# Just another hypothetical moral dilema **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917 "2018-09-25T23:02:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/1 "2018-09-25T23:02:58Z")
Bit tacky, so Ain’t gonna poll it. Hypothetically, you have HIV, done time for rape and now seeking actively for job. For the sake of karma let say that you got HIV through rape. And you are exceptionally good at your job. You can confess to your potential employer either one, none or both. He might do check, tho, but is kind of job it is not likely to do so. And now for the twist. You are the employer. What you do in each scenario. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/2 "2018-09-25T23:13:10Z")
So, let me just get this straight. I’m an employer, for a job that has NO POLITICAL IMPORTANCE WHATSOEVER, and where the person’s opinions about rape and abortion and women’s rights matter NOT AT ALL (except in how he might treat people on the job, which can be fully dealt with by human resources without the possibility of lingering effects on, oh I don’t know, maybe case law). And of course the job doesn’t depend upon his health or physical state, which it would probably be illegal for me to ask about anyway. Also, I know nothing about this dude but what he tells me. Presuming the dude doesn’t mention that he’s a criminal rapist, I won’t react to that. I might if he tells me, if only because I have to be comfortable working with the dude. It may depend on how he explains the situation. (Does he breathe heavily while discussing his past actions in loving detail?) Presuming the dude tells me he has HIV, I’ll hand him our documentation on health insurance, sick leave, and how unexcused absences beyond that are dealt with. Presuming he tells me about neither, I hire the woman instead because I’m a caricature of a liberal. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/3 "2018-09-26T00:06:49Z")
Maybe he is guilt ridden. Do not know. To be honest, my writers blockage is wearing off and i want to examine some new ideas as neutrally as I can. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/4 "2018-09-26T00:19:08Z")
If he is applying for a road construction job, I don’t care. If he is applying for a job at a McDonald’s, I don’t care. If he is applying for a job that requires an SF-86, I care very much. If he is applying for a job as a babysitter, I care very much. Gosh, isn’t it weird how the context and the situation can change the answer? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/5 "2018-09-26T01:03:35Z")
If I have two applicants who are qualified for the job and one committed rape in the past and the other one did not commit rape in the past, I’m going to pick the one who hasn’t committed rape. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/6 "2018-09-26T03:32:50Z")
What? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/7 "2018-09-26T06:15:29Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What? 😕 Was that directed at me, the OP, or somebody else? ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/8 "2018-09-26T06:35:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What? 😕 yes, what? You are applying for a job with yourself and wondering whether to tell yourself things? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/9 "2018-09-26T07:53:42Z")
> [@blob](#): > > yes, what? You are applying for a job with yourself and wondering whether to tell yourself things? LOL. That’s exactly how I interpreted the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/10 "2018-09-26T09:52:23Z")
So you’re an HIV positive rapist with multiple personality disorder. Do you employ yourself or not? I love these hypothetical moral dilemmas. Just for the sake of clarity though, which one of the two personalities is the Hitler? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/11 "2018-09-26T10:53:32Z")
Doesn’t really matter, all you need to know is that he is an exceptionally good Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/12 "2018-09-26T11:37:50Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Doesn’t really matter, all you need to know is that he is an exceptionally good Hitler. How much of a gap is there between the really good Hitlers and the really bad ones? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/13 "2018-09-26T12:33:27Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > So you’re an HIV positive rapist with multiple personality disorder. Do you employ yourself or not? > > I love these hypothetical moral dilemmas. Just for the sake of clarity though, which one of the two personalities is the Hitler? And some of the personalities, I assume, are good people. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/14 "2018-09-26T12:37:42Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And some of the personalities, I assume, are good people. > > Regards, > Shodan Hard to say. Maybe they think they’re good, but that’s what bad people think of themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/15 "2018-09-26T12:50:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > How much of a gap is there between the really good Hitlers and the really bad ones? The good ones go the extra mile to provide additional services, such as HIV Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/16 "2018-09-26T12:54:07Z")
With that clarified, I feel like we are moments away from solving the dilemma. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/17 "2018-09-26T13:18:37Z")
I’m going to give OP the benefit of the doubt and hope that they are actually trying to make a point about asymmetrical information in the employment market. Although at this point, I’m not sure what that would point would be. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/18 "2018-09-26T16:52:36Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Doesn’t really matter, all you need to know is that he is an exceptionally good Hitler. Let’s give Hitler credit for the good things he did. He was, after all, the guy who killed Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/19 "2018-09-26T16:52:46Z")
At the end, we discover that the HIV positive rapist has been dead all along, and that the “employer” was really…I guess I’ve said too much… ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917/20 "2018-09-26T17:59:50Z")
> [@yo\_han\_go](#): > > Maybe he is guilt ridden. Do not know. To be honest, my writers blockage is wearing off and i want to examine some new ideas as neutrally as I can. Okay, so he’s guilt ridden. (Presumably about the raping, not the HIV-having.) So he spontaneously tells me apropos of nothing that he’s raped somebody, looking very sorrowful and in tears. I’m the potential employer here (and I’m a different person than the guilt-ridden applicant, you jokers), and I’m sitting there, leaning way back in my chair, thinking to myself that _damn_, this guy is terrible at interviews. He’s emotionally breaking down in front of me, a dude he doesn’t know from Adam? His potential employer? What kind of impression does he think he’s making? Is he going to be like this all the time? I like my offices to be be relatively drama-free. I like things calm. What’s this guy going to be like when I surround him with other humans to cut loose to? What are my female employees going to think of him? What if he has to talk to a customer, and starts breaking down and talking to _them_ about his criminal past? “Um, I’m just going to cut this short. You seem like a nice guy, but I’m not sure you’re what I’m looking for. Have a nice day.” (And what I don’t say is, _get counselling_.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-another-hypothetical-moral-dilema/821917.md?page=2)