What would you do? | Forums

[XyZspineZyX]

OK, first off. Let me tell you that I'm no vigilante. And as selfish as it may seem, I'm no longer the type to render aid to strangers for fear that my helping hand may only cause me undue civil troubles after the fact. I want to pose a hypothetical situation that is based "loosely" on a recent event and ask what would you do?

Lets say that one Monday afternoon you stop off at the local discount store to pickup your weekly/monthly supply of laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, and other household supplies. While putting bags away into your vehicle you see another shopper who is obviously being setup for a robbery but doesn't see it coming. We'll say that you have the skill and opportunity to prevent the robbery by calling the victim's attention to the impending attack and hopefully let them deal with it or just plainly neutralizing the attacker yourself by some non-lethal means. The question is, should you even bother? Morally, the answer is obvious. But those morals seem to have fallen out of favor these days and so I wonder.


Once upon a time, I would have said that as a citizen, you are obligated to help your fellow citizens, period. But recent experiences have shown me that no good deed goes unpunished and so I'm no longer quite as willing to help those unwilling/unable to help themselves. Reason number 456, that I should NOT consider being a police officer.

I ask this question because a friend recently prevented an assault/robbery in a parking lot but broke the thief's wrist and dislocated his shoulder in the process. When the police arrived, all the thief's intended victim could say was that my friend didn't have to be so violent. Now the judge luckily wasn't an idiot and the cvase will never see trial but, that would be victim wanted to sue my friend for mental anguish caused by the brutal display of force in front her and her kids. Nevermind that the robber was a convicted felon with a history of rape, kidnapping, burglary and robbery which means it could have been a whole lot worse had he been able to execute his plan. The whole thing left me wondering if it wouldn't have been better to just let the lady and her kids become food rather than allowing them continue to live.

Should we all just say screw it and not get involved in keeping society safe? Should we just let the bad guys do as they please until the police catch up to them and never bother with defending anyone but ourselves and our families? On the otherhand, had the woman been my mom, I would want someone to try to help her and would be infuriated to know someone had the power to prevent it but chose otherwise. So I'm left wondering, do you let Darwin's theory take over to weed out the timid/weak/unobservant or do we continue to strive for what's right regardless of the finacial/legal risks to ourselves?

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gcmj45acp

"In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them!" -James Yeager

[XyZspineZyX]

OK, first off. Let me tell you that I'm no vigilante. And as selfish as it may seem, I'm no longer the type to render aid to strangers for fear that my helping hand may only cause me undue civil troubles after the fact. I want to pose a hypothetical situation that is based "loosely" on a recent event and ask what would you do?

Lets say that one Monday afternoon you stop off at the local discount store to pickup your weekly/monthly supply of laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, and other household supplies. While putting bags away into your vehicle you see another shopper who is obviously being setup for a robbery but doesn't see it coming. We'll say that you have the skill and opportunity to prevent the robbery by calling the victim's attention to the impending attack and hopefully let them deal with it or just plainly neutralizing the attacker yourself by some non-lethal means. The question is, should you even bother? Morally, the answer is obvious. But those morals seem to have fallen out of favor these days and so I wonder.


Once upon a time, I would have said that as a citizen, you are obligated to help your fellow citizens, period. But recent experiences have shown me that no good deed goes unpunished and so I'm no longer quite as willing to help those unwilling/unable to help themselves. Reason number 456, that I should NOT consider being a police officer.

I ask this question because a friend recently prevented an assault/robbery in a parking lot but broke the thief's wrist and dislocated his shoulder in the process. When the police arrived, all the thief's intended victim could say was that my friend didn't have to be so violent. Now the judge luckily wasn't an idiot and the cvase will never see trial but, that would be victim wanted to sue my friend for mental anguish caused by the brutal display of force in front her and her kids. Nevermind that the robber was a convicted felon with a history of rape, kidnapping, burglary and robbery which means it could have been a whole lot worse had he been able to execute his plan. The whole thing left me wondering if it wouldn't have been better to just let the lady and her kids become food rather than allowing them continue to live.

Should we all just say screw it and not get involved in keeping society safe? Should we just let the bad guys do as they please until the police catch up to them and never bother with defending anyone but ourselves and our families? On the otherhand, had the woman been my mom, I would want someone to try to help her and would be infuriated to know someone had the power to prevent it but chose otherwise. So I'm left wondering, do you let Darwin's theory take over to weed out the timid/weak/unobservant or do we continue to strive for what's right regardless of the finacial/legal risks to ourselves?

_______________________________________
gcmj45acp

"In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them!" -James Yeager

[XyZspineZyX]

Your friend did the right thing in my book. Since I was not there, I will guess that the force used was nessissary. The bimbo lady needsa good slap upside the head. Mental anguish, (insert beep here), give me a break. Maybe your friend should let the attacker start to take a round out of the person first, that way when she screams for help he will look like a hero to her, instead`of a zero.


By not stepping into help, we are just reverting back to the law of the jungle, where the strong rule. The laws were set up to protect the weak, AND the stupid.



<Center>
[img]/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-very-happy.gif[/img] This is why I use AMD [img]/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-very-happy.gif[/img]


Message Edited on 07/08/0305:57AM by ScrubberManFSJ

[XyZspineZyX]

The last time I tried to help someone out I took a baseball bat and steel-toed boots to the head. I say watch the back of you and yours but everyone else lives at their own risk. It is not your duty to help anyone else out plus it is not always obvious who the victim and who the criminal is. I once read a story about a woman motorist who feigned a breakdown only to have her accomplice jack the good-natured folks who stopped to help her out.




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[XyZspineZyX]

what happened MNG, why'd you get messed up like that?


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"Generals dont run; during peace this prompts laughter, during war this prompts panic."

[XyZspineZyX]

Olegious wrote:
- what happened MNG, why'd you get messed up like
- that?

One of my friends came to school with a baseball to exact revenge on some guy who had robbed him a few days before. He was swinging the bat around and threatening the guy with a serious pounding. I saw the janitor peak into the cafeteria and leave again presumably to call the police. Since my friend had already had several run-ins with the law I put my hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down before he got into trouble. One of his friends (who did not know me) jumped me and we started fighting. The janitor came back with one of his friends and joined in to what at this point had become a mass brawl.

My opponent and I fell to the ground and rolled apart. At this point some other guy started kicking me in the head and my so-called friend turned on me with the bat. He gave me a good working over before somebody grabbed him. I got up with Mr. Boot now turning to using his big ringed fists to tattoo my face. I took two swings at him but unfortunately my arms didn't work very well - they were all bruised from the bat. He turned and fled as did my so-called friend and the rest of his merry band.

I turned around and saw a huge pool of blood on the floor. I remember dimly wondering if it was mine. Turns out it wasn't - the guy my friend was threatening had had his nose smashed in.





<center><marquee>******Where are the weapons of mass destruction?******Where are the weapons of mass destruction?******Where are the weapons of mass destruction?******Where are the weapons of mass destruction?******<center><marquee>

[XyZspineZyX]

Chip wrote:

- Now the judge luckily wasn't an idiot and the cvase will
- never see trial but, that would be victim wanted to sue
- my friend for mental anguish caused by the brutal
- display of force in front her and her kids.

MMMMMNNNNNNNAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!! !!!!!!!!

I SCREAM with RAGE at this...sorry excuse for a human being. Does she deserve to be spared the horror that awaited her? Yes. Because she has children and because no woman deserves to be subject to violent sexual abuse, I am grateful that Chip's friend stepped in and nipped it in the bud. But what stupid, messed up, moneygrabbing, crab-faced, no-good, motherplucking, ungrateful, cross-eyed, frigid, bow-legged, chimpanzee would try to SUE her saviour.

I spit on this woman. [img]/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-mad.gif[/img]

[XyZspineZyX]

Werd, Slackie

Dumb bimbos [img]/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-indifferent.gif[/img]

[XyZspineZyX]

I better hope I don't get into that situation, because the way I feel it, NEVER hurt someone, KILL them. My reasoning is that I don't want this guy coming back later and biting me in the ***. If I just hurt someone and get them put in jail, they might get out of jail looking for revenge. Of course, they don't all go out for revenge, but you never know, maybe I will end up stiring some psycho off, and I or worse, my family, might have to pay for that later.

And I don't WANT to kill anyone, but I know if I was in a situation where I had to fend off an attacker, I will either just scare him off and let him get away, but I would not feel this will do justice, or I'll simply kill him. I will never severely injur him and let him get arrested. So I really hope it never comes to that.

<hr>
--"General Hammond, request permission to beat the crap out of this man." -Col. Jack O'Neill -Stargate SG-1
--Capt. Carter: "You think it might be a booby trap?"
â â Teal'c: "Booby?"
--"I'm a bomb technician, if you see me running, try to catch up" -in Russian on a bomb tech's shirt from "The Sum of All Fears"
--"All my life, I've been waiting for someone and when I find her, she's a fish!" -Tom Hanks "Splash"
--"War is not about who's right, it's about who's left." -Anders Russell

[XyZspineZyX]

I agree 100% with Mustang. I believe in the eye for an eye, arm for arm thing. No, it isn't very civilized, but neither is the world we live in. I heard a [true] story of a burgler who was breaking into a woman's house, fell thru the skylight, cut his leg open on a butcher knife, sued the woman, and WON. That's horsecrap. I'd like to take a bat to the judge who called that one. That's rediculous (sp). I used to (and in some cases, still do) think that murderers should have to live their life in hell in prison instead of getting the escape of the death penalty. But anymore, I say just kill them they're a waste of oxygen and money. But in cases of brutal serial killers, if I had my way, when they get caught, they should have to endure the most horrendous torture possible for their crimes. Peel off their skin. Turn them into a cripple and then make them live their life. I don't know. But make them pay for what they've done.

As for helping people out - I unfortunetly would have to say that I woudl not. Why? Because no one has ever helped me out in a bad situation. Also, I consider the best and worst thing that could happen. Best: I feel great because I prevented a crime. Worst: I get killed or permanately injured from some freak of nature who is trying to commit the crime. bad over weighs the good, so I'd just stay put.

Just my thoughts.

EDIT: read my signature. it's true i tell you!

<hr width="50%" align="left">c.787
Murphy's Law: If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. Corollary: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
c.787@charter.net

Message Edited on 07/08/0310:19PM by c.787