Martyrdom, How do you see it?

So this is something I see a lot of people have mixed feelings on and Id like to hear yalls thoughts on the matter.

A definition if one needs


Personally I find the concept to be admirable and dare I say noble if not entirely the best solution to the problem and somewhat stupid at times. That is when it is done for the sake of others. When it is done solely to curry favor for a cause it just irks me.

For example if someone is killed while protecting and aiding a group of helpless civilians that is all well and good for me. But if say a group leader deliberately tries to get himself killed only to convince people that what he did was right or that his cause is righteous that pisses me off.

Anyway that is just my thoughts, if they are a bit naive, yours?

I would never believe in something to the point where I would put myself in serious danger to defend it.

Martyrdom is an admirable concept but not really obtaining the best results in the end. Men like Martin Luther King Jr., did not become martyrs by choice but made into them by their "supporters".

He lived to get his message out but not once did he consider dying for it. He also knew that instant change was not something that could happen and that people needed time to adjust. Martyrdom seems to support the rule that if you kill yourself, things will change the instant you die or that because you died, things will be forced to change.
In other words, it's a nice idea, but in reality not really. The best martyrs were those that didn't want to become one.

Saving civilians though is an example of martyrdom at it's best albeit it's best isn't really that great. Saying that "Your husband saved many lives but he didn't make it out." isn't really going to comfort the wife now is it? It's, in the end, just some silver lining on a bad bad situation.

So that's what Martyrdom is. I knew of it, but never knew what it really was.

I would never act on something if it risked anyone's life because of my beliefs. I can kind of understand why anyone would though, but it just seems to be a kind of desperate act.

If you are not willing to risk life and limb for something, how can you ever say you stood for something? Sounds very "I-don't-care"-ican.

On topic: Martyrdom walks a fine line between noble and stupid. An example of noble would be the Tibetan monks and nuns who set themselves on fire in protest. An example of stupidity would be the Islamic extremists blowing themselves up in hotels, market places and on buses. If you want to martyr yourself as your way of "fighting" then by all means but, don't force someone to take that trip with you, especially if the person going doesn't know you bought them a ticket.

It all depends on the situation.

Fighting for something you believe in and if by far dying for it... sure it sounds noble and it will make people think about it... but it all depends on how the people react to it.

Only ignorant people such most religious people and cult addicts say they will dye for their beliefs and in the end when they do they get scared.

For my own personal belief on it I would say about the getting hurt part and fighting part is ok... but when it involves death then I tend to stay on the sidelines since there are so many solutions other than death....

"The right person with the right feelings fighting for the right cause will become victorious."

A martyr is only a martyr if they die. That being said, keeping them half dead yet alive will stop them from promoting their causes.

who's life is being risked? as long as they're risking their own life, then this is usually very noble and shows your faith and determination for your beliefs. But if you're risking other people's lives for the sake of your own belief, then I have a problem with that.

I don't think martyrdom itself is stupid; if anything is stupid, it's the beliefs, not the martyrdom. If you aren't willing to stand up for your beliefs, you might as well not have them

Its very situational, Mostly due to ones perspective, Ie all the al'quida suicide bombers function on that mind set.

There is nothing more dangerous than martyrs. While on the short term the benefits can be huge on the long term they will most certainly be not. By atributting a person power beyond other people even if such a person is truly a good a person that makes no mistakes what happens when he passes on? Power when concentrated on one hand doesn't split apart so easily. Who can say what the people who inherited this power will be good?

Who said you have to hurt others to be a martyr? Look at Jesus--he's the very definition of a martyr and he never killed anyone.

Dying or risking one's life don't guarantee the desired result, or result at all. By common sense, it seems to be the most stupidest thing to do if you really want your ideals to live on. Who will spread them after you are gone?

There are examples in history of martyrs who have changed history, but it wasn't their deaths which made things happen, but the people who used them as examples. A death is only a death, no matter the reason, but touching and/or influental stories affect people and can cause an uprise or other similar phenomena. It doesn't matter what happened, but what people believe that happened. In all cases the real work was done by those who were still alive.

The cases were martyrdom changes or had changed anything are few. Some people could have achieved those same results or more and be still alive, and that only means that they were more influental, resourceful or clever. In other words, better suited or the job. Thinking that dying more or less in vain is sign of job well done or any other way admirable is absurd.

Martyrdom is an interesting thing. I can't count how many times I've seen a character in some movie, anime, manga, etc. be willing to sacrifice them self for something or someone regardless of the cause being "good" or "evil" in the plot.

I feel that kind of martyrdom is a bit glorified for the sake of the usually fictional story.

Using Malfuy's definition

Daroo pointed this out as well. Most martyr's become martyr's after they die by the people affected and they usually don't have an intention of dying to begin with. Emergency personnel come to mind. I'm sure there is an exception but I can't think of one, I'm not going to count religious ones, at the moment. There are people that we would do a lot for but we would not purposefully die for them. If one of us died in the process of helping them out in some way then some 3rd party could argue that person was a martyr for them but him/her had no intention of doing so from the start. So if I go by Malfuy's definition, very few people fit that definition of martyr, and in my opinion some of those that do are pretty silly.

This is my main reason for wanting nothing to do with the armed forces. The idea of dying for an operation that I do not support is something I strongly dislike. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone by saying that. It's just not something I could ever agree to.