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So the ship has gone down, and there you are in the stormy sea in a lifeboat, with more passengers aboard than the safe limit for the boat, and more are out in the water clinging to the boat, trying to pull themselves in, and on the verge of capsizing it, and you can't swim.
When do you grab an oar and start hitting people in the water to keep them from capsizing the boat?
Illegal? No. You have the right to save your life, even it means killing another. This is recognized in both domestic and international law.
Immoral? Unclear.
so what are your thoughts;
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yes but they're will be times in some sea
catastrophe where lots of people are trying to get into too few lifeboats
both on the stricken ship and in the water.
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(06-07-2011, 05:06 PM)billy Wrote: yes but they're will be times in some sea
catastrophe where lots of people are trying to get into too few lifeboats
both on the stricken ship and in the water.
Yes, but there will still be fat ones to eat first 
I agree with velvetfog, start paddling as soon as the boat is full and move out of the range of the stragglers. Then you're not actually killing them... there's still a chance they'll catch onto some passing debris and avoid the sharks until rescue arrives (not a big chance, but still). Altruism really only works on paper.
It could be worse
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children and women first,you have to set some standards
[if this was in the sewer it would apply to eating too]
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
Bastard Elect
(06-08-2011, 10:59 AM)srijantje Wrote: children and women first,you have to set some standards
hmm, in the cold lite of day it would be my girl & children first, other peoples can fend for themselves.
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what about those who cling to it as it passes them in order to get away from the drowning masses?
should the men, or even the women as well give up their place for the children clinging to the side?
the thingy:
what if the boat were full but you and your kids were holding on to it and possibly helping to capsize it.
should the passengers beat you off?
(06-08-2011, 02:30 PM)billy Wrote: the thingy:
what if the boat were full but you and your kids were holding on to it and possibly helping to capsize it.
should the passengers beat you off?
they should try, but I'd be pulling on that oar and anyone else to get my kids on and them off
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i'm sure i'd be like minded, but what if the boat was full of kids,
(06-08-2011, 04:01 PM)billy Wrote: i'm sure i'd be like minded, but what if the boat was full of kids,
so would I kill a kid to save my kid?, I'd like to say something reasonable and in between but at the end of the day my kids come first
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i'd like to think i could but i doubt it.
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First ... I hope I never end up in such a desperate situation, but I truly can't swim and would follow instinct to survive at any cost.
You give to the world when you're giving your best to somebody else.
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Lifeboats? Lifeboats? You don't need to find such an extreme example. You merely need to try the London Underground system around rush-hour. A train comes, the platform is jammed. A couple of people get of. Someone squeezes in. Another bloke on the platform shouts to the pack interior: " Come on, mate, move down! There's plenty of space inside!" No-one budges an inch. So he and another manage to get a grip on a rail, and haul themselves in, brutally shoving into the backs of whomsoever is unfortunate enough to be nearest the door. Then there are more cries from outside: "Come on mate....!" Do they move? No; they have changed in a matter of seconds. Whereas previously they were full of moral indignation at the thoughtlessness of others, now....now.....they adopt the age-old principle of 'Pull up the ladder, Jack, I'm onboard!"
Of course, the life-boat could have someone onboard who had been mulling over a trip to Dignitas......
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yeah. the adage of 'f you jack i'm all right' is pretty common in such circumstances but would it be the same in a life or death situation?
if the titanic story is to be believed, some gave their lives up so other could live, and in some instances we know that this indeed is a human trait. not sure i could give my place up but i'm also not sure i could assign someone to death in order to take his place.
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