BH's thread about wanting to confront the people who had beaten up a man elicited some very interesting responses. Are we morally obligated to help or jump in when you see a "wrong" being committed? Does it depend on the severity, ie., robbery, a woman or child being assaulted vs. petty theft, etc?
For some people it's a trigger response where they act instantly without thinking. Some people can literally "shut off" what they had seen and not get involved. It is easy to rationalize and analyze the situation after the crime was committed but how do we really act while it's actually happening?
|
Thread: Are we morally obligated?
-
10-27-2014, 06:04 PM #1
- Join Date: Sep 2012
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Age: 63
- Posts: 502
- Rep Power: 15168
Are we morally obligated?
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by a$$holes"
William Gibson
"...I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
William Ernest Henley
-
10-27-2014, 06:08 PM #2
-
10-27-2014, 06:14 PM #3
-
10-27-2014, 06:16 PM #4
- Join Date: Nov 2010
- Location: San Bernardino, California, United States
- Age: 59
- Posts: 32,348
- Rep Power: 187052
Then don't get involved.
Just stand back and take vids that you can post on the internet, and then question what is wrong with people and society.Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. – Thomas Jefferson
Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde
-
-
10-27-2014, 06:22 PM #5
-
10-27-2014, 06:31 PM #6
- Join Date: Sep 2012
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Age: 63
- Posts: 502
- Rep Power: 15168
-
10-27-2014, 06:36 PM #7
-
10-27-2014, 06:59 PM #8
- Join Date: Sep 2012
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Age: 63
- Posts: 502
- Rep Power: 15168
I asked if being married and having kids affect the way you would handle a situation happening. At a young age (17 years old) I witnessed a guy grabbed an old woman's purse and ran off. I ran after the guy and he eventually dropped the purse. I didn't think of the possible consequence until I was much older. When you are young you feel indestructible. Would I do the same thing now? The answer scares the hell out of me.
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by a$$holes"
William Gibson
"...I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
William Ernest Henley
-
-
10-27-2014, 07:00 PM #9
-
10-27-2014, 07:09 PM #10
Not morally obligated, its a physical reaction for me
Example: fatal car crash in front of two years ago, was 16, immediately jumped out of car and helped pull a man from his vehicle
Example b: about a month ago at work a man slipped in the acid pit fell on his back and his clothes were melting just as soon as he could take off, I didn't even budge
Fight or flight kicks in most situations but its only when there's a lot of other people in the vicinity do you tend to assume someone else will take care of ****, that's when you tell the pos in you to fuk off and you do something
Cliffs
If you're alone you tend to funk chit up or run, in crowds you're calm for some reason and have to choose to help
So yea help
-
10-27-2014, 07:35 PM #11
-
10-27-2014, 07:40 PM #12
I think many of us would want to step in or at least when we play those type scenarios in our mind we see ourselves stepping in
but I also think many of us do consider the possibility that if the situation was real, the self preservation instinct would conquer the hero desire
pulling someone from a car accident = yes I hope I would do that
stepping up to 2 dudes in a car park = I doubt very much I would do that, even though naturally I would like to say "Sure I would do that"☻/
/▌ Sm2sm crew (---Squat Moar to Squat Moar---)
/ \
-
-
10-27-2014, 07:47 PM #13
Yup, it is called diffusion of responsibility and it is a well-known phenomenon. It seems counterintuitive, but you are much less likely to be helped if lots of other people are standing around than if just one or two other people are in the vicinity. Fact is, MOST people say they would jump in, but in actuality, MOST would not.
A perfect example -- Look at all the grown men standing around there doing nothing.
It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
-
10-27-2014, 07:55 PM #14
-
10-27-2014, 09:07 PM #15
- Join Date: Sep 2012
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Age: 63
- Posts: 502
- Rep Power: 15168
I remember a story in Chicago a few years ago about a man who was beaten within an inch of his life for being a Good Samaritan. He heard a woman screaming for help, saw her bloody, and was being choked. This was clearly a situation where calling police might have been too late. He hurled his body, all 118 lbs. of it, to stop the attack. Unfortunately the attacker turned his wrath on him and beat him so badly that doctors had to remove a third of his skull to relieve brain swelling.
Surely he knew he was not going to win this confrontation and yet he did it anyway. A remarkable and selfless act."Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by a$$holes"
William Gibson
"...I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
William Ernest Henley
-
10-27-2014, 10:08 PM #16
-
-
10-28-2014, 01:58 AM #17
-
10-28-2014, 02:19 AM #18
I think the only moral obligation is to try and do at least something to help, even if that is only to call for help.
Hard to know for sure , as mentioned, how one would act but if a situation is ongoing I would try to quickly assess the risk of bodily harm to myself -
their number, size/look of the dudes - before I did anything. But if a kid or an elderly person or someone generally defenseless is being hurt then I would just jump in.
I might let a grown man get beat up a bit before risking my own health. Guess that's messed up in a way, but probably not unique.
I've helped some girls fight off a skinny junkie, but if it was two dudes I would probably try a more verbal/taunting approach (just to get them off the victim) and be ready to leg it if need be.Last edited by steffo99; 10-28-2014 at 02:27 AM.
-
10-28-2014, 02:22 AM #19
The principle of reciprocity. I would want another person to jump in and help me if I'm in danger, so I would probably do the same for another. Are you morally obligated? By all means, I think yes, unless you would be in severe danger yourself if you were to step in.
Medical student crew
++ Positivity crew ++
"**** motivation; you already know what you want and how to get it. Discipline is what you need: it's the ability to do things you know you have to do when you don't feel like doing them."
-
10-28-2014, 02:52 AM #20
-
-
10-28-2014, 05:42 AM #21
Are we morally obligated?
ABSOLUTELY!
Unfortunately, reality is very few people in this world will do the right thing. The majority of people are sheep. Does this make them bad people? No, of course not. Sheep are gentle creatures who have no capacity for violence. They just don’t have the courage to do what’s right. That’s all.
Very few people will do the right thing because it is inherent within us to become followers. We need more leaders in our society. Leaders are not born. The individual must make a conscious effort to become a leader. And a mandatory part of being a good leader is character. Character is in motion (like what bodyhard did). Integrity is not doing what is wrong. Character is doing what is right. If you see an injustice, you do what is right. You are morally obligated to do so.
Here is what I mean by being a follower / beta muddafukker:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.htmlThis above all..
To thine ownself be true..
And it must follow, as the night the day..
Thou can'st not then be false to any man..
-----------------------------------------------
Bros, my Weightlifters and Powerlifters are my credentials.
-
10-28-2014, 06:12 AM #22
-
10-28-2014, 06:30 AM #23
-
10-28-2014, 06:32 AM #24
-
-
10-28-2014, 06:34 AM #25
-
10-28-2014, 06:37 AM #26
-
10-28-2014, 07:04 AM #27
-
10-28-2014, 07:46 AM #28
-
-
10-28-2014, 08:03 AM #29
-
10-28-2014, 08:14 AM #30
Here you can open carry without any permit. Gun has to be visible from 3 angles.
In John's case (in hindsight) he should have called 911 when he saw the guys ragging on the one guy.
I likely would have just walked over and tried to calm down the situation. But I would have sent my wife into the store and told her to call the cops first.
Similar Threads
-
ITT: philosophical and ethical discussion
By mynameisuntz in forum Nutrition MiscReplies: 85Last Post: 09-19-2011, 05:18 PM -
How an Atheist Can Win Any Argument With a Theist
By Popsicle52 in forum Religion and PoliticsReplies: 109Last Post: 02-03-2007, 11:05 PM
Bookmarks