Birth of a raider

[thecatsfan]

The guys in the story didn't kill anyone for food either. That would have made it simple and clear cut.

That's a matter of interpretation. There was strong implication by the author that the first shot was questionable. "Ralph had to admit that the shotgun had been more or
less pointed at him." More or less pointed at him? So, he felt kind of threatened?

And the farmer's family was not shot in self-defense. "For some reason, he would never later understand, Ralph picked up the farmer's shotgun and the three of them walked toward the house." Ralph couldn't even rationalize an explanation to himself why this was done. It was nothing short of a home invasion.

I am not claiming right or wrong. But I find it extremely hard hard to argue that the farmer's family was not killed because the group wanted their food. If the first shot was taken in defense, they would have walked away after that.