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

[VenatorAnima]

I would like to believe I would, but one can never truly know how they would respond to a situation until that situation arises.

 

[Sunstone]

I would like to believe I would, but one can never truly know how they would respond to a situation until that situation arises.

That's very wise of you. I think few people realize how important it is to actually be in the situation before you can really answer that question.

 

[EtuMalku]

I would like to believe I would, but one can never truly know how they would respond to a situation until that situation arises.

I truly know, and I would not.

 

[DarkSun]

You know, right now I think I'd try to help someone if they were being attacked by another person, because I know I can fight. I'd jump into a river to save a baby, because I know I can swim. I don't see much risk there. But if it were something like jumping in front of a bullet or running into a burning building, then I would think twice. I don't know whether I'd do that. I'd like to think I would. But I don't know, I think I value my existence a little too much. I also know that there are people who would miss me.

 

[Kathryn]

Hmmm, good question. It's hard to know exactly what we will do when that adrenaline starts pumping. Adrenaline creates a "Fight or flight" reaction and we can express how we would like to THINK we'd respond, but until we're in the situation, I'm not sure we can really know how we'd respond.

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine drove up to an accident which had just happened. A pickup truck had hit the back of an 18 wheeler at about 50 mph (turns out that the driver of the pickup had had a seizure) and run up under the trailer. The Pickup was on fire and the driver was inside the cab screaming and begging for help to get out of the burning truck.

What amazed my friend is that there were random people standing around, not helping the guy, but VIDEOING the wreck with their cell phones!!! NOT ONE PERSON WAS ATTEMPTING TO HELP THIS GUY WHO WAS LITERALLY BURNING TO DEATH.

My friend screamed, "Someone help me get this guy outta here!" as he ran toward the wreck, and one other guy joined him. They climbed INSIDE the burning cab and managed to get the guy loose, literally throw him out the window, and then jump out themselves, literally seconds before the cab was engulfed in flames.

The man's legs from the knees down were burned beyond saving, but he survived.

My friend had nightmares and trouble sleeping for a week. His nightmares weren't about the man's screams and pleadings - they were about the people who were standing there passively filming him burning to death.

 

[kai]

Hmmm, good question. It's hard to know exactly what we will do when that adrenaline starts pumping. Adrenaline creates a "Fight or flight" reaction and we can express how we would like to THINK we'd respond, but until we're in the situation, I'm not sure we can really know how we'd respond.

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine drove up to an accident which had just happened. A pickup truck had hit the back of an 18 wheeler at about 50 mph (turns out that the driver of the pickup had had a seizure) and run up under the trailer. The Pickup was on fire and the driver was inside the cab screaming and begging for help to get out of the burning truck.

What amazed my friend is that there were random people standing around, not helping the guy, but VIDEOING the wreck with their cell phones!!! NOT ONE PERSON WAS ATTEMPTING TO HELP THIS GUY WHO WAS LITERALLY BURNING TO DEATH.

My friend screamed, "Someone help me get this guy outta here!" as he ran toward the wreck, and one other guy joined him. They climbed INSIDE the burning cab and managed to get the guy loose, literally throw him out the window, and then jump out themselves, literally seconds before the cab was engulfed in flames.

The man's legs from the knees down were burned beyond saving, but he survived.

My friend had nightmares and trouble sleeping for a week. His nightmares weren't about the man's screams and pleadings - they were about the people who were standing there passively filming him burning to death.

what is wrong with people? if one of my loved ones were in a dire situation and people just stood around and filmed it, i would lose it big time.



you have to help all you can , isn't that the golden rule? isn't it empathy ? some people disgust me man.

 

[Kathryn]

what is wrong with people? if one of my loved ones were in a dire situation and people just stood around and filmed it, i would lose it big time.



you have to help all you can , isn't that the golden rule? isn't it empathy ? some people disgust me man.

I know - can you imagine?????

He and the other guy who helped have stayed in touch and both of them have been really disturbed by the fact that when they came up on the scene people were standing around holding their cell phones up filming this man burning to death.

They were both mad because when the local media interviewed them, they spun it as a story about them being heroes, when in reality when they were interviewed they were both so upset that others simply stood by filming this to put on Facebook or YouTube, that they could barely even be civil in the interview.

Personally, I really really hope that I would be one who ran to the truck to help. That being said, I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to actually crawl into the burning cab - but then again, I don't know what I would actually do in that situation. Maybe adrenaline would push me right into that cab.

I can say though, WITH CERTAINTY, that I would NOT stand by and film it while the man screamed for help.

 

[Panda]

I would like to say yes but I don't know. Though I agree with Kathryn that I would not stand by and film it. That is just horrific.