Would You Risk Your Life To Rescue Someone You Don't Know?

[Caladan]

I'd like to say yes, absolutely - but whether I would is contingent upon the circumstances.

I'd take a bullet for someone I cared about, and for any child. I'd perform CPR without hesitation and probably would do so even if I didn't have a breathing barrier (yuk).

But when it comes to physical acts of heroism - there's much that I wouldn't attempt because I wouldn't feel confident enough.

Finally some honestly
That's about how I feel. there are some things I can help with, maybe warred off a bully, but running into a highway, burning building etc. I'll probably stand there dumbfounded.

 

[Renji]

I would do it. I don't want to see someone grieving over a loved one. It makes me sad.

 

[MissAlice]

I honestly don't know. In wishful thinking maybe, but in reality I don't know.

I did almost kill myself when I was trying to get a wondering dog off the middle of the street. Does that count?

 

[Caladan]

I think most of you don't understand the sheer gripping horror of these types of situations, there are no real heroes in the real world, and certainly no glamor in these types of situations.
for a soldier to get shot at for the first time, no matter how much training he got, the shock is devastating, running into a burning building is the same, so much more for people with no training as the men in the fire department, take a look at the photos of the American men of the fire department in Sept 11, no matter how tough they may seem, or how much experience they have, these men were broken.

 

[ChristineES]

I honestly don't know. In wishful thinking maybe, but in reality I don't know.

I did almost kill myself when I was trying to get a wondering dog off the middle of the street. Does that count?

Yep, dogs do count!

 

[Katzpur]

I did almost kill myself when I was trying to get a wondering dog off the middle of the street. Does that count?

Does it count? In my book it counts VERY high. :yes:

 

[Levite]

You hear about these kinds of things sometimes on local news: Somebody running into a burning building to save someone trapped inside- someone they never met before.

Would you do something like that?

I hope I would. I doubt one ever really knows until the moment arrives.

 

[Katzpur]

You hear about these kinds of things sometimes on local news: Somebody running into a burning building to save someone trapped inside- someone they never met before.

Would you do something like that?

You know, it's kind of weird, but I would probably be inclined to do something like that if I didn't stop to think about it first, but I'm not positive if I would if I did stop to think about it. Once, years and years ago, I was probably about eight months pregnant and just about to step on an escalator that was going up. An elderly man with a cane was a couple of steps ahead of me and suddenly lost his balance. I could have hurried to step aside, rather than step on the escalator at all, but without thinking, I hurried not only to step on but to quickly rush up the two or three steps to break his fall. Neither of us actually fell. He managed to catch himself and everything worked out okay. But when I stop to think that I could have actually not only risked my life but the life of my unborn child, it really makes me stop to wonder what I could have been thinking.

(By the way, in case anybody is unduly impressed by my selflessness, save your admiration for somebody who actually deserves it. I've known a couple of people in my lifetime, including one on this forum, who could fall down an escalator from the top to the bottom without my giving it a second thought.)

 

[Smoke]

I would hope so.

Actually I think it would be one of the best ways to die.

It might be a noble way to die, but I have to tell you, I'd regard that outcome as markedly inferior to getting both the other person and myself to safety.

 

[BadBeast]

Have done. Gone into the sea with a 7 foot swell, to grab a 6 year old kiddy who got washed off a Harbour wall. No-one else was there to see him get swept off, so I jumped in without even thinking twice. Also jumped in and pulled a kid who couldn't swim, out of the river he's fallen into, through the ice. Because if I hadn't, he would have probably died. I'm no hero, or even a good man, by anyones' standards. It's just something you do. Especially if the alternative is to watch them die.

 

[blackout]

Sadly I'm so weak and achy most of the time
I'd probably just become the second casualty,
or the second person that someone else
had to come and rescue.

Even when a todler runs off towards the street
I can't even run fast enough to catch him.

 

[tomato1236]

But didn't she have her arms slung around your neck and her lips tightly pressed up against yours?

At least.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I'd take a bullet for someone I cared about, and for any child. I'd perform CPR without hesitation and probably would do so even if I didn't have a breathing barrier (yuk).

I've done CPR for real once.

I was the second person on scene; the first person had been doing it incorrectly (she hadn't tilted the head right, so she had been filling the victim's stomach with air). The victim puked; I cleaned out her mouth and kept administering CPR.

Actually, I didn't even think to get grossed out until afterward.

I think most of you don't understand the sheer gripping horror of these types of situations, there are no real heroes in the real world, and certainly no glamor in these types of situations.
for a soldier to get shot at for the first time, no matter how much training he got, the shock is devastating, running into a burning building is the same, so much more for people with no training as the men in the fire department, take a look at the photos of the American men of the fire department in Sept 11, no matter how tough they may seem, or how much experience they have, these men were broken.

I've never been in battle, but I've been marshalling long enough now that I don't automatically run away or freeze when an out-of-control car's coming at me. Instead, I can actually clearly (but quickly!) evaluate the situation and decide whether I need to run, duck behind a wall, or what-have-you.

I find that I'm okay in emergency situations... as long as I'm busy.

For instance, a few years back, I was the safety marshal for a bad emergency call: two little open wheelers had locked themselves together and slid into the wall. Unfortunately, because of the way they were stuck together, when they impacted the wall, the nose of the one car punctured through the side of the other car and the driver was seriously injured.

I was the first marshal on scene, and at the time, I did what I needed to do without freaking out. However, once race medical arrived on scene, I didn't have anything to do but get out of the way while they worked. It was only then that everything came rushing in at me and I felt overwhelmed.

 

[Penumbra]

It might be a noble way to die, but I have to tell you, I'd regard that outcome as markedly inferior to getting both the other person and myself to safety.

I agree. But my point was that there is little downside from my perspective. If I get the person and myself to safety, then it was clearly the best decision to do it. If, on the other hand, I die trying, then I view that as one of the bet possible deaths. So downside is minimal.

The only downside for me would be fear of pain and suffering. In addition, there's the instinctual fear that may override one's analytical decisions, and it's impossible to know for sure how that would affect things until one experiences a given situation.

The only remotely similar experience I've had was one where there was a reported school shooting in a building I was in. As I was in a position of relative authority within that place, I decided to go investigate rather than simply leave. Technically I was supposed to leave, and my supervisor ran out, but I went to have a look instead. It ended up being a false alarm with a fake weapon.

 

[Katzpur]

Have done. Gone into the sea with a 7 foot swell, to grab a 6 year old kiddy who got washed off a Harbour wall. No-one else was there to see him get swept off, so I jumped in without even thinking twice. Also jumped in and pulled a kid who couldn't swim, out of the river he's fallen into, through the ice. Because if I hadn't, he would have probably died. I'm no hero, or even a good man, by anyones' standards. It's just something you do. Especially if the alternative is to watch them die.

I don't know if you're a hero or not, but I'm pretty sure that by the kids' standards and by their parents', you are. Personally, I'm impressed.

 

[TheKnight]

You hear about these kinds of things sometimes on local news: Somebody running into a burning building to save someone trapped inside- someone they never met before.

Would you do something like that?

Would and have. I work in Law Enforcement.

Why? Two reasons, I'm good at it (law enforcement) and it's fun as hell. Besides, being from a crime infested city where gangs tormented the people who lived there and criminals ran things, I cannot stand by knowing that it happens and do nothing. So I fight crime and gangs (which often involves putting my life in danger for someone else).

I don't even think about the fact that I don't know them.

 

[Magic Man]

You hear about these kinds of things sometimes on local news: Somebody running into a burning building to save someone trapped inside- someone they never met before.

Would you do something like that?

It depends on the situation. I would probably run into a burning building to save someone I didn't know, unless there was very little chance of me surviving. Generally, yes, I'd do it.

 

[Erebus]

You hear about these kinds of things sometimes on local news: Somebody running into a burning building to save someone trapped inside- someone they never met before.

Would you do something like that?

Pretty much everything about my personality would suggest NO, but I guess you never really know unless you're put into such a situation.

 

[EtuMalku]

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Come on people get down off the cross, we need the wood.
I am a Father and Husband, my job is to take care of them, not die.
My priorities are my children and then my wife.

 

[ChristineES]

I don't know if you're a hero or not, but I'm pretty sure that by the kids' standards and by their parents', you are. Personally, I'm impressed.

I was thinking the same thing.