My wife and I would both do whatever it takes to save our children, even if we die in the process.
Funny story. We went to our friends’ house for their 3 YOs birthday party. My son was about 6 at the time. Our friends thought it would be really cool for the kids if they got the Reptile Man ™ to bring some animals to the party. He brought some iguanas, chameleons, albino pythons, a baby caiman and a giant tortoise that was so big that the kids could ride on it.
Everyone was having a great time and the Reptile Man ™ said he’d be right back with his next animal. Everyone was buzzing, wondering what would be next. Then we hear, “Here comes Bubba!”
From the kitchen we can hear a heavy slithering sound, a deep breathing and the scratching of claws on the tile floor. Everyone turned to look and there, coming out of the kitchen, was Bubba, a 12 foot long alligator. The Reptile Man ™ had a broomstick that he was using to guide the gator into the room by tapping it on one side or the other.
My wife saw this giant reptile heading towards where she and my son were standing. She picked him up and literally vaulted over a couch to get away. Now my wife is no athlete by any stretch of the imagination (she more closely resembles Camryn Manheim than FloJo). Yet she knew that she had to protect her son and hurdled that sofa without a second thought.
Of course Bubba never did anything to anyone. The Reptile Man ™ had just fed him two 4 pound family packs of chicken so his metabolism was busy working on the food and he wasn’t in the mood to chase anyone. Still, my wife told me later that the only thought that ran through her head was, “I’ve got to save my son!”
I am not going to judge you directly. You feel how you feel. However, this sounds absolutely bizarre to me as it does to others. It sounds positively sociopathic. Some people have questioned that you don’t know what you would do in such a situation. That is weird as well. It is so blindingly obvious and instinctual to me and others that I can’t relate at all. I can’t even understand the concept.
Plus I don’t think you have the least teensy fragment of a clue what sociopathy is - the essential features are deceit and manipulation, and I’m nothing if not honest, about this and everything else in my life, not just here but IRL too. A certain recklessness and disregard for personal safety are also a common sociopathic tendency. I exhibit exactly the opposite, I’d say. Sure, a certain aggressive narcissism is also characteristic, but I think you’d be misreading my confessed self-interest if you interpreted it as that - I have no illusions about who I am, or my importance to the world. It’s just my importance to* me* that I’m pretty clear on.
For MrDibble & Aesiron - I admit my OP posited an unrealistic scenario - the whole exactly one of you will die, one will live, and the choice is totally up to you. Let me ask a more realistic one - would you increase the risk to yourself, or even take yourself from a safe situation and put yourself into extreme danger to increase the odds your child will live, or save him/her from certain death? Would you give him the last lifejacket? Would you run back into the burning building to search for her? Would you unbuckle him from the car sinking in the river and push him out the window before getting yourself out? Would you jump down on the subway platform to throw her out of the way of the oncoming train? Would you charge the guy with the knife to give her a chance to escape?
Probably, yes, depending on how certain the danger was.
Yes - I can swim and float, so the risk of death is not certain
Yes - again, this is a risk, not a certainty. Of course, if there are firemen at hand, I’d leave it to them instead.
Yes, I would.
Only if I thought there was a high chance I’d make it too - but of course, that’s my thought-out answer
Depends, I guess, on what he’s planning to do, and how wired I am. I try to be a pacifist, so unless I’m hopped up on hormones, probably not. I’m more likely to try and talk or bribe my way out of that sort of situation. Plus my brain says things like - “he’ll kill you, then run after her - big fucking hero you’ll be”
No. If those jackets hold a 250 pound person, they’ll hold me and I can hold him and keep the kid from panicking that way.
Yes. I would for a cat, too. But I’d probably be physically stopped by the “wall of heat” before I got very far. And i wouldn’t run into the building if there were firemen present; they can do a better job then I can.
Sure, no hesitation. It’s the rational thing to do.
No. A guy with a knife won’t feel threatened by a kid, so he’s not likely to harm her. He isn’t likely to harm me if I cooperate, either.
The difference between answers in all of these scenario’s doesn’t seem to be " how selfish are you" or “how much do you love your kid”, but instead “How cool can you assess risks in a dangerous situation?” Mr Dibble,** Aesiron** and myself just seem to have an, perhaps overly, rational stance.
Now, it the OP’s choice was made fact, say in a Sophie’s choice kind of scenario with some sadist asking me to choose between my life and my kids, and I knew the sadist would keep his word; then yes, I’d choose my kids life.
I didn’t mean for my questions to be taken quite so literally, especially with the outs you seem to have found. Let me rephrase a few:
Would you give the last lifejacket, rated 200 lb, to your 160 lb. 14 year old, or keep it for yourself? Quick testing has ascertained if you both try to hold onto it, you sink. Assume you both have sustained injuries which prevent either of you from being able to maintain swimming for more than a few minutes.
Assume the firemen are at least 20 minutes away. And I agree, BTW, if they’re present, let them handle it - they’re better trained, better equipped, and if I try to go in with them, I just become another person for them to rescue.
Would you charge the daycare provider’s estranged husband who you’ve been in a hostage situation with for the past 2 hours, who just stabbed someone and yelled “Who’s next” ? Assume he’s twice the size of you, so the best you can realistically hope for is to delay him enough for the other adult present to get the remaining kids (including yours) out. Also assume the police are not present.
If I had time to think, I’d give it to him. But it is just as likely that, if I was ina total panic, I’d grab the jacket/or parachute not even counting how many were left and not thinking about what my son or the others would do. Just grab a jacket and make for the door.
Tough one. Realistically, I’d stand at the threshold, ducking in, being forced back again by the heat, repeat that twice, and finally collapse on the lawn with scorched eyebrows, crying hysterically.
Yes, I quite likely would, if for no other reason then that I would be furiously angry at the bastard, and because I don’t fear knives as much as I would an oncoming train, even though they may be just as deadly.
I just had a vision of my daughter falling onto the Blue Line tracks , and me jumping after her to lift her back onto the platform. Yes, I would definitely do it. Just as I’d give her the last life jacket, and stand between her and a criminal who was after us. As for the fire scenario, I can’t imagine running out without making sure she’s out, or at least having her with me as I escape.
Damn, what a sadistic question to ask. Or maybe I’m an overemotional mom, because I can’t stop crying as I type this.