# Racist tells superhero he'd rather die than be saved by black guy; super shrugs & lets him. Okay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638 "2013-02-17T23:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/21 "2013-02-18T06:17:39Z")
The slacktivist wasn’t the only person providing assistance; if someone else had come by and met his lordship’s criteria for an acceptable saviour, he would have been saved. As things went, he was responsible for his own death. Admit it, you were inspired by that joke about the guy who refused help from a van, a boat and a helicopter because he wanted angels with polyester robes and cotton wings. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/22 "2013-02-18T07:12:38Z")
Within the first few rescues Bob made I’d think he’d be confronted with legal issues, and I can’t believe the government would leave him alone. I could see all sorts of greedy and ungrateful lawsuits against him. What about property damage he causes? Does he have insurance for that sort of thing? I don’t think he’d be allowed to use his super powers to rescue people unless he was officially affiliated with an appropriate govt. agency. Homeland Security maybe? He’s a slacker and wouldn’t go to work or anything, but he’d at least be legally covered when he decides to help out with disasters. He’d have to comply with the same rules that apply to other rescue workers. Would a normally powered rescue worker have to save the skinhead? Me personally, as soon as the skinhead said he’d rather die than owe a black guy, I’d have definitely saved his ass so he would owe me. Ha, ha! Kill yourself if you want, dirt bag! But I saved your ass! That makes you my bitch, bitch. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/23 "2013-02-18T07:28:22Z")
Without consent to be rescued it would be an assault and battery under the law. Both civil and criminal. Possible defense of necessity. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/24 "2013-02-18T10:28:59Z")
Legal issues aside, and only approaching this as a moral issue, I support Bob. Skinhead was a free agent, he could choose his own demise freely. Bob had no cause to go against that. I agree he should probably have checked up on him _afterwards_ rather than just going back to WOW. Although realistically, someone who can travel at 5000 mps or faster shouldn’t even have time to chat while rescuing people… ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/25 "2013-02-18T14:43:44Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Precedent was set in _Sansweet Vs. Mr Incredible_. He was awarded damages for injuries received while being “rescued” from a suicide attempt. > > His lawyer stated “He didn’t want to be saved, he didn’t asked to be saved”. > > The skinhead clearly stated his choice to die. Done in one. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/26 "2013-02-18T15:00:43Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Precedent was set in _Sansweet Vs. Mr Incredible_. He was awarded damages for injuries received while being “rescued” from a suicide attempt. > > His lawyer stated “He didn’t want to be saved, he didn’t asked to be saved”. > > The skinhead clearly stated his choice to die. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Maeganspop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Maeganspop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeganspop)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/27 "2013-02-18T18:56:26Z")
I know this doesn’t answer the question, but I saw a documentary about a man calling himself Superman. Superman was able to spin the Earth in a clockwise rotation, thereby turning back time. Why didn’t Bob do this and just prevent the disaster from even happening?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/28 "2013-02-18T19:22:27Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > … > Me personally, as soon as the skinhead said he’d rather die than owe a black guy, I’d have definitely saved his ass so he would owe me. Ha, ha! Kill yourself if you want, dirt bag! But I saved your ass! That makes you my bitch, bitch. Exactly my thinking. No matter what skinhead does for the rest of his life, he has to live knowing that a black guy saved his helpless ass. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/29 "2013-02-18T19:30:44Z")
> [@Maeganspop](#): > > I know this doesn’t answer the question, but I saw a documentary about a man calling himself Superman. Superman was able to spin the Earth in a clockwise rotation, thereby turning back time. > > Why didn’t Bob do this and just prevent the disaster from even happening?:dubious: Because… you, like many viewers over the past 30 years, misinterpreted that scene? 🙂 > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Exactly my thinking. No matter what skinhead does for the rest of his life, he has to live knowing that a black guy saved his helpless ass. Nah, he wouldn’t. By the OP, he had the expectation of someone white coming along to save him. So he’d just think that he WOULD’VE been saved properly by a white guy if it hadn’t been for Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/30 "2013-02-18T20:04:30Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Exactly my thinking. No matter what skinhead does for the rest of his life, he has to live knowing that a black guy saved his helpless ass. While the idea of this kind of revenge is appealing, saving the guy would take a non-zero amount of time (and probably more than average, since he’d fight it however he could, even if that’s just making Bob chase him around for a minute… in fact, even just the refusal has already taken more time than average). That’s time that could be taken to save someone who _wants_ to be saved, and since skinhead made a clear choice, I have no problem with the “needs of the many outweighing the needs of the one” in this case. Skinhead doesn’t want rescue, fine – I can use that time to rescue someone who _does_ want it. In an emergency situation, there’s no time for pointless arguing. Trying to start one is actively endangering other people. I’m not going to let someone else die because skinhead wants to argue about whether I save him or not. ---
**Author:** ![Maeganspop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Maeganspop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeganspop)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/31 "2013-02-18T20:18:59Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Because… you, like many viewers over the past 30 years, misinterpreted that scene? 🙂 What did I miss? Nevermind. I looked it up and found that Superman just flew fast enough to go back in time. Regardless, he placed himself in a position to be there before the disaster. Why not Bob? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/32 "2013-02-18T20:33:10Z")
> [@Maeganspop](#): > > I know this doesn’t answer the question, but I saw a documentary about a man calling himself Superman. Superman was able to spin the Earth in a clockwise rotation, thereby turning back time. > > Why didn’t Bob do this and just prevent the disaster from even happening?:dubious: The OP stipulated that Bob has the powers of the late '80s Superman. In the late '80s, the Superman comics were in the midst of the John Byrne reboot, which significantly depowered Superman - while still incredibly strong and virtually indestructible, he was no longer able to do things like juggle planets or casually travel through time. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/33 "2013-02-18T21:00:23Z")
Say Bob knew a volcano was about to erupt, and went to a cabin near it to pull a guy to safety. But the guy said the same thing as the skinhead - that Bob should leave him alone. Should Bob pull him out anyway? Before Mt. St. Helens erupted, there was a guy named Harry Truman of all things, an old guy, who lived in a cabin on the mountainside. He refused to be evacuated, the authorities left him there, and he died. I don’t recall anyone saying he should have been taken against his will. No one sued as far as I can remember. And Bob has no legal authority to force anyone to evacuate. So Bob is not being a jerk, he is respecting the wishes of someone who though an asshole is of sound mind. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/34 "2013-02-18T21:50:53Z")
If I were Bob I’d rescue him just to annoy him…and leave him down safely in some suitable place with lots of witnesses. Although loudly saying, “Anytime you need my help again just call, my brother!” before slapping his back and flying off may be overdoing it. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/35 "2013-02-19T01:19:28Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > While the idea of this kind of revenge is appealing, saving the guy would take a non-zero amount of time (and probably more than average, since he’d fight it however he could, even if that’s just making Bob chase him around for a minute… in fact, even just the refusal has already taken more time than average). That’s time that could be taken to save someone who _wants_ to be saved, and since skinhead made a clear choice, I have no problem with the “needs of the many outweighing the needs of the one” in this case. > > Skinhead doesn’t want rescue, fine – I can use that time to rescue someone who _does_ want it. In an emergency situation, there’s no time for pointless arguing. Trying to start one is actively endangering other people. I’m not going to let someone else die because skinhead wants to argue about whether I save him or not. I’d still do it. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/36 "2013-02-19T06:55:52Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > I’d like to point out that Skinheads were amongst the first white people in the UK to embrace Jamaican music… > Check out Laurel Aitken’s [“Skinhead Train”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daO1aBETLj4) from 1969. It’s my understanding that British skinheads weren’t (aren’t?) the same thing as today’s American skinheads. i.e. IIRC correctly the British skinhead thing grew out of the “Mod” fashion (or was a reaction to it) and into the punk rock movement, a music style that embraced and incorporated reggae. American skinheads like the one in the OP, OTOH, are part of an actual white-supremacist, racist subculture. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/37 "2013-02-19T07:31:14Z")
Yeah, when I was a youth, the Nazi skinheads and the Liberty Skins fought each other. Two different groups. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/38 "2013-02-19T10:44:48Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The part that isn’t clear to me from the OP is if rescuing Skinhead would have cost Bob any additional time. If in fact the trouble of rescuing Skinhead carries with it a marginal cost of time and effort, I’d agree Bob was correct to let him die, since a reasonable assessment of the situtation is that bothering with Skinhead could cost other people their lives. > > The facts in evidence - that Bob is more or less Superman - suggest that in fact that is the case, since even Superman cannot do things instantaneously. So I’m okay with it, based on that assumption. Bob did not kill Skinhead, and in fact could not have known for sure Skinhead was going to die - after all, maybe Skinhead was a good swimmer or could have found something to float on. And Skinhead does presumably have the right to choose his method of escape from the flood. > > However, if we were to change the hypothetical just a little and presume that there was no marginal cost to saving Skinhead, I would argue then that Bob had a moral right to save the man (but not a legal obligation.) Skinhead may be a contemptible ass, but he is a human being. I don’t think marginal cost is enough, because you need to also consider what you’d be doing with that time instead. Not all time is worth the same amount. I agree that, in this situation, it’s pointless to get involved. There are other people to be saved, and any time spent with this guy means they could die. That’s justifiable. But think it gets more iffy if the scenario is changed where Bob isn’t doing anything else. Especially since Bob didn’t even try to convince him otherwise. I also have to factor in the idea that, if Bob did save the man, would the guy eventually be okay with it–the same thing you have to consider with suicide (hence why letting someone commit suicide because they got extra depressed one night is wrong). I do note the irony that I’m responding to a legal question with a moral answer, BTW. But the legal question has already been answered: of course he has no obligation. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/39 "2013-02-19T14:32:37Z")
Let him die, and Bob shouldn’t be held actionable. I’m not white. I wouldn’t rescue someone who called me racist names in the middle of trying to rescue their sorry asses either. One less asshole in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638/40 "2013-02-19T19:36:44Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The part that isn’t clear to me from the OP is if rescuing Skinhead would have cost Bob any additional time. If in fact the trouble of rescuing Skinhead carries with it a marginal cost of time and effort, I’d agree Bob was correct to let him die, since a reasonable assessment of the situtation is that bothering with Skinhead could cost other people their lives. > > The facts in evidence - that Bob is more or less Superman - suggest that in fact that is the case, since even Superman cannot do things instantaneously. So I’m okay with it, based on that assumption. Bob did not kill Skinhead, and in fact could not have known for sure Skinhead was going to die - after all, maybe Skinhead was a good swimmer or could have found something to float on. And Skinhead does presumably have the right to choose his method of escape from the flood. > > However, if we were to change the hypothetical just a little and presume that there was no marginal cost to saving Skinhead, I would argue then that Bob had a moral right to save the man (but not a legal obligation.) Skinhead may be a contemptible ass, but he is a human being. I think even the Byrne Superman could have used suction breath to drag the guy out of his house, then bounce him wherever he felt like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-tells-superhero-hed-rather-die-than-be-saved-by-black-guy-super-shrugs-lets-him-okay/650638.md?page=3)