I happen to have some baking soda in my pants. I can put out the fire with the extinguisher and then use the base to neutralize the acid glue.
shoot the hostage
Ah, but your child is deathly allergic to baking soda. It causes him to vomit uncontrollaby. It would be more merciful to shoot him.
But knowing of his allergy and knowing I have baking soda in my pants, I’ve also brought my Never Fail Epi-Pen. So I’ll douse him with the baking soda, his vomit will help put out the flames, I’ll use the epi-pen and all will be well.
Unfortuneately, the glue has set so hard it is now bulletproof. The kid has survived the vomiting, but now faces a slow death by starvation. Best to shoot yourself.
No more jokes.
Just let this thread die the death it deserves.
Feed him the dead truck driver.
You mean point a gun at its flaming-car-trapped-glue-encrusted-bicarbonate-intolerant body and pull the trigger?
You monster.
Find a nun.
Tell God that if he doesn’t come through with a deus ex machina, I off the sister.
A little boy was hit by a car.
A man runs up to him and kneels beside him…
Should I call a preist my son?
The boy says…
get ready…
this link needs a funny joke…
here it is…
How can you think of sex at a time like this?
Ba domp bom.
Perhaps he has a carry permit?
Reminds me of an episode of Family guy.
Peter Griffin: Oh, okay, here’s another riddle. A woman has two children. Now, a homicidal maniac tells her she can only keep one. Which one does she let 'im kill?
Brian Griffin: That’s, that’s not a riddle. That’s, that’s just terrible.
Peter Griffin: Wrong!.. the ugly one.
Kel, I think the problem is that people just don’t see the value in these sort of hypotheticals. For the vast majority of us, this situation just isn’t going to come up. So what’s the point of speculating about it? There are a tiny minority of people who may be faced with these no-win situations–liketodd33rpm’s dad–but these people are just going to do what they have to do and live with the trauma the rest of their lives. Again there is no point in speculating about it. What possibly could you learn about life, the universe, or anything, by meditating on these extreme situations?
Sorry people are piling on you, but the correct response to your dillema is not to take it seriously.
Why’s the seven-year-old pinned by the dashboard, anyway? If he was properly seated and secured in a regulation safety car seat, in the rear row of the car, getting him out would be relatively straightforward.
And how does a tire blowout cause your car to hit a tree at breakneck speeds, anyway? Having experienced real tire blowouts, I can say they’re nowhere near the “wildly uncontrollable deathtrap disaster” that the OP postulates.
In short, since this is all bad-movie-making-melodrama, I guess it’s up to the screenwriter to come up with whatever contrived ending he wants.
The bottom line in this very unlikely hypothetical is that until your child is actually dead you can’t be completely sure that something won’t happen that could save him. Suppose the next driver stops and pulls a fire extinguisher out of his trunk? Suppose a fire truck comes around the corner? Suppose the fire burns away enough of the dashboard that you can pull him loose if you keep trying? Since it’s purely hypothetical, how 'bout if a tornado whirls up and blows out the fire? He has at least a chance to survive, unless you take it away from him.
But as others have asked, why are you asking a question like this? We all make difficult real-life decisions all the time about things like balancing work and family, caring for aging parents, taking risks and building security etc. Why not ask how people deal with real dilemmas?
I’m still waiting for an answer to my question. I have a thing for angels, and this could be my one and only big chance.
As with all negative utilitarian dilemmas in which we must attempt to minimise suffering, we can never have access to all the relevant information, and must simply make a ‘best guess’. In this case, there will never be a point at which the child’s death is certain: it will always be possible that the bullet ended a life which would have continued, albeit with thrid degree burns and extensive surgery.
If we hypothetically have super powers comprising the ability to know the future with certainty, then can we not simply have super powers necessary to rescue the kid in the first place?
SHIT!
Doom-Haunted much, latex ? :smack: :dubious: :eek: :dubious:
What if the kid grows up to be the next Hitler? Better safe than sorry I always say.
Ahhh, but what if the kid grows up to be the only person who can stop the next Hitler, what then? Hmmm?