# Would you sacrifice the love of your life to spare 10,000 strangers by cancer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504 "2011-10-04T01:26:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/121 "2011-10-06T12:48:50Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Baby pleeeease open the door ! I brought chocolates and the hearts of 10.000 innocents ! They’re you’re favourite ! And their pinkie fingers – I collected those too! 20,000 pinkies for you to suck on! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/122 "2011-10-06T12:50:59Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So if it was a Leprechaun or super advanced Aliens testing human interactions, would you save the 10,000? If leprechauns or super advanced aliens had impeccable reputations for honesty and integrity – maybe. But the deal, as structured in the OP, just doesn’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/123 "2011-10-06T13:54:57Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I don’t get how this is even a difficult choice for you people. I mean, I love my boyfriend as much as anyone possibly can…But come on… > > Have you guys never loved and lost someone only to get over them eventually and find someone new??? Odds are the relationship you are in right now is probably going to end anyway. No you don’t. I mean, I’m sure you love him and all, but if your definition of love is that you’re eventually going to break up anyway so it isn’t that big a big deal if it ends now you don’t understand the “as much as anyone possibly can” part of your statement. I would not necessarily garrote 10,000 random people on the street or anything to keep my relationship the way it is but a bunch of people who are already at death’s door? They can keep on knocking. I’m not going to give up the most important thing in my life to undo what nature has already done. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/124 "2011-10-06T14:47:42Z")
I don’t think this has any relevance to wanting as much time with your one and only soul mate but there is a side of me wanting to post [this cinematic bit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FAcmH0iN8I). ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/125 "2011-10-06T14:58:48Z")
So, how do those that would choose the 10,000 justify having a computer and being on the internet? Or eating out? Give these and other relative luxuries up, and you could probably save enough money to at least save one or two children from starvation each month. (Well, provided you don’t need your computer to work.) In the long term, we let hundreds of people die because we can’t be bothered to cook ourselves (to put it perhaps somewhat crassly), not because we wish to continue being with people we love. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/126 "2011-10-06T15:50:15Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Have you guys never loved and lost someone only to get over them eventually and find someone new??? Odds are the relationship you are in right now is probably going to end anyway. Um, [no](http://www.divorce360.com/content/divorcecalcresults.aspx). Not really. [[QUOTE=divorce360.com](http://QUOTE=divorce360.com) calculator] According to the data: People with similar backgrounds who are already divorced: 19% People with similar backgrounds who will be divorced over the next five years: 8% - In general for the five-year divorce prediction rates, those with less than 3 percent are at lower risk, 3 - 7 percent are of average risk and more than 7 percent are at higher risk. [/QUOTE] Come back when you’re 40 and you’ve invested 13 years in a marriage to your first and only spouse. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/127 "2011-10-06T16:01:01Z")
Clarification - is it the person who is the love of my life at that particular point in time. I mean, if I go for saving those lives, and they now hate me, and I _then_ fall in love with someone else, will Mephisto then pop up and go “Ha Ha, no love for you EVER, matey”, or is it a one-time-only, one-person-only “She Hate Me” kind of deal? Not that it changes my answer, I’m _not_ giving up one minute with my wife to grant some 10 000 strangers some 0-60 years more life. Just wanting to know because while it would suck to lose a love, I don’t really buy the “love of your life” concept, so under some other motivation, I might consider it, with the happy belief that I can find another biggest love probably easily enough. Hell, I fall in love with someone new around once a month, on average. In fact, if my wife hates me, I’ll still have my daughter… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/128 "2011-10-06T16:08:18Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > In fact, if my wife hates me, I’ll still have my daughter… If she’s a teenager, she probably hates you too… ---
**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:** [October 6, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/129 "2011-10-06T16:11:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Clarification - is it the person who is the love of my life at that particular point in time. I mean, if I go for saving those lives, and they now hate me, and I _then_ fall in love with someone else, will Mephisto then pop up and go “Ha Ha, no love for you EVER, matey”, or is it a one-time-only, one-person-only “She Hate Me” kind of deal? You really shouldn’t put ideas in Mephistopheles’s head. > [@](#): > > Not that it changes my answer, I’m _not_ giving up one minute with my wife to grant some 10 000 strangers some 0-60 years more life. Just wanting to know because while it would suck to lose a love, I don’t really buy the “love of your life” concept, What don’t you buy? I’m not claiming that there are persons’ destined to be together, their coupling ordained by the Moirae. The love of your life is the person you currently love most. > [@](#): > > Hell, I fall in love with someone new around once a month, on average. > > In fact, if my wife hates me, I’ll still have my daughter… Um…does your wife know you fall in love with someone new once a month? If not, don’t tell her. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/130 "2011-10-06T16:33:12Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Knowing Old Scratch, he’d only heal them so they could die in car crashes or convoluted but very painful accidents the day after anyway. Fuck him too. > [@MegaBee](#): > > This right here. You know you’d end up with a demon bound to your soul anyway. On the plus side you get an AWESOME bike > [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > Well, Mephistopheles offering this choice and having the power to enforce it, presumably, does seem to say the Christianity is the true path. In that case, the only correct answer is “get the behind me, Satan”. Refusing to even deal with the question would be the most likely way to remove his influence, so that’s the way to go. If that doesn’t work, you’re probably stuck with a monkey’s paw and totally screwed no matter what. > > Either way, not giving up my love. Actually all this proves is that Mephi is real and that he’s aware of a belief in JC. Also if he is real he’s a prick because even though he has the power he won’t use it. He’s as culpable as Mephi or you or me. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/131 "2011-10-06T16:34:55Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > …In the long term, we let hundreds of people die because we can’t be bothered to cook ourselves … How do you cook yourself? I imagine that gets very painful very quickly, and that if you’ve ever tried you’ve failed miserably. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/132 "2011-10-06T16:42:24Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > No you don’t. I mean, I’m sure you love him and all, but if your definition of love is that you’re eventually going to break up anyway so it isn’t that big a big deal if it ends now you don’t understand the “as much as anyone possibly can” part of your statement. I took it as a statement that all relationships end. Love is wonderful, but it isn’t eternal. A number of people in this thread will eventually divorce or break up with or otherwise lose the loved one from their lives that they are considering so important now, and the rest will lose them through death. I think it’s important to love, and love fully, and also to stay centered and say “There are sacrifices too big for me to make for this love.” That may include sacrifices of money or wellbeing, or it may include sacrifices of other people’s money or wellbeing. Everyone might have a different point, but everyone probably should have a point at which they say, “Hmm, this is too much.” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/133 "2011-10-06T16:46:36Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How do you cook yourself? Slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/134 "2011-10-06T16:49:01Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Slowly. Just remember, at some point you’ll need a second cook to take over. And then, can you REALLY claim with justification that you cooked yourself? I think not. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/135 "2011-10-06T16:51:46Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How do you cook yourself? > [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Slowly. Rarely. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/136 "2011-10-06T17:08:31Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Just remember, at some point you’ll need a second cook to take over. And then, can you REALLY claim with justification that you cooked yourself? I think not. Oven timer. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/137 "2011-10-06T17:11:22Z")
Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa and you? ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/138 "2011-10-06T17:39:29Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa and you? ‘Crappy threesome pairings’, for $300. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/139 "2011-10-06T20:16:44Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Ugh. No way she’ll open the door. Not with that grammar! :smack: And I’m so very much the guy who corrects people on their misuse of your/you’re, too. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/140 "2011-10-06T20:33:28Z")
The funny thing is, my SO would forgive me for choosing him over the 10,000. Knowing him, he’d be more worried about how I was dealing with the choice. I think the deal is (obviously) a crap deal. I have been thinking about it but don’t really have an answer. I suppose in the end I’d choose to keep my SO and let them die. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504.md?page=8)