phyre

Leaning heavily towards sent/weapon master.

Yes, you're right. Use of force is definitely not the same as agression. But, this is a unique case. We really don't have anything available to us right now that can quite compare to the Force. To a Jedi, using the Force to kill, or even hurt, must bring forth some strong emotion prior to committing the act. To attack someone with a gun or lightsaber is one thing, but to call upon the very essence of life to bring harm on another must mean there is some serious unstable emotion there. At least, that's how I see it.

Perhaps the analogy didn't fully illustrate my point. Assuming using lethal force was the only alternative, I believe it would be impossible for a person to knowingly bring pain or death unto another person without any negative emotional attachment. Every violent action, wheter done in agression or in the defense of another life, has a psychological effect. Have you ever used physical violence against another person, even in defense? The aftermath of emotion is definitely there. I've experienced that much. To be even bolder; Have you or do you know anyone who has ever killed another person? Perhaps a police officer or a war veteran? It changes people, regardless of what the reason was. But what if that violence was done using something very sacred? It's not that Jedi abstain killing in general, it's that Jedi abstain killing with the Force. To hurt or kill, with any mundane weapon, is wrong but sometimes necessary. To do it using the Force, an entity that the Jedi find very sacred, would be the equivalent of a Christain using a pointed crucifix to assassinate a President who happened to believe in abortion. It's scandalous!

A weapon is tool used to cause harm, it will always be offensive. Regardless if you use it to save another's life, any action you take against an opponent is always an attack. Look at history even. Every weapon in the history of mankind was abused. If I taught a farmer how to use a scythe meant for shearing wheat as a weapon, I can guarantee you he'd reach for his scythe if he wanted to hurt someone. The same goes for the Force; once you use it as a weapon, you will always see it that way. I apologize if I wasn't clear on this. I didn't mean it in a game context. Let's take a real life example here. Imagine the aforementioned rapist used somewhere above. Now imagine you had a gun. How could you possibly use the gun to shoot the rapist if you did not feel some negative emotion toward this rapist? Sure, to use the gun you need to know how to pull the trigger, but why would you use it in the first place? You would shoot him because you were angry at what he did, or maybe because you hated him for being an animal. Now, the Force isn't just a gun. No, it's much more than that. The Force is something much more powerful. You may have heard this once, "With great power comes great responsibility". It might sound corny, but it holds true here. Treating the Force like any other tool would be sacrilege to a Jedi. Using it to kill is wrong, no matter the how or why of it. I'm glad you realize that mastery of such dangerous lightsaber arts is no small feat. There are what, two Jedi who have mastered the Vaapad? So close to the Darkside is that form, that one Jedi was consumed by it. Is it any wonder why? Resisting the Darkside is hard, even for some of the strongest Jedi. And we're not even talking about using the Force to directly harm someone here, this is dealing with focus and emotion! How much harder, then, would it be for a Jedi to master such techniques that use the Force to directly hurt or kill someone? If only a handful of Jedi can barely manage to master a lightsaber form that flirts with the Darkside how can any Jedi possibly begin to suggest using offensive Force techniques? Restricting any offensive use of the force is meant to protect the Jedi who do not have the will to resist the Darkside after tasting it. Luke didn't have to choke them. He could have used the Force to paralyze them. So many options, so many alternatives, but he resorted to violence. Why? Because it was the easy way. It was not the Jedi thing to do. First of all, what says using an offensive power against an opponent so much more powerful would even suceed? Although I see how an opponent would be surprised to see such aggressive use of the Force by a Jedi. But why would the Jedi even consider using the Force for offense? Is it because he is afraid he will lose? Or maybe he is angry that he is being beaten? Even against a powerful foe, all a Jedi must do is concentrate and keep all emotion in check. Anger makes people more prone to make mistakes. Who do you think will slip first? The calm and focused Jedi, or the enraged dark Jedi, who is slave to emotion?

Consider this for a brief moment. In order to perform any attack through the force, whether it be a choke or a blast of lightning, there must be negative emotions driving it. Think about it, how could you manipulate a power as awesome as the Force, to use as a weapon against another sentient being unless there was hate, anger, or a strong desire to cause harm, all of which are strongly associated with the Darkside. Imagine an innocent person in danger. Failing diplomacy, a true Jedi Master would intervene by forcing the attacker into submission by using either the Force to remove the attacker's weapon or prevent them from attacking or using his saber to incapacitate. Only as a last ditch maneuver, when all viable options have failed, would a Jedi kill another sentient with his saber. He would never manipulate the Force in such a way as to take the life of another being, no matter how you justify it, even if that puts the Jedi at a disadvantage. Maintaining strict discipline to the Jedi Code is what prevents the Jedi from giving in to the temptations posed by the power of the Force. Using the force as a weapon, to hurt or kill, would require the Jedi to release the strict reign on his emotions for just a moment, and to tap into anger, fury, and hate. The more a Jedi uses the force as a weapon, the easier it becomes to abuse it, which is the trap that ultimately leads to the Darkside.