I am not wearing my supervillain hat right now, so no. And even if I were, I’d remind the rest of you that if you’re going to be evil, you shouldn’t pretend otherwise even to yourself.
There is nothing evil about killing an evil person, and Phelps is evil.
What has anyone in our society done that is worthy of summary execution? Criminals? Opponents in war? Our society decides - at least our designated leaders do.
On Qin’s lifeboat I am the decider. And I have decided that Phelps is a net negative.
That is debatable, at the very least, even without a side bar on the definition of evil.
One could kill for an evil reason.
One could kill for no reason.
One could kill by true depraved indifference.
In addition, some people believe there is a profound difference between an individual killing for any reason other than personal self-defense and a lawfully designated group killing for the protection of the society.
In short, there are plenty of ways killing can be evil, irrespective of the moral or ethical worth of the victim.
Who is pretending?
I see no intrinsic value in human life, and as protoplasm goes, Fred is a waste of space. The gold can be used to boost the economy of strippers and Ferrari dealers, which will trickle down to the peons and thus raise all boats. I’m saving the world economy, dammit!
The obvious underlying assumption is intent to prevent continuing evil by an evildoer
who cannot otherwise be restrained.
As I subscribe to a utilitarian morality, I’d save the gold and donate it to a gay rights nonprofit in memoriam of F. Phelps, Esq.
Oh and Skald, this isn’t an issue of killing, it’s letting him die. As South Park has taught us, there is a difference. And sometimes letting someone die is good if it gets them to heaven (thus allowing them to play a golden Sony PSP and save it) sooner.
Although honestly, if the gold is floating, why can’t we save Phelps and just tie a rope to the gold and float it behind the boat?
From a utilitarian standpoint, I suspect Phelps’s continued existence may do more good than harm, as his over-the-top hatred and attention whoring turns people off to his “cause,” inspires counter-protests, and increases public sympathy toward those whom he persecutes.
He DID get God’s help - He sent YOU in a lifeboat. YOU f’d up big time – now you’re in for it.
Dang, I hate morality questions like this. I’d rescue Fred, but I wouldn’t be happy about it. The WBC is not a church, it’s a hate group.
But as a Christian, if I believe, say, the story of the conversion of Saul into Paul, I’d have to believe Fred and Co. could change too. After all, Saul of Tarsus was the Fred of his day, and he’s called a saint now.
Save him and then tell him I was an openly gay soldier. If he jumps out then take the gold.
Agreed. And I’m an atheist, for the record.
Yeah, it’s another Curtis ‘Gotcha Atheist’ question. He does love to bait us.
Note the public poll.
I’ve got no problems with the poll. There’s no “gotcha” for me. Phelps is a sack of shit, and my moral system lets me watch him drown with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
I don’t see failing to save Phelps as particularly evil. I’m pushing it a bit when I toss him an anchor, but he’s a dirtbag, so fuck him.
Pure BS; I was in a life boat due to random chance and Phelps wasn’t. Maybe he should pray that God will throw me OUT of the life boat and put him in it; make it his choice to save me or reach for the gold. I wouldn’t give a nickel for my chances. In any case, God didn’t send me the damn life boat; I got lucky and that’s it.
I dunno. I’d probabaly save him, but hey look, floating gold. Maybe I wouldn’t be an atheist anymore, cause floating gold is totally a miracle.
Nah, I would save him, then use the resulting publicity to mock him, his family and his cause at any given opportunity in the news. Skald has a point about killing assholes resulting in the decimation (or more) of the species.
Phelps.
But I would probably regret it later.
No it is not. I did not make any particular mention of atheism or anything else religious other than how my personal ethics would play into this.
Perfect solution. I logged on to say, I would save Phelps because he’s a human being and as loathsome as his behavior is, it isn’t as bad as murder, rape, arson, etc. I would also hold a press conference immediately there after and claim to to be bisexual (because I have a male husband I don’t think I could successfully lie about being a lesbian). For Phelps I think having it publically known he was saved from death by someone he persecutes would be worse than death.