A matter of choice...
 

You are standing at a street.

A few feet away from you, a vicious gang of 5-6 punks are beating a helpless man very savagely. The man is coughing up blood and bloodstains dot his clothes. He needs someone's help very quickly, or he might not have much time to live. The gang doesnt look like stopping anytime soon - maybe they are hellbent on beating him to death.

You take one step to help him, BUT...

At the same moment...

Across the street...

A young girl, probably 16-17 years old, has been overpowered by two nasty-looking men after getting a severe beating for trying to fight them off and for her resistance. One of whom has thrown her down and is in the process of ripping her clothes off. She is facing certain rape, and a very violent one at that. And she might not survive it.

Assuming that you are the only person, besides those listed above, in the entire area...

Who do you save?

here comes a landslide victory.

I wouldn't save either though. If there was no risk involved if it was just like pick one and they would be transported home safe and sound, I would pick the girl.

he probably could have avoided it.

Cell Phone, Police, Safe Distance.

I'm not gonna be able to save either by stepping in myself and as much as I care for fellow human beings, I'm not going to take a risk that big to save one. Phoning the police is the safest option for me.

What if you had something with you? Let's say...a baton or a umm...pocket knife?

Firstly, I may probably pissed off by myself for what the hell I'm doing in such a fucked up area?

Then I'll join with the vicious gang and helped them to finish that man (who may be a criminal also) and as far the condition it'll take few moments and then I hope they will join/support me to save that girl from those lunatics:rolleyes:[:D]

Ditto.

I have no combat training and in either instance it would be at least two against one. Besides, you don't know what weapons they have.

I think i'm with FC..i'm not gonna scare these people..i'm probably smaller than the 16 year old.At the same time i'm thinking about saving the girl,shes young..the old man has lived a much longer life and it seems like the fair thing to me.I feel like a bad person now:(

Hmm....not what I was expecting but...maybe its not unexpected, either.

And I never mentioned he was an old man, Mags. He could be a young teen.

If I did it'd only be for my defense if they suddenly attacked me. I'm not going down when I could just phone the police.

Assuming you dont have a cellphone, and the nearest police station is quite some distance away?

still not enough, definitely not. I would need like bruce willis with me.

have you guys seen V's hands? that's why this "fear" is not rational to him.

True, MD.

Confronted with 2 very horrific crimes being committed right before my eyes, the last thing I would be thinking of is about saving my own skin.

Weapon or no weapon, training or no training.

If I were to choose, I d go and save the girl first. Its better odds (two against one), plus she's still (so far) pretty "un-damaged". If that's done, I d try for the guy. Maybe he wouldnt have survived till then (with all the time elapsed), but saving at least ONE of them when it could have been TWO dead in front of me...well, its much better than me running away/standing afar and letting my conscience kick me in the balls every moment of my life from that day onwards. Needless to say, I cant live with that.

first thing I would think about is moving.

rofl...

Let's say this was just a test of...character?
Rational thinking works best when there's lots of time to spare. When there's no time, rationality goes out of the window.

For me at least. ;)

Only question left after that...to do or not to do? And which option will serve you in the long run.



If I modify the first post and alter it slightly like this...

Assuming that the man getting beaten to death is either your Dad or your son...

and

Assuming that the girl across the street about to be brutally and violently raped is your sister or daughter...

...what then?

Still sit back and call the police and wait?
Stand back because you lack the training and the weapons?


The equation changes quite drastically now, eh?

then I run in like a maniac and hope for the best.

I wouldn't risk my life for someone I didn't know, dying sucks I don't want to die.

Rather live with two deaths (or even one death and one scarred for life) on your conscience for the rest of your life?

But is your skin totally yours? You put yourself at risk for a stranger and die. It's a Possibility. Now who has to suffer? Not you, you're dead, but your wife, your family, your friends. Sure, they know you died a hero, but the fact is you still died when you could have lived.

And yes, if it all goes wrong and police don't turn up and they both die, at least you tried to do something. And you can help being the murderers to justice, and although the families and friends of those people suffer, but you don't know them. It sounds harsh but I for one would much rather have someone else's family suffer than my own.

If I had a phone, I would definitely call the police first....because we ALL would have a better chance of survival.
But honestly, if I saw a young girl being violently raped? Weapon or not, I would probably lose my damn mind and do whatever I could to stop it (either immediately after the call, or if I didn't have access to a phone) and more than likely get my stupid ass killed. :rolleyes:

If it was someone I loved, there would be no hesitation at all.

Its not about being a hero, or dying.
Its about what is the right choice, and if you can live with the choice you made.

try a million deaths.

But those dont affect us, do they?
Not like in the way the situation above would, anyway.

In my case the odds are that my intervening will result in three deaths, so the right choice is the one with the least fatalities. Possible none if the police do their jobs right.

The thing is, the situation you are describing, there is very LITTLE time to make a choice. And who is to say what's right and wrong? I am not sure there is a right and wrong in this kind of situation.
As FC mentioned, maybe it would be WRONG of me to leave my husband and family behind knowing that I died a violent death saving people I don't know. Maybe the guy being beat to death is someone that would be important to the world someday, while the girl is really a very bad person that will hurt the world more than she helps. What if you saved the girl, to only find that out later? Would your choice between the two be any less right then?
My reaction would just be that, a reaction, I wouldn't be able to think it through and come to a sound moral decision, I would just act....by calling the police and then jumping in.

True.

And because there is so little time, any decision one takes would make them feel like it was the right thing to do, AT THAT MOMENT. This is more of a conscience call than a moral or rational judgement, actually.

Different people react differently to the same situation. It all comes down to one thing - do you follow your heart or your mind when you are confronted with such a dilemma?

And which choice will ultimately be the best?

Mind you, this sort of thing is not entirely impossible out there in the world. If this were to be a real situation you are confronted with tomorrow morning, would you do the same which you wrote in here? Or would it be different?

The girl, if I had to. She's younger, probably a lot more innocent. But this is assuming people actually do heroic things like you somehow think, which isn't very common. However, if I had a sniper rifle...

yes,

I hope my responses in this thread haven't ruined my mother theesa-esque image.

Its not about heroics at all.

Maybe a poll should be included with this thread...

Both.

http://www.beyondhollywood.com/movie...uilibrium8.jpg

it is totally heroics.

I think you have to put yourself in the shoes of the other people as well.If you where the person being beating or raped and you saw someone standing there what would you want?

Would you say help me or run away and do nothing?

I'm going to assume you know why that's stupid.

I'm pretty sure I know myself well enough that I wouldn't follow my mind....:p
I'm also the kind of person that, if I survived and someone else didn't, I would feel guilt no matter what decision I made.

Saving someone's life is heroic, isn't it? :confused:

Because you say it is?

Poll added.

thanks for having the exact option I wanted.

I am pretty good at catching internet vibes. ;)

I'd look for the nearest phone booth.

http://archive.perfectduluthday.com/Superman%2002.jpg

stripping isn't going to get you out of this one.

god look at all these liars!

you know what I change my mind.

I would save them both of course, and then spend the rest of the day looking for crimes to foil.