Why can't we wish people dead?

[mellowyellowgirl]

There appears to be a lot of fuss about people wishing people dead. It's a big nono.

Why is it bad to wish someone dead if I think they're evil or a bad person? I'm not dispensing vigilante justice. I just simply wish them dead. It's not like it will be useful or come to fruition. Why is it that we cannot wish someone dead even if we find them truly deplorable?

And it's not even to their face so hurt feelings etc are not possible.

I asked hubby about this and he says it's probably considered bad manners to go around cursing people. You must act sad if someone dies. Even if you think they are awful.

Is it an etiquette thing?

 

[MamaBee]

There appears to be a lot of fuss about people wishing people dead. It's a big nono.

Why is it bad to wish someone dead if I think they're evil or a bad person? I'm not dispensing vigilante justice. I just simply wish them dead. It's not like it will be useful or come to fruition. Why is it that we cannot wish someone dead even if we find them truly deplorable?

And it's not even to their face so hurt feelings etc are not possible.

I asked hubby about this and he says it's probably considered bad manners to go around cursing people. You must act sad if someone dies. Even if you think they are awful.

Is it an etiquette thing?

@mellowyellowgirl I can’t answer that question..but…this made me laugh out loud with my whole family sleeping.

 

[Karl_K]

Because the US has jumped the pooch.
Read this:

Terroristic threat - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That's why you should not wish someone dead, you may find yourself charged with a felony.

As far as saying something bad of the dead it is considered by many as bringing really bad luck on yourself.

 

[yssie]

Like @MamaBee - I’m giggling in bed now too

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Who's upset you dear @mellowyellowgirl .
I can have dear little Borris wip us up a rather evil little parcel in a paper bag we can set alight and leave on someone's doorstep ...

Can't get political but when a certain ex PM died years ago i did a happy little dance multiple times

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

No one my lovely @Daisys and Diamonds

I'm surprisingly ok for someone who has been locked up for weeks!!!

It's just one of those things I keep wondering about and finally worked up the courage to ask!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

No one my lovely @Daisys and Diamonds

I'm surprisingly ok for someone who has been locked up for weeks!!!

It's just one of those things I keep wondering about and finally worked up the courage to ask!

Ive been thinking about you and your fellow countrymen
Its a worrying time
I hope the numbers start coming down like tomorrow
Stay safe over there
Home can get a tad boring but its the safest place to be
Have you managed to get the jab yet ?

 

[dk168]

I have been taught by my parents no to wish others any ills; what goes round comes around; karma and all that.

However, I must admit to thinking 'good riddance' when I heard about the passing of certain people who had convicted of horrific crimes against other people in the past.

DK

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My dad died at 53 from cancer
My sister was still at high school
My dad was a good man, he worked all through his illness, he tried to be normal for us
Why do absolute scum walk this earth yet my dad did not get to walk my sister walk down the isle, to play with his grandchildren or to enjoy retirement with our mum ?

Come to think of it my darling Tibby Tabby deserved to live into a happy and dottery kitty cat old age not die in his prime a heck of a lot more than rapists and murders who hang on a burden to us all and a torment to their victim's families

 

[icy_jade]

I asked hubby about this and he says it's probably considered bad manners to go around cursing people. You must act sad if someone dies. Even if you think they are awful.

Is it an etiquette thing?

I think is an etiquette thing, but then again if we wish serial killers, child abusers, rapists and other evil people dead, why should we pretend to feel bad? I admit that I don’t feel bad at all thinking like that. Does that make me a bad person then? I mean, I’m just not evolved enough to wish evil people well. But since I think death is easy, I think we shouldn’t wish evil people dead but to suffer a fate worst than death.

Or does everyone secretly do it (wish people dead) and just not say? Hmm… interesting topic.

 

[missy]

Like @dk168 we were taught from when we were very young it is never OK to wish someone dead or to wish ill upon someone.

You are inviting bad energy into your life. It is bad karma and what comes around goes around. Also the more you wish ill on someone the more you dwell on it and the more it affects you.
Let it go and be free of that negative energy.

Of course there are exceptions just as with all things.

If someone is at the end of their life and they are suffering I wish them peace from the suffering.
If someone is truly evil (think Hitler) it is OK to wish them dead. IMO.

 

[jordyonbass]

I'm with @missy here, personally I don't want to harbour that kind of bad energy in my life.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

We can but then we are using our energy on negative emotions vs positive emotions which is really only hurting ourselves. Seems a waste of good energy IMO.

I was brought up not to wish death on people, morally it’s wrong from my upbringing.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

But what if you were wishing them dead while being efficient?

Say you wished them dead while making pancakes and scrubbing floors?

Is it just because it's "not nice"?

Or is the idea that you will be distracted cursing them, add too much baking powder into your pancakes, ruin your pancakes, hence the bad energy argument?

Or do you think the cosmic forces will make a car hit you if you wished so and so dead?

On that note I'm off to assemble mango pancakes and no I'm not wishing anyone dead!!! Using frozen mangoes which are problematic so can't afford bad vibes!

 

[missy]

But what if you were wishing them dead while being efficient?

Say you wished them dead while making pancakes and scrubbing floors?

Is it just because it's "not nice"?

Or is the idea that you will be distracted cursing them, add too much baking powder into your pancakes, ruin your pancakes, hence the bad energy argument?

Or do you think the cosmic forces will make a car hit you if you wished so and so dead?

On that note I'm off to assemble mango pancakes and no I'm not wishing anyone dead!!! Using frozen mangoes which are problematic so can't afford bad vibes!

To state it simply because I don’t want that kind of negative energy and no matter which way you slice it wishing someone dead is poison for *you* IMO. Wishing someone dead harms you most of all. IMO. I feel much better hoping that person will change for the better than wanting them dead and just blocking them from my life should all else fail. I have no time or energy for toxicity in my life.

 

[icy_jade]

But what if you were wishing them dead while being efficient?

Say you wished them dead while making pancakes and scrubbing floors?

Actually I’m just wondering why bother since we all know wishes are wishes and doesn’t work anyway right? And… how would that thought even come about?

I can imagine if you truly hate someone, and obsessively think about them, then maybe? Otherwise the thought (wishing someone dead) would hardly come up right? I can’t imagine anyone casually wishing random people dead.

 

[Tarquin]

Its the snowflake thing. Words are considered to be more powerful than actions. By saying you wished someone dead you have actually done something worse than killing them.

Some cultures do let you wish someone dead. Dutch slang has a lot of variants involving the wishing cancer on someone.

In my youth the slang DDT (drop dead twice) and ESAD (a poor food choice) were common in middle school and high school. The latter was consider vulgar and both were considered amusing.

 

[Slickk]

Because it’s not nice? …

 

[missy]

Its the snowflake thing. Words are considered to be more powerful than actions. By saying you wished someone dead you have actually done something worse than killing them.

Some cultures do let you wish someone dead. Dutch slang has a lot of variants involving the wishing cancer on someone.

In my youth the slang DDT (drop dead twice) and ESAD (a poor food choice) were common in middle school and high school.

Speak for yourself. I am a baby boomer/gen x. No snowflake genetics here.
Actions always speak louder than words but words can harm and one should choose their words carefully.
Plus, we are speaking about thoughts here anyway and i stand by the fact that it harms us more than the person we are wishing harm to. However YMMV and clearly does.

Because it’s not nice? …

For some “nice” is a dirty word. :/

 

[Slickk]

For some “nice” is a dirty word. :/

And this is why we can’t have nice things

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Actually I’m just wondering why bother since we all know wishes are wishes and doesn’t work anyway right? And… how would that thought even come about?

I can imagine if you truly hate someone, and obsessively think about them, then maybe? Otherwise the thought (wishing someone dead) would hardly come up right? I can’t imagine anyone casually wishing random people dead.

So I'm thinking more about a fleeting declaration or a declaration about a very hated public figure.

It's probably just because it's not nice. But then I think going to the supermarket and taking 20 wipes that you don't need, scrunching them up and not using them is also not nice at all. Yet people will probably jump on you more if you said you wished death on Zzz.

If you've got darts and voodoo dolls then that's a whole other problem I imagine.

 

[Slickk]

There’s a saying of “living rent free in your head.” I think it’s best practice to move on without the negative thoughts towards others. It hurts you more than the target. That’s for sure!!

 

[stracci2000]

What goes on in your own head is your business. As far as I know, there are no 'mind police'.
If you would like entertain the idea that someone should die because they are a horrible person, then no one can stop you. You will not get struck by lightening for having these thoughts.

I was taught not to wish bad on people, too.
But a few times in my life I have wavered on that concept, if you get my drift.

 

[yssie]

I don’t generally wish people who I consider evil people dead. Death is too fast, too easy, and too kind for some people. I want them to experience everything they’ve inflicted on their victims. But saying that you look forward to hearing about Michael Vick being repeatedly electrocuted... Doesn’t go down much better than just saying “he should die”

I don’t feel like I need to personally “wish” it, though. I have complete confidence that the universe will exact retribution on people who wrong others with intent to harm. No idea where that confidence comes from.

 

[MamaBee]

I wouldn’t wish anyone dead..but…I can see where in certain circumstances such as murderer on the loose, rapist, etc...you feel relief that they died.

 

[Tartansparkles]

We're absolutely free to wish for what we want inside our own heads, sometimes those are fleeting/nasty/humorous thoughts and sometimes they overwhelm the thinker. But what we do and say (out loud) is a reflection on us.

 

[Gussie]

I don't wish people dead because it is bad for me. It makes me feel bad to wish harm on others even if I think they are horrible people. I was taught that when I begin to have terrible thoughts about someone that I should pray for them. Lol, lots of people think that's silly but it does work. It removes the power that any horrible person has over me. My whole goal is to have serenity in my life and wishing ill on someone definitely robs me of my inner peace. I guess I take "thought, word, or deed" very seriously.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Gussie, you are a better person than me, I just can’t bring myself to pray for someone I have such strong negative feelings for. That’s admirable and I’m not being sarcastic, I really mean that.

My step-mother is a terrible person, she was horrible to me, I can’t imagine praying for her. I just try not to think about her and focus on the good people in my life.

I guess that’s the other point about wishing someone dead is it takes away from focusing on the people that are good and worth of our time and thoughts.

 

[Gussie]

@YadaYadaYada, I am definitely not perfect at it but I do know it helps me. I fully admit I do it for entirely selfish reasons. I don't want sh***y people to hold power over me. Forgiveness is entirely for me too.

 

[marymm]

OP, I think I know what you mean ... but I also believe this kind of thinking invites evil into your mind and soul ... you may well be a just judge and those you wish dead may legitimately deserve death in the way you wish it ... but it actually does ring of vigilante justice ... and I do believe that kind of thinking is a slippery slope to vengeance and lawlessness ... the mind is a powerful thing and what we choose to focus on I believe can color all of our thoughts and opinions ... personally I find "wishing someone dead" to be harmful to my own self, and I try to limit myself to wishing "they get what they deserve."