Poll: Your Pet is Drowning, and so is a Stranger.

[BiscuitTrouser]

See, I know my pet. The stranger could be a serial killer.

If you thought that was likely youd remain inside and only eat mail order food from cans because you never know. That mailman... secret serial killer And ALL those people at the shops! Secret serial killers ALL OF THEM :O Why take the risk of being near them. Secret shankers one and all Dont take the risk ;p

 

[need4snacks]

What the hell is wrong with you people?
Save the stranger.

 

[The_Echo]

I can't swim, nor am I physically capable of supporting an average-sized person, much less swim at the same time.

So, if I could swim, I'd save the pet, because that's really the only one I could feasibly save.

EDIT: If I had the ability to save a human from a whirlpool, I would still save my pet. Maybe that makes me a big, selfish douchebag. But you know what? I don't care. Life is life is life is life. Who's to say a cat is worth less than a person? It's incredibly arrogant to assume importance based on species. That cat could go on to save someone's life [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfd-61SecEI], or that person could invent something spectacular to improve the world. But the thing is, you don't know. You just don't. You can't know. That said, I know the pet. I have a connection to that pet, and it has a connection to me. It's part of my family, and I'm not going to let it die for the sake of a complete stranger. You might as well ask me this question of my mother or best friend.

 

[Edl01]

Also to them people saying they would save the dog because the human could be a serial killer and kill you or something like that

You read my post! Yay!

- this is called making excuses

No, it's called being paranoid.

because you know you are doing the wrong thing and so you lie to yourself

Sir, who are you?

Seriously, who are you? You're claiming to know an awful lot about me and what motivates me. I don't pay you as a therapist and I know my actual therapist doesn't go online, so who are you?

For some very strange reason you seem to think you are the only person who has said this...you are not if you go back and read all eight pages like me you will see many people have made this assertion and I believe over half of the people here are just making excuses for themselves to not feel bad about killing a person. And don't say you aren't either, you could save him but you choose not to; you may as well be pulling the trigger on a gun pointed at his head yourself.

 

[NotALiberal]

Let's see, We are far more intelligent, we have far longer lifespans, if a pet dies, you just buy a new one, and being a stupid animal that it is, will love you just the same. You can't exactly buy a new mother or dad, or daughter etc. How is this even a question? You can try and justify it by saying you are selfish and do not give a fuck about morality. I'd rightfully call you a shitty human being, and further expand on this by saying not a single fuck would be given if you were to drop dead right now. The world needs less selfish assholes.

Never mind, I'll wait for a response from someone who's a little less of a prick.

Hey, you asked for my opinion, I merely gave it. Truth be told, not a single tear would be shed over anyone who picked their stupid slobbering instinct driven beast, as opposed to a rational, sentient human being.

And when that rational sentient being then turns out to be a spree killer on the run who proceeds to violate then murder me and my loved ones?

My pet, however, has no chance of doing that.

Uhh.. yes he does? If we're considering outlandish scenarios, your dog could contract rabies, and then go and infect and kill a whole bunch of people. Also, have you not heard the tragic stories of BABIES and children being mauled/eaten alive by some crazed dog?

 

[Dryk]

Who should I save: The stranger
Who would I save: My beloved dog

The stranger's life is more important but sorry, I love my dog more.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

And when that rational sentient being then turns out to be a spree killer on the run who proceeds to violate then murder me and my loved ones?

And what if that person instead turned out to be the holder of Nobel Prizes for both Medicine and Humanitarian work?

Does you pet hold even one Nobel Prize in any field? No, no it does not.

 

[excalipoor]

I would like to hear why choosing your pet over a stranger is the "monstrous" or "immature" choice to make. The only rationale given so far is simply "it's a person," which doesn't explain anything. Why, exactly, is a strange human's life so much more valuable than a animal family member, by default? I genuinely cannot think of a reason that does not involve one's personal religious beliefs (which do not apply to anyone but that person).

It's not an animal life vs a human life, it's a pet's life vs a family member's life. I don't care how much you love animals, if they were yours, you'd pick your parent/sibling/child over your pet any day.

Anyone who gets a pet has to deal with the fact that it IS going to die before you. It's not the same as losing a family member, and I sure as hell don't want to be the reason why someone lost one of theirs.

This is of course a bullshit situation, one that's not likely to ever happen, but I'd like to think that I'd be able put aside my own affection to avert a bigger loss for someone else. This is why the stranger is worth more than the pet. Not because you care, but because someone else does.

 

[NotALiberal]

Who should I save: The stranger
Who would I save: My beloved dog

The stranger's life is more important but sorry, I love my dog.

The dog that will be dead in another 5-6 years? I'll applaud you for admitting upfront that you know what the right choice is. At least you're not delusional.

 

[jordanredd]

Let's see, We are far more intelligent, we have far longer lifespans, if a pet dies, you just buy a new one, and being a stupid animal that it is, will love you just the same. You can't exactly buy a new mother or dad, or daughter etc. How is this even a question? You can try and justify it by saying you are selfish and do not give a fuck about morality. I'd rightfully call you a shitty human being, and further expand on this by saying not a single fuck would be given if you were to drop dead right now. The world needs less selfish assholes.

Never mind, I'll wait for a response from someone who's a little less of a prick.

The truth hurts doesn't it.
But he is right you can buy a new dog but whoever that persons family is can't buy another father, husband or whatever.

I can't "buy" another family member. Resurrecting life forms has not yet been discovered by science. Once a member of my family has died, they're dead permanently.

You're argument makes no sense anyway. People can absolutely get another spouse any time their heart desires. Having another kid isn't that difficult for most people, either. If we're following that logic train, then we should prioritize the lives of strangers based strictly on their ages, starting with the oldest as most valuable (a senior citizen has the highest chance of having the most family members and is also the least replaceable) down to the babies as most disposable (fewest family members and easily replaced).

Sounds like a pretty terrible idea to me.

 

[Blue Hero]

You shouldn't care about the individual personally, you should save the human because the human dying will almost certainly cause a far more significant amount of suffering.

What about my suffering? I'd be devastated if my dog died. My dog is more important to me than Mrs. Drown-Syndrome. I'd rather have someone I don't know suffer emotional turmoil because a family member died than have myself suffer emotional turmoil because my dog died.

 

[Agayek]

I would definitely save my dog over a complete stranger. My dog is awesome and saving him is, to me at least, well worth the moderately sizable degree of sadness (for lack of a better term, guilt doesn't really fit at all) I'd feel that someone died.

To be perfectly honest, I find the concept put forth by the OP that a random stranger dying must immediately cause mental anguish and grief to be rather silly. Random strangers die in the hundreds every single day. I don't care now, and I won't care after I see it happen. It's unfortunate certainly, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it (barring of course if said witnessed death is particularly graphic).

 

[NotALiberal]

Uhh.. yes he does? If we're considering outlandish scenarios, your dog could contract rabies

Cat, dear.

And I have no babies for them to kill.

Your cat contracts some deadly infectious disease and passes this on. Outlandish scenarios being outlandish and all that jazz

 

[Edl01]

I believe over half of the people here are just making excuses for themselves to not feel bad about killing a person. And don't say you aren't either, you could save him but you choose not to; you may as well be pulling the trigger on a gun pointed at his head yourself.

Self defense baby.

How is tht self defence?

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

A whirlpool? Fuck that noise! But let's keep on the hypothetical brick road and assume that I could swim, survive and save one of them.
In that case, I'd save my pet. Why? Because when it comes to complete and total strangers, I cannot give less of a fuck about them. Sure their death will probably lead to more suffering among parents, children or spouses than if my beloved Krogan (My Cat) were to drown but I don't know them personally and unless I'm 100% certain that I could get some worthwhile compensation out of it then I'd just be doing it for the sake of kindness. And again, Fuck that.

Captcha: evil genius. Well... I don't know about "genius".