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Most of us don't like to think about killing another person, even someone we, or our country, considers "the enemy." That is why the first job of military trainers is to "dehumanize" the enemy, by depicting him as an evil, subhuman monster, scum to be disposed of, so we can "march forward into the glorious future...." and so forth. And in some cases the enemy may be just that. Or he may be just another poor SOB hoping to get through a war alive and go home to his family, just like you. But no matter, the enemy's way home is through or over his enemy, and if you are his enemy, you have to stop him. Kill or be killed is not some silly motto, it is cold, hard truth, whether you are a soldier in a war, or a cop facing an armed criminal, or a homeowner dealing with a murderous intruder.
Yes, "neutralize" is a nicer word than "kill". And technically, you can disable an enemy without killing him. But when you shoot at someone, even when you choose to arm yourself, you have to know that the result may be his death (or yours).
Oddly, we hear those euphemisms only when the "target" is human. I have never heard a hunter bragging about "neutralizing" a 12 point buck or a half dozen geese.
Jim
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