The Thrill of the Kill
Why Do Killers Kill?
In this article, I will use Friedrich Nietzsche’s creditor-debtor relationship to discuss some reasons why an individual would inflict harm or kill a person or groups of people. I will demonstrate this through analyzing an interview with a hit man and through the analysis of a few psychology articles that shine some light on the possible reasons why someone might do such a thing. I will also discuss some gender statistics on the shooters over the previous years and discuss why power plays a big role in this issue.
Friedrich Nietzsche believed the creditor-debtor relationship was derived from “the sphere of legal obligations” and that debt is a material concept and guilt is a moral concept. He stated that the debtor would experience guilt when borrowing from the creditor, who is usually someone with a higher social standing. He also believed that guilt was associated with suffering, therefore the creditor held the power to make the debtor suffer which is “the highest degree of pleasure.” Through this concept, guilt becomes a legal obligation that the debtor owes to the creditor, and this debt can be cleared by suffering, which repays the creditor. The creditor-debtor relationship is a fight for power. Clearly in this scenario, the creditor becomes the more powerful of the two because he has the ability to inflict pain on the weak person. Nietzsche states that in this situation, the creditor is “granted a certain feeling of satisfaction as repayment and compensation, — the feeling of satisfaction that comes from being permitted to vent his power without a second thought on one who is powerless…” This quote states that the one who is conveying the violence, the creditor, experiences something so fulfilling and satisfying that it allows no time for the consideration of the debtor’s feelings. Nietzsche even compares this feeling to something similar to God because it allows the person in the higher position to brutalize someone “beneath himself.” But the question is, how does Nietzsche’s point relate to why killers kill?
In a very interesting article on Psychology Today, Simon Montefiore interviews a hit man about different aspects of why he kills and how killing makes him feel. This interview helps answer some questions and gives an insight to a hit man’s mindset. Misha, the hit man, has some noteworthy answers about power and control. He says, “it takes a special power to kill a fellow man and it gives you a secret something…” Montefiore suggests that the killer feels a certain thrill when he is taking a life because he feels as if he possesses God’s power. Montefiore asks Misha, “have you sinned by killing?” and Misha replies, “In a way, I must be the hand of God. God is powerful. Someone must do my job and God chose me.” This interview with Misha makes killing very much about the possession of power over someone who is weaker. With this power, the killer can decide when he can take a life, take someone away from their family, or inflict pain, similar to the creditor-debtor relationship that Nietzsche mentioned. From this, we can conclude that even for a hit man who Is compensated for his actions, killing is still about the hierarchy of power and the need to gain control over someone else.
In light of the recent tragic shooting in Florida, I’ll explore the personality makeup and motives of a mass shooter and why someone might want to do something so tragic. Dr. Stanton Samenow suggests that shooters are usually loners. They isolate themselves from everyone else because they believe that they don’t gain much by interacting or getting to know others. They often think that they are better than others and that they possess something that others don’t. They think that the world revolves around them and they want to have control over it like a board game. They want to believe that they are the puppet masters and controllers of the game. Because they hold themselves higher than everyone else, they think that they have the right to be able to portray God and decide who gets to live and who gets to die. Dr. Samenow also notes, “these are not likeable individuals. No one seems to have known them well. They marginalize themselves, rejecting the world well before the world rejects them.” Of course, these descriptions don’t fit all mass shooters and murderers, but they fit most of them. In this scenario, power is mentioned yet again. It’s evident that whether someone is killing others as a profession, or out of hatred, power is always at play.
With the discussion about dominance and power, another important issue comes to mind. If we think back to all the mass shootings in schools, movie theaters, and streets of the United States, we may be able to spot something they all have in common. They are all men! The only female shooter that comes to mind is the 2015 San Bernardino attack which involved a male and female shooter. Political Research Associates give us some clear statistics. About 97% of shooters are men, 79% of them being white, and over the past decade, 90% of school shootings have been executed by white men. But why are men guilty of carrying out the most shootings and being violent? Jesse Prinz suggests that men were shaped to be warriors, he says, “men are more xenophobic than women, because they are wired to wage war. But this is also predicted on the historical account, because men control governments and handle foreign relations. It follows too that men start all war.” Although this statement may not apply to every situation, it helps us understand that as a society, we’ve raised our boys to be aggressive and power seeking. We have thought them to put their emotions away, but not all emotions. For men, it’s more acceptable to display anger, to be violent, to seek revenge, therefore, our society plays a big role in this issue as well.
In conclusion, the creditor-debtor relationship is about someone with a higher social standing having control and power over someone below him, and shootings and killings follow the same concept. The shooter, which is almost always male, wants to feel that he has control over the weaker person and takes pleasure form inflicting pain.
