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

[Pandabearparade]

How old is this stranger, exactly? It's going to inevitably come up, so just get it over with.

A fair question. For the sake of this little test let's say it's a woman in her late twenties to early thirties.

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Note: Please don't read below until you answer the poll. I don't want to tilt the results with my angry rantings.

Spoiler

So I saw this poll on MMO-Champion and it tilted 2:1 towards saving the pet. I find this disgusting on a level I can't even begin to describe. Excuses ranged from arguments from ignorance "Well the stranger might be a pedophile!" to admissions that their own feelings trump the feelings of the friends and family of the human being who is going to die due to their action (or inaction).

What bothers me most is that I remember Dennis Prager, a conservative loudmouth, talking about a poll conducted with "liberals" asking the same question. He claimed that an overwhelming majority of them would save their pet over a human, and at the time I thought that sounded like just more bullshit from a bullshit artist.
Was I wrong? Does that loudmouth imbecile actually have a valid point for once in his career? I decided to run a completely unscientific test with a fairly liberal audience (you guys) to find out.

 

[Dags90]

How old is this stranger, exactly? It's going to inevitably come up, so just get it over with.

It's also a ridiculously stupid idea for someone like myself, an average swimmer, to go jumping into a whirlpool to save someone or a pet. Honestly I'd hope I'd attempt to save neither, and instead try to find someone with the appropriate skill set. That would be the best judgment call.

A poll option to reflect that would be appreciated.

 

[Newby_Newb]

Even though I love my pet, I think that I would save the person.

I don't care about the person, I would only be saving the person because some people might see me as a monster if I were to save my pet instead.

 

[Pandabearparade]

A poll option to reflect that would be appreciated.

I almost did, actually. I decided not to because it defeats the point of the ethical dilemma.

Edit: Fine, I added it in. I think. Never edited a poll before.

 

[Dags90]

I almost did, actually. I decided not to because it defeats the point of the ethical dilemma.

Edit: Fine, I added it in. I think. Never edited a poll before.

I don't get my vote back though. The poll is obviously ruined by the six people who don't get their vote back. RUINED!

Use spoiler tags so people don't read your thingy before voting. Well, some will, but maybe a little less.

Spoiler: Quote this if you need formatting help.

I hope people vote for the rational option. It's one thing to make bad decisions in the heat of the moment, but overestimating one's swimming prowess is great way to become the drowning stranger.

I view this scenario as up there with, "Your cat and a stranger both need an emergency appendectomy, but there's only one surgical suite, which one do you save!?"

 

[Pandabearparade]

I view this scenario as up there with, "Your cat and a stranger both need an emergency appendectomy, but there's only one surgical suite, which one do you save!?"

In that situation I'd operate on the cat. I'd be more likely to kill someone with the surgical tools than save them, I'd lose less sleep over the dead kitty.

 

[Spambot 3000]

Either way, I would probably have an emotional breakdown afterwards because I either left a human to die or left something I really, really love to die. So I don't know. I'd most likely just shit my pants, because I'd have no idea who to save. Even though I'm an excellent swimmer I couldn't possibly save both and they'd most likely end up drowning because I'm a dickhead. Okay well, if I just had no time to reason with myself and I did something, I'd probably save my pet. But no, it's not because I'm a monster. Like I said, I'd probably have a breakdown afterwards.
Side note: What if you have a pet fish?

 

[BathorysGraveland]

Well I can't swim, so I guess I'd yell for someone to help. My first instinct though if I COULD swim, would be to save my pet. I'm sorry, but people/things I care about come before things I don't.

 

[Pandabearparade]

Well I can't swim, so I guess I'd yell for someone to help. My first instinct though if I COULD swim, would be to save my pet. I'm sorry, but people/things I care about come before things I don't.

I bet you'd find that a little hard to explain to the family of the dead human.

 

[Dags90]

Well I can't swim, so I guess I'd yell for someone to help. My first instinct though if I COULD swim, would be to save my pet. I'm sorry, but people/things I care about come before things I don't.

Spoiler: I'm not sure I can put into words.

You got some 'splainin' to do. You can't swim?

 

[Instant K4rma]

I would pick the third option and yell for help, and that is no joke. I can't swim, so me jumping into help would end up in all three lives being lost.

That said, if I could swim, I would probably end up going for the person, as hard as it would be to lose my pet.

 

[piinyouri]

Cannot swim either.
So...they're both SOL.


If I could swim, then the person definitely.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

I bet you'd find that a little hard to explain to the family of the dead human.

Sure, it'd be hard. But it's the truth. I'm a selfish person. There's your answer.

 

[Pandabearparade]

I'm a selfish person.

I do commend you for admitting it, at least.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

I do commend you for admitting it, at least.

Hey man, I don't necessarily like it myself, but it's who I am. At least for now. I'm only 19. Maybe in another 10 years, my views will change and I'll be more caring for people I've never met and know nothing about. Humans change naturally, after all.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Well, I can't swim so I don't think I'd be able to save either of them.
If I could help in the situation, I'd go for the person every time.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I'm only saying the stranger because I never ever own a pet before. Even if I do own a pet chances are I still save the stranger as I would not have develop a strong attachment to my pet (unless we bounded years after I got the pet).

 

[Aris Khandr]

Save my pet. Frak the human. Sorry, but if I'm risking my life (and a whirlpool certainly qualifies), I'm saving something important to me. Strangers aren't. If the person's family has a problem with that, they're perfectly free to jump in themselves.

 

[Nouw]

I save my pet because I wouldn't be able to help the stranger. I can swim but I couldn't conjure the strength to actually recuse them. I'm assuming the pet is smaller than the person >.>. If I could save the person? I would flip a coin or something similar. All life is precious and equal and the only way to put that into practice is by putting it to chance.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

Its a person... there isn't a choice here. Even if I'd rather save my pet.