Poll: What would you do if you found a Death Note

[verdant monkai]

Don't worry. Users of the Death Note don't go to hell if you use the Death Note. Unless Hell is an equitorial island where everyone speaks French, located in the middle of the Indian Ocean

Again

The Shinigami king gets you, then he makes you suffer all the deaths you caused. Then you disappear completely from the minds of everyone who knew you on earth and from all documented records.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue8fM2FBL_A

 

[Quazimofo]

To be honest there's quite a few people, mostly politicians, who I wish were no longer in power. Ideally they'd just get removed from office but I'd probably use this thing to get rid of them if the opportunity arose. It's practically the perfect murder weapon and if anyone even gets close to finding me I can either burn it or hide it somewhere where it might wind up destroyed anyway. Hell, I could just erase the names or tear out the offending pages and say it was like that when I found it.

Of course, I'd research extensively any individual I'd even consider killing in order to understand the ramifications for any individual death. It'd be very easy to wind up making things worse if I'm not careful.

So yeah, I'd probably use it extensively but with discretion and great care. I wouldn't waste time on people like Justin Beiber or other celebrities who garner a lot of ire but ultimately aren't that important: I'd try to use it to improve the world by getting rid of those actively making it worse or obstructing progress.

Let's just hope I never get one because I'd probably severely screw things up in my attempts to improve things. Well, at least things would be interesting for a short while.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

I'd use it to kill off corporate execs that are blatantly ruining the world for their own personal gain. That would involve putting a lot of names to a lot of their faces, and that isn't very fun. Maybe a few dictators/'presidents'/warlords/politicians would be tossed in the mix.

 

[Whateveralot]

I will rule the world with it, by using it extensively.

 

[Little Woodsman]

None of the above. You see if I found such an item, and realized what it was, I'd realize that other anime were real/in this world as well. So I'd take the darn thing to the Nekomi Tech campus (along with a small bottle of very nice sake, a rose & a plush toy in the shape of a rocket ship) and cruise around the campus until I spotted one of the appropriate ladies, use the appropriate object to get her attention and then hand the DN off to her. (If I spotted Bell-chan before any of the others I think I could get her attention just by waving the DN & pointing at it.) Then if the goddess in question was either Peorth or Urd, I'd see if my gift (and my clever action in disposing of the DN, plus of course my natural charm and good looks) was sufficient for her to consent to me buying her dinner. Then we'd see how things went from there.

 

[rutger5000]

Make the eye deal, and write down my own name first 25 years from now.
It's a terrifying power, one that will absolutely corrupt you when using it, but hopefully I can remain relatively sane for 25 years, than I'll give the death note to someone who I trust.
Definitely I would force all my victims to rat out their wrongdoings and their accomplices on public tv.
I know I won't be able to handle the power properly, and I know it'll corrupt me. But not using it is nonaction in the face of a great moral dilemma, and there's no greater crime than that.

 

[bauke67]

As someone who has recently started watching Death Note and is thoroughly enjoying it, this poll is a nice coincidence.
I voted saying I'd use it sparingly, but the "only if a loved one is threatened" and "never" options are probably petty close to the truth as well.
I wouldn't intend to use it, but eventually a situation might arise wherein it would be the best option to use it, for instance if I was absolutely certain I would save one or more lives by doing so.
Most likely this would never happen.

 

[thatryanguy]

While I'd love to think I'd burn it, I know myself too well. I'd use it sparingly, and only on people who have power, but use it to make other peoples' lives worse. People who I could justify as not being worthy of a dignified death. Say, by having Jenny McCarthy die from Measles, or having Kim Jong Un schedule a live video announcement to the world, in which he accidentally soils his pants, trips on the mess, and breaks his neck.

I'd become a horrible person, which is why I'm glad such a thing doesn't exist.

 

[sanquin]

I'd start out using it for 'good'. My version of it at least. All people that are known severe criminals, like the gang leaders running their gangs from prison would go in there right away if I could find out their name. Serial rapists, anyone that committed a planned murder, willing torturers (or if not, the people forcing them to do so), etc.

Later on I'd probably start using it for personal gain. I don't consider myself such a good person that I think the 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely' saying won't affect me.

So, you'd basically be exactly following Light's path from the original story, as that was exactly what he intended before he was corrupted.

Kinda, yea. Though I would be less about 'I'll murder all of them!' if anyone found out, and more 'shit, let's hide for a while.'

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to become a villain." And all that.

 

[conmag9]

Destroy it. Not only is it a nasty piece of magic, anyone who uses it is screwed on multiple levels.

 

[Elfgore]

Option 1. I mean the power I have in my hands is quite scary. I could cause WW3 by writing down a couple names, that is really scary for me. People are not meant to have that much control over life and death. Even the best of people could become cold killers, killing people for the stupidest reasons. That thing is getting burned.

I doubt you could start an overt war, if the show is anything to go by. Worst case scenario: The Faceless Men of the Australian Labor Party will end up ruling the world.

You're telling me that if I had Barack Obama, David Cameron, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, and a couple other world leaders killed, a war wouldn't start. Sure if they died by heart attacks it would have a lower chance of starting a war, but what if I had them shot or ran over with a car? I could easily start the third world war.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Honestly, I'd just keep it for the invisible friend I'd have, since those things always seem to come with a shinigami/reaper/death god partner. That could be fun AND useful!

In the end I might use it a handful of times if I find someone REALLY obviously screwing up things on a large scale level. In which case I'd try to use it in a way that would expose the screwing up they did while simultaneously ruining what they stood for. Typically by having them accidentally expose themselves in a way that brings down their entire house of cards and when confronted, kill themselves in a pathetic manner. Or something like that.

I wouldn't use it extensively or even sparingly. I'd use it barely ever at all. And I'd set up a "forget phrase" with my shinigami so that if I'm ever suspected of anything, I can just drop and forget the whole thing.

...That and I'd be tempted to write my own death for age 98, peacefully in my sleep, if that's even possible to do.

 

[Zeraki]

Burn the damn thing faster than you could say apples.

It's not worth all the baggage attached and... well I just don't want to kill anybody, no matter how much they might piss me off. No human should have that kind of power in their hands. We saw the corrupting influence it had on Light, and we saw the monster he became.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

It scares me that so many people actually liked Light and considered him the hero of the show. Especially after all the horrible things he did to his "loved" ones.

 

[Auron225]

I find it funny how many people's concerns about "going mad with power" are based of Lights experience. Do you think he started out noble? You all seem to forget that he explicitly said very early on (Episode 2 or something) that his ultimate goal was to be seen as a god among men and worshipped as such. Nothing about his plan was noble in the least. He was mad with power from the very outset!

 

[Clowndoe]

I see a lot of people writing down terrorists or simply high-up dirtbags. The thing is, I don't think I could write fast enough to keep up with people getting replaced and give up before anything gets better. Not to mention they'll probably just end up pinning it on the Americans developing a new super weapon or sending assassins where they shouldn't be, and you'll end up making things worse.

 

[Iwantstuff]

Keep it, use it to kill Murderers and Rapists. Never use it on politicians or world leaders, that shit could get messy REAL fast.

 

[DEAD34345]

I'd use it occasionally if I heard about something like a hostage situation in the news, or an ongoing mass-shooting. When you have the ability to stop (most) people from dying in a situation like that, then not doing so is morally wrong as far as I'm concerned. To me, those who would immediately burn the note are being pretty selfish, or perhaps cowardly, depending on the specific motivation involved.

I don't think I'd be corrupted by it in any major way, though actually using it might put quite a burden on my peace of mind. I don't particularly want anything the Death Note could give me (at least not to the degree that I'd be wiling to murder for it), so there's little chance of me abusing it to further my own personal goals. In fact I honestly wouldn't be happy about receiving it at all, but if I did I'd feel something of a responsibility to use it from time to time.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I would soo used it for personal gain mainly anyone that had wrong me in my life (mainly the past manager and formers friends from high school).

Alternatively (if my moral compass won't allow me to commit murder) was there a consequence for having the Death Note in posession but don't use it at all? I mean I would want a Shinigami for a friend as long he/ she does requite fruit on a daily basis (I need my fruits too)!

 

[Heronblade]

Edit: To the people who are not burning it, you really need to think about your decision. You're underestimating the power you have in your hands. You say you'll only kill people who deserve it, but can you prove that they deserve it? Can you honestly tell me that after a bad day at work/school, that you won't go home and kill the bastard you made it bad? I think some of you are putting way to much trust in yourselves. I would consider myself a generally good person, but I don't think I could handle that power. It would change me. No one on earth deserves this power.

This attitude is a pessimistic, naive, and ultimately self destructive remnant of the old world viewpoint of humanity in general.

The idea that power inevitably corrupts is absolutely and utterly false, a nice little excuse for people trying to explain away the choices of evil individuals. Power is an enabler and a catalyst, it can and will change people, but whether it does so in a positive or negative manner is based on the choices and basic nature of the individual in question. Throughout history, we have seen multiple examples of individuals whose moral character became all the stronger once they had clout to back up their actions. The problem we face, and the reason for the meme in question, is that those who desire and seek power are those most likely to get it, and also the most likely to abuse it.

That stated, I will agree that I wouldn't trust quite a few of the people here who say they would keep the book to use it responsibly, but that's mainly due to the cavalier attitudes displayed.

P.S. Yes, I can definitively say that there are people who deserve death in this world. I can also definitively say that there are people that the world would be better off without their influence. As someone invested in trying to find a way to build a better future for all of humanity, I'm more concerned with the second category, but conveniently enough, both lists match up fairly well.

 

[Elfgore]

Edit: To the people who are not burning it, you really need to think about your decision. You're underestimating the power you have in your hands. You say you'll only kill people who deserve it, but can you prove that they deserve it? Can you honestly tell me that after a bad day at work/school, that you won't go home and kill the bastard you made it bad? I think some of you are putting way to much trust in yourselves. I would consider myself a generally good person, but I don't think I could handle that power. It would change me. No one on earth deserves this power.

This attitude is a pessimistic, naive, and ultimately self destructive remnant of the old world viewpoint of humanity in general.

The idea that power inevitably corrupts is absolutely and utterly false, a nice little excuse for people trying to explain away the choices of evil individuals. Power is an enabler and a catalyst, it can and will change people, but whether it does so in a positive or negative manner is based on the choices and basic nature of the individual in question. Throughout history, we have seen multiple examples of individuals whose moral character became all the stronger once they had clout to back up their actions. The problem we face, and the reason for the meme in question, is that those who desire and seek power are those most likely to get it, and also the most likely to abuse it.

That stated, I will agree that I wouldn't trust quite a few of the people here who say they would keep the book to use it responsibly, but that's mainly due to the cavalier attitudes displayed.

P.S. Yes, I can definitively say that there are people who deserve death in this world. I can also definitively say that there are people that the world would be better off without their influence. As someone invested in trying to find a way to build a better future for all of humanity, I'm more concerned with the second category, but conveniently enough, both lists match up fairly well.

You state your opinions like they are proven fact. Show me proof that power doesn't corrupt. And who decided what a better future for humanity is? You, me, other people. Some might say humanity gone is a better world to live in.

Edit: Forget about this post. I don't have the willpower nor attitude right now to debate about the nature of humanity.