Why is public assassination sometimes preferable to, well, private assassination carried out in secret?
I can think of a couple reasons, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.
Why is public assassination sometimes preferable to, well, private assassination carried out in secret?
Sebastian Jackson
Parker Harris
Display of power, removes the ability for the victimized party to deny it
Thomas Taylor
It's preferable when you are trying to send a message, which is mostly what political assassination is about
Xavier Price
Well, the reason it's done in public is so people can see it. You're sending a message or making a martyr.
If you want to do it in secret, you just put radioactive material in their chair or in their car...
Jaxon Bailey
Shock value comes to mind, killing a an important figure in public under the right circumstances can cause huge ripple effects.
Jayden Young
It is called 'signalling'.
scholar.google.com
Gabriel Price
What everyone else has already said. People can't send a press release and get their shit in order the same way if you kill someone in broad daylight in the middle of the street. I guess it's also possible there might be some sort of weakness in their security when they're out and about, but that's pretty situational
Cooper Hernandez
Usually because public assassinations are much easier because you know, your target is in public.
Hudson Sullivan
same reason as public execution, they can hide a death, replace any important public figure, say that it was a sudden onset of illness etc.
if you're a terrorist you want none of those to happen, plus killing someone out in the open is usually easier than getting past heavy security
Jackson Sullivan
demoralization of the people and inciting a panic, reminding them that their own home turf isn't safe from you, it's the basic mentality behind terrorism; cause as much fear and panic in the people and make them paranoid and fearful of your next action.
Carter Taylor
The intimidation and distraction factor. When everyone is screaming, nobody is going to notice the one guy walking away from the scene because a lot are going to be running for it.
Gavin Reyes
Consider what happened when Caesar was assassinated in the middle of the Senate. The conspirators expected to be welcomed as heroes, and take control of Rome. But underestimated the popularity of Caesar with the masses and in the end had to flee.
Eli Rogers
There appears to be an idea that public hanging of criminals was, to an extent, used for entertainment. It also supposedly was done to remind people of the consequences of criminal acts.
I'm not sure I really buy either of those, though. I haven't seen a decent source that indicates either.
Jeremiah Perry
It's actually easier to do
Oliver Taylor
Are you retarded?
People used to make all-day picnics out of public executions, half-wit.
Liam Cruz
Case in point
Wyatt Flores
That KGB shit is just a different kind of public assassination, though, since it's so obvious, and almost a trademark.
If you want to quietly get rid of someone, plane crash or "heart attack" is your best bet.
Ethan Miller
Actually that's poor example. The public assassination attempt on archduke Ferdinand during the motorcade failed miserably when the grenade thrown at his car bounced off and hit the car behind him. His actual assassination occurred in a quite back alley later that day, when he was trying to find his way to the hospital to visit the men who had been injured in the earlier attack.
Ryan Nelson
When you're trying to send a message or the assassin is trying to make himself some sort of martyr.
To publicly show that the man assassinated is considered an enemy of someone powerful enough to want him dead but be able to get away with it, even in broad daylight.
Depending on where and how it's done - I remember one Japanese official being attacked in the middle of a televised speech - it could be considered a message to the wider world.
If you're confused about hitmen, the idea of a Mafia hit is that it's taking out someone who's somehow a problem for the Mafia. It's more a trained thug killing someone quickly and running than it is an assassination per se.
Austin Ramirez
Beat me to it.
Justin Bell
Do you have that one gif of the guy getting stabbed? He gets crashed into so hard his glasses fly off.
Xavier Fisher
>If you want to quietly get rid of someone, plane crash
Yah, KGB did that too en.wikipedia.org
Henry Sanders
Yep. That photo was just after he had been stabbed the first time. You can see the glasses falling off his face.
Jason Bell
Sometimes sneaking into the guy's bedroom and slitting his throat just isn't feasible.