How about you measure the temperature of your skin as it is being soaked with freezing cold water, and tell me how close to F 67 it is?
Bums.
Are.
People.
Well, like I said, he was also wearing a heavy coat.
As I already said, if the person was in danger, the OP should have called for help. If the person was not in danger, the person would probably not appreciate having the cops come down on him like a ton of bricks. It’s the middle of the day, and many shelters (at least around here) wouldn’t even be able to take him until night.
It’s actually a more difficult situation than people are claiming. I think the OP’s attitude of “it’s not my problem” sucks. But ignore the attitude for a minute and address the actual situation. If the guy is not in any danger, calling the cops on him really sucks.
Which had been soaked with freezing cold water for two hours.
You thought he might be dead. In your front yard. And you could not be bothered to call. Because he is a bum. Which apparently somehow renders him less human than you. But you ask for advice on a message board. Except what you are really doing is sharing with us just how lovely your life is. Man, you are useless.
Is he still there?
Yes, that was the point of the parable; that as you pass your neighbor lying on the side of the road, you should have a moment of concern which will contrast you favorably from other passersby.
IANAD, but I believe lying in < F60 degree water can be fatal after a few hours, especially if the victim is infirm. (Calling SDMB physicians.) 67 degrees in the air could be 50 degrees in his puddle.
False dilemma. No way has anyone established that the cops would “come down on him like a ton of bricks.” You are just making shit up now.
More weasel speech. No one is calling the cops **on **anyone. It would be reporting a citizen in distress. The “actual situation” is that the OP cannot be bothered to determine whether he wants help or not. Your other objections are moot in the light of that fact.
Go poke him with a long stick, see if he moves. Could you take some pictures, too? Because on a message board, it’s really hard to picture these kinds of things mentally…
Rigamarole, it still appears that you have not grasped the enormity of your moral failure. The best you can do, if you want to salvage your reputation as a Doper, is to beg a Mod to delete all of these OPs.
This thread is probably worth a read for you.
I don’t think he’s less human. I consider all humans responsible for themselves, including myself. But I wasn’t sure he was dead, and as it turned out he isn’t.
Eh, one has to stay positive. I wanted to share because I don’t have anyone to share this sort of thing with. For what it’s worth, after seeing the initial responses I did go out to check on him, which is when I came back with the report of him having changed positions. I don’t think I would have done that otherwise.
So you still haven’t called 911? Simple movement is evidence enough that everything is hunky-dory? How about you give me an address? I’ll make the call.
Fuck. Please ignore my last posts, and DO NOT POKE HIM WITH A STICK, NOR TAKE PICTURES. I obviously overestimated you.
You had to reach out into the anonymity of the internet to find your moral compass and determine your action or lack thereof when you thought a fellow man was possibly in danger of death? And this does not strike you as immensely troubling?
From what we have seen thus far, I guess it wouldn’t. 
As I have repeatedly said, if he’s in danger, the OP should get help. AS I HAVE REPEATEDLY SAID (there, it’s in all-caps so you’ll see it).
The OP’s attitude sucks. As I have already said.
Everyone keeps shrieking “Call the cops! Call the cops!” That isn’t “bothering to determine whether he wants help or not.”
The OP didn’t want to do anything. The cries for him to call the cops immediately want him to do something that might not be the right choice. I think he should find out if the person is in danger. He should attempt to rouse him, for example. If he can’t be roused, he should call 911. If he can be roused, the OP would have to play it by ear.
I’m not kidding, by the way.
Your getting your moral compass from a message board?! You wouldn’t have bothered, except we were giving you shit?
Yeah, maybe he’s a drunk old homeless guy who passed out on the lawn (although that doesn’t make him any less worthy of help), but maybe he’s not out there because he “had a long night”. If your streets are as mean and horrible as you say, maybe he got the crap kicked out of him and he’s unconscious. Maybe he’s in a diabetic coma. Maybe anything. Doesn’t bloody well matter - if he’s asleep under cold sprinklers, it’s something to be checked out.
Yeah, I walk by sleeping bums in doorways and on park benches too, and I don’t check them all for a pulse. But if it’s freezing out and I see someone asleep outdoors without any shelter, I call the police. Human decency, for crying out loud. You’re an ass.
I live it from day-to-day, and you’re got my vote for being a callous shithead (and a patronizing shmuck.)
Oh. That makes it all better then. Bless you and your sainted soul.
If he is unwilling to make a phone call, I highly doubt he is willing to actually go out and deal with this himself. Rouse him, ask him if he was ok, or if he should call anyone for a ride or help. That would be, well, that would be just too much to expect.
Now I am starting to get pissed off. If this was a* dog*, lying there, same circumstances, do you think he would have just walked on, and asked our opinion?
Un-fucking-believable.