Would You?...Could You??

[thumper18474]

I was at a course today ...and we were discussing certain scenarios that come up from time to time.....the one that really garnered the most wide range of answers/opinions was when we are the first responders to a tanker rollover or something where the contents of the tanker were leaking...and we knew that it was highly combustible, or , toxic..
the company position is wait for the authorities to take control of the situation before acting......even if there are people at risk
but what if there were people in range of the force of the pending explosion....or if there was a toxic substance that could kill,do we leave them and save/protect ourselves ?..or rush to warn/help them evacuate?( not too many people on the highways are versed enough to understand the symbols on tankers)
the opinions varied greatly to...fuck'em its not our job to risk our lives for strangers ,to, help at all costs..I reminded my fellow workers that when we respond to a call...we put ourselves at risk all the time to protect the public by putting ourselves in harms way ..so why is this any different from anything else

I was in the minority when I said....I couldnt idly sit by ..knowing some one could/would die if an explosion eventually occurred...
during the drive home from the course ..I was listening to KX-96...and the keith Urban song...would I give my life....was the first song on the radio I heard.
I have risked my safety over the years to help out..help a stranded dog on the ice....animals on the highway...even dove into a grain bin to help my cousin who was stuck..and being buried alive when an auger went awry...
So I guess I'm wondering.....

Would you risk your life for someone you didnt know?, if you knew they were in grave danger? and didnt know it?

If I die helping someone, so be it...am I wrong to take this attitude with me to work everyday??

 

[simon482]

it's a helluva an attitude and i think one to be applauded. i would be right there with you jumping in with little or no regard to myself.

 

[Narg]

I don't think anyone can answer your question with certainty until they have been in the position you describe (or something similar) in real life. Until you are, you simply do not know how you would react. I am one of those fortunate enough never to have been in that position. While I would like to think that I would try to save people in harm's way, I don't know exactly what I would do, because it's still a theoretical question for me.

 

[AdrenalinJunkie]

The first rule of first aid, life guarding, confined space entry, any number of courses I've taken say don't become a victim yourself. While I have gone out of my way to help people in the past, I would not want to put my safety at an inappropriate level of risk to do so.

 

[Anynym]

Every scenario presents different opportunities, and we can easily make a situation better or make it worse.

Too often a dog stranded on ice will survive while its would-be rescuer breaks through the ice and perishes. But if we can fashion a bridge to the animal without putting ourselves at risk then it's easier to act before the rescue team arrives with a boat.

Or if a tanker has rolled over, we can help evacuate the area even if we can't act to save the driver.

 

[thumper18474]

I remember a few years ago a trucker died in an accident when he purposely drove his rig into a bridge rather than barrel into a multi vehicle accident...MTO determined that he had 2 choices..either hit the vehicles and save himself..at the exspense of several others or hit the bridge and know he wouldnt make it out alive......and he chose the later..which in my mind is the true definition of a hero......
whats the quote?/
there is no greater gift than a brother who would lay down his life for another? or something like that?

My family worry sometimes about me ..but I have made sure they would be well taken care of financially...albeit..I wouldnt be around...but..I dont think I can change the way I do things in life....and I will do what I have to......but I gotta tell ya...it did make me think..for a second or 2...

 

[Don Draper]

Not only do I applaud you...

If I die helping someone, so be it...am I wrong to take this attitude with me to work everyday??

...but I support and join in your attitude as well.​

 

[gudnite]

I remember one day in my early twenties when I lived in Montreal walking along a street near were in lived. This kid about 9 or 10 was walking towards me and he got distracted by something has he was coming to the street corner he keep walking and I saw this truck coming down the street and something told me that the kid was going to get hit by the truck. I just ran across the intersection pushed the kid out of the way. I am sure the driver didn't even see either one of us has he drove by he didn't even put his brakes on. It happened so fast I still dont know how it all happened. Sometimes you just do things that seem way out from your normal routine. If I had to think about it I don't know what I would have done.

 

[homerjsimpson]

I know from experience that I would rush in to help people, screw the consequences. I don't panic in situations like this and I don't fear anything. I act. Many would call it stupidity. But I have no choice.

 

[Lustology]

Let them die, I wouldn't risk my life and if I was the victim I wouldn't expect anyone to take their life to save me.

If I can help someone without being badly injured or resulting in death, I would do it.

Depends on the circumstances but yes I love myself too much to die for a stranger.

 

[Flapjack]

i would be right there with you jumping in with little or no regard to myself.

Extremely easy to say on the Internet!

 

[simon482]

Extremely easy to say on the Internet!

yup it is.

 

[thumper18474]

I know from experience that I would rush in to help people, screw the consequences. I don't panic in situations like this and I don't fear anything. I act. Many would call it stupidity. But I have no choice.

Yeah...theres a fine line between stupidity and being brave I guess....
I remember a football coach describing being brave once...
being brave is ...being scared..but doing it anyways..

 

[homerjsimpson]

Yeah...theres a fine line between stupidity and b**********y I guess....
I remember a football coach describing by once...
B**********y is ...being scared..but doing it anyways..

....... bestiality?

 

[thumper18474]

....... bestiality?

Supposed to be ..being brave....but for some reason it won't let me type the word!!!!
Doing this on my smart phone now...and it still won't let me....

WTF!!!!!

 

[Aardvark154]

whats the quote?/
there is no greater gift than a brother who would lay down his life for another? or something like that?

Depending upon the translation: "There is no greater love than this: that a man should lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

 

[Aardvark154]

The first rule of first aid, life guarding, confined space entry, any number of courses I've taken say don't become a victim yourself. While I have gone out of my way to help people in the past, I would not want to put my safety at an inappropriate level of risk to do so.

+1

As for the rest it depends upon your assessment of whether you can actually rescue the other person, or are you merely going to be another victim.

 

[buttercup]

whats the quote?/
there is no greater gift than a brother who would lay down his life for another? or something like that?

"Greater love hath no man than this - that a man lay down his life for his friends."

It's from the bible.

Doesn't say anything about "for strangers", or even for "his enemies", but presumably they would be examples of showing even more "love".

 

[thumper18474]

+1

As for the rest it depends upon your assessment of whether you can actually rescue the other person, or are you merely going to be another victim.

I totally agree with the assessing the situation..but sometimes we just act.....

when i was 12 our ball team was camping at a resort...we all decided to go swimming after midnight...
we all buddied up..one guy got into trouble and another guy took off to go help...things went wrong and the would be rescuer was the one that drowned....so I know how things can go wrong but the guy just couldnt sit on the shore and listen to the screams for help...none of us could....but it went terribly wrong and a life was lost....the silence in the dark was the worst sound I ever heard....so yeah things dont always work out the right way..but living with the guilt of NOT doing something would have been worse ..IMO

 

[DanJ]

I remember a few years ago a trucker died in an accident when he purposely drove his rig into a bridge rather than barrel into a multi vehicle accident...MTO determined that he had 2 choices..either hit the vehicles and save himself..at the exspense of several others or hit the bridge and know he wouldnt make it out alive......and he chose the later..which in my mind is the true definition of a hero......
whats the quote?/
there is no greater gift than a brother who would lay down his life for another? or something like that?

My family worry sometimes about me ..but I have made sure they would be well taken care of financially...albeit..I wouldnt be around...but..I dont think I can change the way I do things in life....and I will do what I have to......but I gotta tell ya...it did make me think..for a second or 2...

Similar story happened up on the 400 several years ago. The truck was cut off by a speeding minivan. Rather than hit the minivan which was loaded down with people, he went off the side of the road, rolled over and was killed by the hot asphalt the trailer was loaded with. Of course, the trucker was called a hero. As a trucker, I don't know if he intentionally steered off the road, or if natural instincts to steer around the accident took over and his last thoughts were "dammit, that was a stupid idea".

I agree with the post above that none of us can say for sure how we would deal with these situations until we are in that situation. We all think we would stand up to hijackers now too. Yes, it is easy to build yourself up in hypothetical situations, especially anonymously on the net. I think for me, if I was the trucker in the above scenario, I think I would have just plowed right into what was unfolding in front of me. I wouldn't make the conscious decision to sacrifice myself for others, because my life is worth as much as anyone else's, and why should my wife and kids have to bury me for someone else's screwup? That's not to say I might not actually flinch when I see the accident happen, instinctively swerve, roll over and die and be thought of as a hero though.