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G.C.Montgomery wrote:

DoubleJ wrote:thing is, with a kid that young, they may have NO idea the consequences of their actions! they may be just going through the motions they've seen their friends, "mentors" do. Or more likely, the actions of some GrandTheftAuto mentality...

I have to disagree here…Strike that. I should say that this mindset does not always apply. Without trying to explain the different mindsets one might encounter, I submit the following: You don't get to know the background of the person threatening to kill you. You don't get to know his/her mindset. All you have to influence your judgment are his/her immediate actions.

Furthermore, the problem assumed by the OP is that your life or the life of a third person is in immediate danger. If immediate action is needed to prevent serious bodily injury or death, the question of the actor’s mindset and/or its origin is irrelevant. You don't have time to decide whether or not this is just a "kid" who thinks the world is one big GTA game or if the monster before you is a full-blown, narcissistic, sociopath who has decided he will take what he wants from this world, when he wants it, how he wants it and does not care who has to die to get it. If you can honestly look into a “child’s� eyes to see the difference before that child makes a canoe of your skull with the gun in his hand, then you are a better man than me.