Heroic Consequences ~ Questions to ask yourself before going in defense of others
- Thread starter Lisa
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"Walk a mile in another man's shoes before you judge." -some wise man
The above statement can certainly apply here. You have to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Sometimes, it's obvious that you should act on behalf of another person. If, for example, you seem some 300 lb thug kicking some old lady to the curb, or if you see some oddball slinging live grenades at a nearby building, then there's no question that you would be justified in acting on someone's behalf. I'm sure that the old lady, or the people in that building would certainly want to defend themselves against a criminal.
However, sometimes, you run into a grey area, where you're not sure. There have been times, where a good Samaritan sees some guy beating up another guy, and shoots the guy who has the upper hand...
...only to find out that the guy who had the upper hand was some good guy who was beating up a robber.
The important thing is, to be certain that you would be justified in intervening. If you do decide to intervene, remember, that you're there to stop the conflict, not to necessarily kill someone. At the same time, you must be aware, that intervening could very well result in someone's death (preferably not yours...), and you must be willing to accept that someone could die.
The above statement can certainly apply here. You have to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Sometimes, it's obvious that you should act on behalf of another person. If, for example, you seem some 300 lb thug kicking some old lady to the curb, or if you see some oddball slinging live grenades at a nearby building, then there's no question that you would be justified in acting on someone's behalf. I'm sure that the old lady, or the people in that building would certainly want to defend themselves against a criminal.
However, sometimes, you run into a grey area, where you're not sure. There have been times, where a good Samaritan sees some guy beating up another guy, and shoots the guy who has the upper hand...
...only to find out that the guy who had the upper hand was some good guy who was beating up a robber.
The important thing is, to be certain that you would be justified in intervening. If you do decide to intervene, remember, that you're there to stop the conflict, not to necessarily kill someone. At the same time, you must be aware, that intervening could very well result in someone's death (preferably not yours...), and you must be willing to accept that someone could die.
tellner
Senior Master
The "be sure you're justified in intervening" part is vital. You see two guys beating up a third one. You help the third man and find out that the two undercover cops you just punched out are not as happy with you as the serial mugger they were trying to arrest is. Or the man is knocking the woman around. You intervene. They both attack you.
Sometimes it's obvious what you should do. Sometimes it only seems that way.
If someone pouring gasoline on an occupied house you are absolutely justified, and I'd almost go so far as to say obliged, in shooting him immediately before he can light the match. I say obliged because you only have to look at what one kid playing with matches did in SoCal.
Or there was a case I got involved in some years back. A woman was holding her ~six year old down, had grabbed his hair and had already wanged his head off the pavement once. The "Respect Life" bumper sticker seemed like a particularly bad joke :angry: One of the people with me grabbed her before she could do it a second time. I don't give a **** if it was her son or what her theories were on child discipline. She could have killed him.
In a sense you are putting yourself in the shoes of the guy you defend. You'd better be sure that it's the right one. There are people I know well enough that I'd jump in without hesitation. I trust their judgment well enough to stake my life, freedom and everything I own on it. Make no mistake, that's what you're risking.
Sometimes it's obvious what you should do. Sometimes it only seems that way.
If someone pouring gasoline on an occupied house you are absolutely justified, and I'd almost go so far as to say obliged, in shooting him immediately before he can light the match. I say obliged because you only have to look at what one kid playing with matches did in SoCal.
Or there was a case I got involved in some years back. A woman was holding her ~six year old down, had grabbed his hair and had already wanged his head off the pavement once. The "Respect Life" bumper sticker seemed like a particularly bad joke :angry: One of the people with me grabbed her before she could do it a second time. I don't give a **** if it was her son or what her theories were on child discipline. She could have killed him.
In a sense you are putting yourself in the shoes of the guy you defend. You'd better be sure that it's the right one. There are people I know well enough that I'd jump in without hesitation. I trust their judgment well enough to stake my life, freedom and everything I own on it. Make no mistake, that's what you're risking.
In my CCW class, we were talking about 3rd party interventions, and the instructor told us about a guy who saw a hold-up in a convenience store. Some guy had a shotgun aimed at the clerk, a young girl. The hero pulled his pistol and shot the attacker through the window, only to learn that the "thug" was the owner of the store, and was doing a "simulation" of a robbery to teach the girl how to respond.
There's a slight difference between bad people and stupid people, and it's hard to know the difference at a moment's glance.
There's a slight difference between bad people and stupid people, and it's hard to know the difference at a moment's glance.
Guardian
Black Belt
This is really good, solid advice from someone in the daily business of protecting othe people. Calling 911 and being a good witness is definately something that all of us need in our game plan. Of course if immediate action is necessary to save a life or defend a helpless person then you may need to do so depending on every situations various individual circumstances. Definately each situation will be different but we all need to have in our game plan on calling an emergency number and being a good witness!
Especially if you are not a first hand witness to the event taking place. Johnny come lately's have always caused me and my co-workers problems also even now in my present career field.
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