Heard a Kevin Smith bit recently and thought I'd pass along the question.
You're in a bank when it gets robbed. The robber has everyone trapped in the safe, so there's no getting away. There are no guns except for the one he's holding. The police aren't coming. No rescues possible. Etc.
Within the group are 1-2 good looking women, some men, a kid or two, and various other people. Let's say there's about a dozen or so people.
The robber turns to you and says the following:
Today is your lucky day. You're going to live. However, you're going to be given a choice. You can either sit here and watch me execute each and every other person here one at a time OR you can save all of their lives by giving me a blow job.
Yes, the cameras in the bank work, and you can't turn them off. That means it's very possible that news organizations will see what occurred and possibly even air edited portions.
There are no tricks. He will either kill everyone or let them all live based on your decision.
(If you're female, pretend the robber if female, and obviously replace the word blow job...)
What do you do?
Edited By Leisher on 1265214014
The decision
Seconded. Action is quicker than reaction. I'm sure as hell not trusting anything promised by someone who can ignore the consequences if the deal is broken. That's not a deal, it's an act of faith. Fuck that.TheCatt wrote:Is there a "die in a struggle for the gun" option?
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Once he's made it clear he's going to start shooting people, there's nothing to lose by trying to be a hero. Either you succeed with minimum loss of life, or you die first. Either option is probably better than the alternative he's provided.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
Is he cute? Has he showered recently? Just how much man meat would I be choking on here?
Hands down the best answer so far.
Seconded. Action is quicker than reaction. I'm sure as hell not trusting anything promised by someone who can ignore the consequences if the deal is broken. That's not a deal, it's an act of faith. Fuck that.
This isn't Dungeons & Dragons. It's a question to test not only your own limitations and show what kind of person you are, but also how affected you are by how society might perceive you.
That's why everything is laid out. There is no "Roll a 20 sided die to see if your attempt to grab the gun was successful." Everything laid out is EXACTLY how it will play out. You suck the dick, everyone walks. You don't, they all die. End of story. No other options.
Will you smoke a pole to save the lives of a dozen other people or will you let them die so you can try and save face?
Is it worse to live in a world that watched you suck a dick to save a dozen people or one where the world watched you refuse to suck a dick which killed 12 people (with you knowing that would happen)?
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
There is zero, I repeat ZERO, guarantee that the gunman keeps his word. I'm not coming from social stigma, I'm coming from the fact that I don't trust promises made by a dude who's just threatened to kill a group of innocent folk & also holds all the cards.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
You're not following. In this example, there is a 100% guarantee that he keeps his word.
AND as TPR said, is it worth taking the chance? What if he does shoot all the other people and then lets you live? Will the thought "he wouldn't have let them live if I did it" keep you from hating yourself for the rest of your life? Will it keep a vengeful parent like Gordo from killing you a week later anyway?
Edited By Leisher on 1265228228
AND as TPR said, is it worth taking the chance? What if he does shoot all the other people and then lets you live? Will the thought "he wouldn't have let them live if I did it" keep you from hating yourself for the rest of your life? Will it keep a vengeful parent like Gordo from killing you a week later anyway?
Edited By Leisher on 1265228228
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
In this example, there is a 100% guarantee that he keeps his word.
This is a convoluted example that has me putting absolute, total faith in the word of a dude that's just robbed a bank & is apparently itching to kill half a dozen or so folks. There's no thief in the world who's charismatic enough to simultaneously threaten the lives of innocent bystanders and make me believe he's trustworthy.
Will the thought "he wouldn't have let them live if I did it" keep you from hating yourself for the rest of your life?
Would I be kicking myself if I didn't buy into a bargain initiated by a mass murdering criminal? Somehow I think I'll be able to live w\ that.
If you want to pose a situation in which other people die or I do something w\ assloads of social stigma attached to it, this isn't the best one. There's more options than ...
(i) let killings occur
(ii) blow robber
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
World: Pick heads or tails.Malcolm wrote:This is a convoluted example that has me putting absolute, total faith in the word of a dude that's just robbed a bank & is apparently itching to kill half a dozen or so folks. There's no thief in the world who's charismatic enough to simultaneously threaten the lives of innocent bystanders and make me believe he's trustworthy.In this example, there is a 100% guarantee that he keeps his word.
Malcolm: I want to discuss the moral relativism of assuming that the flipping of a coin only provides those two particular options.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
I get your point, but it can't be like that. There's always the "bite it off" option, for example, which would probably get you killed but would probably also keep the guy occupied enough for some other folks to either get away or get the gun from him.Leisher wrote:Everything laid out is EXACTLY how it will play out. You suck the dick, everyone walks. You don't, they all die. End of story. No other options.
Besides, if the other hostages are so useless as to not be able to take him down under those circumstances, or to not even try because of how the hypothetical has been structored, then screw 'em. Hypothetically, they weren't worth saving anyway.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
GORDON wrote:World: Pick heads or tails.
Malcolm: I want to discuss the moral relativism of assuming that the flipping of a coin only provides those two particular options.
It could land on its side.
& I didn't even bring morals into it. I don't trust dudes who make deals exclusively at the point of a gun.
Edited By Malcolm on 1265231837
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
That was semi-like my plan. But it immediately gives up the high ground. The ultimate goal would be to wrest the gun away. That would seem to be easier if I'm upright.unkbill wrote:Didn't read everyone's. but here is what the tape shows. I get on my knees put his member in my mouth. Bite it off. Grab his gun shot him saving everyone. Jury pronounces me innocent.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
But easier to wrestle it away if you are on your knees spitting out whats left while he screams like a girl watching.Malcolm wrote:That was semi-like my plan. But it immediately gives up the high ground. The ultimate goal would be to wrest the gun away. That would seem to be easier if I'm upright.unkbill wrote:Didn't read everyone's. but here is what the tape shows. I get on my knees put his member in my mouth. Bite it off. Grab his gun shot him saving everyone. Jury pronounces me innocent.
In marriage there is always one person right. And the other one is the husband.