# A half a milliion to save your kid. Would you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575 "2010-09-13T08:19:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/41 "2010-09-14T19:14:27Z")
Well considering I don’t have half a million nor do I see anyone giving me a loan for that much, I don’t see how I could pay half a million to save one of my kids. Maybe a better poll would be, what would you do to save your child, rob a bank and potentially spend 20+ years in prison for it? Sell yourself into slavery? Owe Don Corleone “a huge favor”? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/42 "2010-09-14T19:19:43Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Seriously, even if every parent would be willing to mortgage their soul to get their kid back (which I’m not entirely convinced they would do as 1/2mil is a large chunk of change), is there anyone who would just mark it ‘debt paid’ once they were freed given the totally avoidable and stupid decisions that resulted in their capture? > > And if your kid isn’t the type who would make every attempt to pay you back, why even make the effort to raise the cash? You don’t seem to be parent, or at least not familiar with the phrase ‘I’m so happy you are home, safe and sound, because now I’m going to kill you!’ Note: the phrase ‘kill you’ is not meant in the literal sense. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/43 "2010-09-14T19:39:55Z")
If my daughter were as stupid as Sarah Shourd and her friends, I wouldn’t want her back, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/44 "2010-09-14T19:55:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Note: the phrase ‘kill you’ is not meant in the literal sense. Oh, I dunno. A “Thanks, Pop!”, as they pranced out the door on their way to plan their next trip to the borders of NK would probably be classified as a justifiable homicide. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/45 "2010-09-14T19:58:31Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > If my daughter were as stupid as Sarah Shourd and her friends, I wouldn’t want her back, anyway. What’s stupid about her? She and her friends were kidnapped by a theocratic regime to be used as pawns. What was she supposed to do, pull off some sort of Chuck Norris moves to escape? ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/46 "2010-09-14T20:03:10Z")
Of course. And I would even guess that with a little publicity for the fundraiser and a decent website it wouldn’t even be that hard. People give money for much stupider causes. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/47 "2010-09-14T20:16:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > > If my daughter were as stupid as Sarah Shourd and her friends, I wouldn’t want her back, anyway. > > What’s stupid about her? She and her friends were kidnapped by a theocratic regime to be used as pawns. What was she supposed to do, pull off some sort of Chuck Norris moves to escape? Seems like “plan your hikes away from theocratic regimes with a history of kidnapping people to use as pawns” might’ve worked, at least initially. The Chuck Norris thing sounds cooler, though. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/48 "2010-09-14T20:52:45Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I would do everything I could, as many other parents have noted. > > After she gets back home, she can write a book about it, and we’ll make the money back. 🙂 That was my thought. I’d use the proceeds to help the others. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/49 "2010-09-14T21:03:16Z")
Well, Sarah Shourd is now out of Iran. 😉 She won’t be able to say much because her friends are still in danger. They are being coy about where the money came from. They claim it wasn’t from the family or our government. Anyhow, I’m glad she’s free, and that her family won’t be impoverished for the rest of their lives. It would take me nearly 15 years to earn a half million bucks. That’s a huge amount of money. > [@](#): > > Tehran’s chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said a $500,000 bail had been paid to Iran’s Bank Melli in Muscat, Oman but did not say who paid it. **A U.S. official said neither the U.S. government nor the families of the hikers had paid the bail** , but could not say who else might have paid it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/14/irans-state-tv-says-woman-freed-year-prison/](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/14/irans-state-tv-says-woman-freed-year-prison/) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/50 "2010-09-14T21:12:27Z")
Ye invaded Iraq for less. I say level Tehran. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/51 "2010-09-14T21:44:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What’s stupid about her? She and her friends were kidnapped by a theocratic regime to be used as pawns. She was hiking in an area she’d been warned not to hike in because exactly this sort of thing might happen. That, in my book, is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/52 "2010-09-14T21:50:24Z")
I wonder if you could get $500,000 in exchange for the book and movie rights for her story. The only problem is I don’t know if she could enter into a contract all the way from Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/53 "2010-09-14T21:57:15Z")
You probably hit it right on the head there. Probably some media outlet of some description is paying her “bail” in exchange for interviews, movie deals, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/54 "2010-09-14T23:56:26Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Ye invaded Iraq for less. I say level Tehran. considering the groundswell of disdain for the current regime it would make more sense to let the locals take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/55 "2010-09-15T00:11:22Z")
I already lost one child. It costs about quarter of a million for her to live in the hospital for 8 weeks with no hope for 7 of those. I have two daughters left and there is no question whatsoever plus I could write a check that much myself with a few days notice without it being much of an issue. Individual circumstances vary on money. I think you are talking about collective suffering within the family really which a certain amount of money is just a proxy for. That one is harder but it would still have to happen. We had a poll here once about trading your own child’s life for every single person in China and India and most of us chose our child. Everyone dies and that sucks but the vast majority of them aren’t mine or people I know. ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/56 "2010-09-15T00:21:08Z")
I loved the interview on Headline News where she was thanking the Government of Iran as if she had been at some kind of resort, but when you consider one of the two guys left is her fiancee, I’m sure she’ll say anything she can to save him. The real question is what will be the (presumably much higher) fee for bail for the other two men? My guess is that they will conveniently never be allowed bail. Better to hold them as a human shield, so every time someone threatens action on Iran for a nuclear plant, human rights violations, etc., they can trot these two out and remind everyone they are still there ‘awaiting trial’. Is Israel planning to blow up Iran’s nuclear facilities? Oh, well look at that… the two American ‘guests’ suddenly got moved to a building right next door so when you blow that up Israel, you’re killing Americans too. As to the stupidity of the hikers, I can only assume that the danger they were warned about was either very vague or understated. Meanwhile, there was probably some awesome ruins or other thing that was a ‘once in a lifetime’ thing they HAD to see while there. I don’t believe any of them were spies, but rather, were simply young, dumb tourists that took what they perceived to be a minimal risk and got screwed, no different than the jaywalker who gets creamed by a car that came out of no where. When I was their age, I’m afraid I might have taken a similar stupid risk. If you know you’re not a spy, you presumably think no one else would think you are a spy either. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/57 "2010-09-15T00:46:28Z")
> [@Yarster](#): > > I don’t believe any of them were spies, but rather, were simply young, dumb tourists that took what they perceived to be a minimal risk and got screwed, no different than the jaywalker who gets creamed by a car that came out of no where. When I was their age, I’m afraid I might have taken a similar stupid risk. If you know you’re not a spy, you presumably think no one else would think you are a spy either. Except they weren’t young, dumb tourists. Sarah Shourd filed a story reporting on the Golan Heights/Syria border for New American Media on Feb 23, 2009, in which is was reported that she lived in Damascus: > **[Top 10 web hosting companies 2021 - sites & providers reviews](https://www.ncmonline.com)** > > Collection of data-driven top 10 web hosting sites reviews, discounts and more. Best website host companies are tested for speed and reliability. This article she filed reports she was living in Syria in July, 2009: [http://www.womensradio.com/articles/Syrian-Women-Reflect-on-Rare-Political-Victory/5344.html](http://www.womensradio.com/articles/Syrian-Women-Reflect-on-Rare-Political-Victory/5344.html) Call me nuts, but usually when you’re corresponding from a war zone in the Middle East, you’re not a naif about the political situation with Iran. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/58 "2010-09-15T00:49:30Z")
This wasn’t a thread about whether I would pay half a mil for someone else’s dumb kid. Just my dumb kid. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/59 "2010-09-15T00:53:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This wasn’t a thread about whether I would pay half a mil for someone else’s dumb kid. Just my dumb kid. heh. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575/60 "2010-09-15T14:46:33Z")
Anything. I would do anything. Left lung? It’s yours. My legs? You got 'em. 20 years in prison? I hope there’s a library. Pay me $500,000 to kill myself? Absolutely, please just tell her I love her no matter where I am. I would do anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-half-a-milliion-to-save-your-kid-would-you-do-it/553575.md?page=4)