Of course I would let him in. If I felt unsafe, I’d barrade myself in another room. There is nothing in my living room that is more valuable than a life.
If you don’t want to let him in, say so. But save the weak excuses. Your house does have a jug of bleach, right?
Something else.
I wouldn’t let him in, because the EMT in me says you don’t move a trauma patient unless the scene itself is life threatening. Unless there are goons looking for him, or a circling pack of dogs, I’d treat him in place.
Trauma exam, treatment of wounds, warm blankets, a call to 911, and a concealed pistol just in case.
It’s just such a tough call without being there personally. My first instinct is to grab the phone & let him in, call 911 simultaneously. I do live in a pretty rural area that feels safe, then again we had that nasty business in Cheshire last year. Of course, those shitheads weren’t naked and bleeding and begging for help.
Intuition plays a part too. If the guy is 250 lbs and looks jacked up or wigged out on PCP, well, probably hand out the blanket while calling 911.
Had a weird incident a couple years ago at my dad’s house. It was about 10:30pm, during the late spring or summer, and I heard a frantic pounding on the door accompanied by terrified screams of “HELP ME PLEASE HELP ME OH MY GOD …etc”. Wow, hair stand on end much?
I went to the window & saw that it was a kid, probably about 16, rather slight in build. He was pacing and crying, holding his head and screaming about “Help me oh god I need help!”
I couldn’t just leave the kid out there, I opened the door and tried to calm him down.
Turns out he had just gotten his license and got “really lost” on the backroads and didn’t know his way home. I got the feeling that he had some emotional issues given how completely wigged out he was. I got him calmed down & we called his dad, who I spoke to first to “feel out” whether there was any weird relationship between them, i.e. the kid being scared to go home for fear of repercussions. Dad was mildly exasperated but understanding, we agreed that I would get in my car and lead the boy in his car to the Friendly’s nearby, where dad would meet us and lead him home.
Tearful reunion in the parking lot and a very kind & grateful dad. No question as to whether I did the right thing, as disturbing as it was.
So…again it’s a hard call. My instinct is to help, but I’d have to make that decision on the variables at the time.
Definitely tough to make the call without actually being in the situation.
I picked up hitch hikers twice over the summer. The first kid was nice and I’m glad I could help. The second was a grizzled fellow who freaked my shit out and swiped most of the change from my ashtray. Poor judgment on my part for picking up someone who looked so rough.
I got a flat on the freeway a couple of weeks ago and I’d barely gotten out of the car when a scruffy looking kid stopped and offered to help. He looked about as rough as the hitcher who scared me.
It’s all a crap shoot. Most of the time I’d rather take a risk and believe people are basically good.
The story never mentions what the guy was yelling. That would be a HUGE factor in my decision about how far to help beyond calling 911. Was it rational “I’ve just been robbed!” or was it crazy-pants “aliens are coming!” or what? Unless I missed it?
Get him in, get him warm, call 911.
Most of the time I’d rather take a risk and believe that I am basically good.
If it were a kid I’d obviously let them in. I’d still keep my guard up though.
I’d probably let him in. I’d definitely call 911.
Follow up to the original story:
This actually happened to me (and was one of the factors in my moving out of the neighborhood where it happened) except that it was a woman, in addition to bleeding she was also wet, and it was like 3 degrees outside.
She was incoherent and said “don’t call the paramedics, don’t call the paramedics.” We called the paramedics. We did throw a blanket around her, we did not let her in until the paramedics got there. She was acting very very weird.
This happened in the middle of the night. Our doorbell didn’t work. If it hadn’t been for our dog raising hell, we might have found this lady frozen on our porch the next morning. (Also, if it hadn’t been for the dog, we might have let her into the foyer. But I think the dog would have eaten her.)
PS she was not exactly naked, but she sure wasn’t appropriately dressed for 3 degrees. She was in a sheer pajama thing. No overcoat.
I would call 911 and announce I had called 911. I wouldn’t come out or unlock door until police or rescue was on the scene. I think there is all kind of trouble a naked, hysterical and mentally ill person could make for you once you invite them inside. I live in a city with a firehouse very near me, someone would be on the scene within minutes.
I don’t know why I would be offended.
To the issue: Yeah, I’d let him in. But I am large and burly. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and all that.
If only there were some technology that could allow me to prevent his blood from touching the skin of my hands. But, alas, no such device exists outside of comic books.
Also I have weapons in the house.
I would let him in, call 911, provide aid and keep my .357 mag handgun (or bear spray) handy. Why? This guy could easily overpower me so I need to be prepared for anything. I wouldn’t assume that he was dangerous, but I certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to assume he wasn’t.
I probably wouldn’t think fast enough to do anything but let him in and cover him up, while calling 911.
It’s probably to late to find out, but it would be interesting to see how the answers break down, compared to how cold your winters are. I’m getting the feeling that people who live where winters kill may be more likely to let someone in.
Winters where I live are mild; I’d still let the naked, injured man in.
It also occurs to me that it may dependon how easily respondents can see the supplicant from inside. I’d be able to look out the front window – or, hell, just openthe inner door while leaving the wood door shut – and thus have information available to assess the situation.
Depends a lot on how crazed or threatening the guy looked.
At a minimum, I’d call 911 and throw out a blanket or clothing. If the guy did not appear physically threating or overagitated, if possible I’d probably let him in to a vestibule, garage, or mudroom if I could prevent him from entering the rest of the house. I might let him into the house if it were clear he was unarmed and there were enough other adults to overpower him in case he did become agitated. I don’t think I’d let him in if young children were involved.
Way back in 2002, I started this thread.
It wasn’t a naked bleeding man, but a little kid in Pampers knocking at our door early one morning.
I see a lot of the, “there are so many wierd, crazy people running around these days”, type of answers. Also, similar threads about more natural disasters, more uncivil discourse in poliitcs, more wars, etc…
I don’t believe it’s true. The News cycle today requires more stories to fill time and space. What would be a local story 50 years ago is now instantly on the intertubes. Pundits will weigh in, statistics trotted out, blame up to including Presidents and Gods will be parceled out.
I’d call 911, evaluate the crazy and the bleeding, and get the guy covered up and warming in the house as the defaut position. I don’t have enough information to keep the guy outside.