Eerie Cuties 09-05-16 Siren Brawl pg 11 of 12

[Maechris]

We have to remember this is still a fictional situation and setting.
In general, attempting to bring human vs human and human vs animal/the Mother Earth arguments to a discussion about such and trying to compare it to any potential "Human vs Sapient 'Monster' species" ignores a *lot* of factors that would arise under these sorts of circumstances regardless of which side of the barricade you end up putting yourself.

[FuzzyFace]

Why is it only bad if you kill a sapient creature? It's no less murder if a lion eats a gazelle.

How is that "murder"? Are you calling all killing, "murder"? You know, there is a reason that most languages use different words for killing vs murder. They are not identical, in most usages.

[dogsaregreat]

It does if you need to in order to survive.

No it doesn't. The ethics/morality of killing/murder have been well established by many philosophers and jurists across many civilizations throughout history. It is only considered "kosher" to kill another person if it is done in self-defense, during a battle, or after they have committed a serious crime. Remember that plane that crashed in the Andes (they made a famous movie about it)? The survivors were starving, so they ate the dead. But if one of the passengers had just felt hungry and bashed in the head of another passenger with a rock, that would not have been acceptable.

[Don Alexander]

I'm reminded of, was it Mel or Layla who did not want Ash to beat up Dio too badly because Ash was ruining the cute...

[Hyper Magi]

My point was the only reason humans should get special treatment is that we ourselves are humans. Otherwise what's the difference between killing a human or a vampire if you happen to be a werewolf?


And yeah, self defense is perfectly fine. That has less to do about morality than it does nature(Fight or Flight) though.

[Gotoh]

They're both sapient, so what? It doesn't change the fact that one has to eat the other to sustain herself.

Hunger doesn't make the killing of a sapient being acceptable.

It does from the predator's perspective. When their instinct tells them to eat, they're gonna eat. And EC/MC has lampshaded that fact several times. Notice what Layla said in her defense, when Faith caller her a murderer:

"Look, I just eat what i have to, when I have to, just like anyone."

And, prior to that, Brooke explained why she ate poor Mr. Skittles. Just as when Kade saw Tiffany's pet mouse, his instincts took over; causing him to pounce Tiffany to get to it. And when Layla slapped him, he plainly stated that he did it because he was hungry.

[dogsaregreat]

Except sapient beings aren't beholden to their instincts; they can decide whether to act on them or not. Marine is a person and so are her victims. When a person (sapient being) kills another person in cold blood for their own personal benefit, it is murder and wrong.

As to for your examples: Layla doesn't kill people (just violate them) and mice aren't people. They don't have any bearing on the siren's actions.

[KeepsWriting]

I like the way that this story has gone. Introducing a character who might have biological needs that require killing people? That's fun. I enjoyed Magick Chicks a lot because of the suspense involved in it, the way they kept me wondering:

Is she doing this because she's been brainwashed, or because she's that angry, (Skye crashing Callie's party) gullible, (Dakota posing as a guy) or evil?

Introducing another character who's got a similar kind of ambiguity seems pretty great.

[Gotoh]

Except sapient beings aren't beholden to their instincts

The ones in EC/MC are, I've even shown you several examples; including one outright stating it.

they can decide whether to act on them or not.

Which amounts to saying they can choose to eat, or starve themselves.

Marine is a person and so are her victims. When a person (sapient being) kills another person in cold blood for their own personal benefit, it is murder and wrong.

Except it isn't could blood, if she's doing it out of necessity.

[Cortez]

Except sapient beings aren't beholden to their instincts

The ones in EC/MC are, I've even shown you several examples; including one outright stating it.

[.

All poor examples since their positions are obviously bias, especially Layla's.

Of course a killer would try to justify what they are doing. Very rarely do they admit wrong doing.

I'm sure their victims would feel differently.

By the way, if a human killed a vampire that was trying to eat them, would you say they were wrong for doing so or that they were justified?

Yeah, yeah, Humans Are Monsters, we're all so terrible, angst, angst, woe is us that we are so awful. Isn't misanthropy so wonderfully cool?

Doesn't matter a wet slap in this sort of case, though. If there's a sapient monster that can only survive by killing humans, then that's just a set-up for that tragedy plot. Some humans may feel sorry for it, but sooner or later it's going to be hunted down and put down like a rabid dog. Which, funnily enough, makes the humans a whole lot less horrible than when they're hunting whales for poor-quality meat or shooting small birds for giggles - because if killing for survival is okay, than humans killing obligate anthropovores must be just fine. We cop the self-defence plea.

Pretty Much.

[Abraxas]

Marine implied she was feeding here... How does Drowning = Feeding

[Gotoh]

All poor examples since their positions are obviously bias, especially Layla's.

Of course a killer would try to justify what they are doing. Very rarely do they admit wrong doing.

Since when is Layla (or any of the others I mentioned) a killer?

The comic has made it a point to emphasize the fact that her feeding victims are always returned to their homes. Including one of the bonus strips in vol.4, which shows she feeds off Tiffany.

By the way, if a human killed a vampire that was trying to eat them, would you say they were wrong for doing so or that they were justified?

I'd call it an act of self-defense (or self-preservation) for the human. Beyond that, there's no context in your scenario to say whether the vampire was legitimately evil and had to be killed. Or, if they were simply trying to sustain themselves, as Layla and her family do.

[hightechartist]

So what operational definition of sapient are you all working off of, anyway?

[dogsaregreat]

Which amounts to saying they can choose to eat, or starve themselves.

Except it isn't could blood, if she's doing it out of necessity.

If Marine lives as long as a human then she would presumably murder many hundreds or thousands of people over her lifetime. It is a moral being's duty to choose the lesser of two evils, and an individual ending one's own life rather than killing many innocents is the less evil choice. Also, "to kill in cold blood" means to kill intentionally and without emotion; which is exactly what she does.

[Alexander Collins]

Duskine for the Win!