. If people cared about what is right and what is wrong, then there would be no poor countries and no people starving. The living proof can be found in Latin America, Asia and Africa. People glorify democracy and the civilized Western ways as if they had managed to improve on human faults, but in reality it's just the patricians of the West indulging themselves in luxury with the poor countries doing the work for them in a globalized world. Yagami Light, the sociopath. If you are able to live with yourself in a westernized country, then you are by definition a sociopath. Yagami Light is me, you and everyone of us. That's something the series tried to convey. The lyrics of Zetsubou Billy make it plain obvious if you haven't caught on from the series. That's why they call him Kira. In latin it stands for "light". As in Yagami light. In Japanese, it's how the word "Killer" is pronounced. If you think you have justice on your side more than anyone else, you are lying to yourself. We are all Killer. Dude! *double high five* |
| And still, Bill will live on. He will befriend the next inhabitants of the earth, beings of light who revere him as a god. And Bill will outlive them all... for millions and millions of years...exploring, learning, living, until the earth is swallowed beneath his feet. Until the sun is long since gone. Until time loses all meaning and the moment comes that he knows only the positions of the stars and sees them whether his eyes are closed or open. Until he forgets his name and the place where he'd once come from. He lives and he lives until all of the lights go out. |
| There are two things to say about the morality of what Light is doing. One, is the internal consistency of what he does and how he is portrayed. From the very beginning, Light was portrayed as an ambitious villain who has a strong sense of what he considers to be justice. The sense that Light is wrong in his views is underscored by the constant colored highlights where he is smiling in a sinister way and speaks in quite evil dialogues. His later moments of maniacal laughter and sense of superiority only drive home the point that he is not someone we should be admiring or rooting for. His God complex and his desire for a utopian ideal is actually shown in sympathetic light. I mean, who wouldn't want a world without crime, right? The problem is that Light views the world in black and white terms. There are "bad " people who do bad things and deserve to be punished by death. The appearance of Mikami, the prosecutor, is a clear caricature of Light and it is no mistake he often talks of Mikami as the 'perfect right hand" for Kira. They both see the world in their black and white terms, except Mikami explicitly states this in his foolish monologue where he claims that there are only two types of people, good and bad. I think we can all agree that this is blatantly false. There is also the problem with Light's killing of the innocent. He kills multiple innocent people quite early on. I think the first victims are the FBI agents. However, killing of the innocent is not the most worrisome part because after all, you could possibly justify killing the innocent if it guarantees the end result. One of the largest problems with Death Note's writing is that we seldom know why criminals are killed and Light's ethical code is not clear. I seem to recall a couple of points in the show where Light mentions heavy crimes and so on, but there are points where criminals are killed as soon as their names are broadcast to the public. Perhaps this is me not being informed on how the penal system works in Japan or in the show's internal universe. It is possible that Japan only broadcasts the names and faces of people who have already been convicted of the most serious crimes like rape and murder. I don't know. Despite my lack of knowledge on this, it is not clear whether Light is killing anyone under the umbrella of "criminal" no matter the heft of their crime. That essentially means that he could have killed people for something as minor as theft or assault or whatever other laws may land someone in jail for petty crimes. It is possible that there were people convicted for drug use or prostitution or other victim-less crimes, again, depending on Japan's legal system. That is also not counting the percentage of innocent people who are mistakenly convicted of crimes. Light and his accomplices must have killed at least one person who was wrongfully convicted, hence, they have killed an innocent unwittingly. The second has to do with our own moral views in the real world. I think what Light did was clearly immoral, even if he had not killed any innocent people and just kept killing prisoners at a slower rate as to avoid discovery. His moral code is already mistaken. The world is not black and white. There are few truly good and bad people. Sure, there are Ted Bundy's of the world, terrorists, and mass shooters who are evil and cannot function without causing a net loss in human happiness, but many criminals who end up being convicted are otherwise normal people who end up doing bad things because of emotions or other influences. There are many instances where we consider murder to be justified. Theft to be justified. Assault to be justified. Many current laws simply do not make sense, for instance, being convicted for possession of illicit drugs or other victim-less crimes like gambling and prostitution. So to say that simply because you're a criminal you deserve to die is to ignore the complexities of the human life and the severity of legal and social transgressions. That is precisely why we have variable sentencing and not just the death penalty for any theft or murder. There is also even the problem of killing people in general. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Exactly what crimes should constitute a death penalty? Murder of one? Murder of two? Murder of 20? Theft of one million dollars? It is very difficult to justify a concept such as the death penalty when you're operating on emotions such as vengeance. I don't see a rational moral reason why murdering someone should lead to the death of the murderer any more or less than it should lead to the death of someone who steals someone of extreme value to someone else or destroys that very same thing. We value human life on a more or less similar plane, at least logically, and once we start killing, I'm not sure how to stop the buck. Light's plan is also quite naive in that he thinks he's incorruptible and morally just. The Death Note has already corrupted him and we have clearly seen that Light was ready to kill any innocent person who stood in his way, even his own sister. That's not moral and even the most utilitarian moral theorist should recoil in his/her seat after seeing Light's reasoning stoop so low. |
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916 |
by SnipersKgrooWife
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Apr 16, 12:52 PM |
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Poll: » Death Note Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )itainteazy - Apr 4, 2007 |
393 |
by decco6226
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Apr 13, 8:10 PM |
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» Psychoanalyzing Light Yagami but in gen z slangsegosumjohn - Mar 31 |
27 |
by egosumjohn
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Apr 10, 6:53 PM |
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Poll: » Death Note Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )xXDaijinkazeXx - Apr 15, 2009 |
127 |
by KingOfPneumos
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Apr 8, 7:58 PM |