Would you save your pet or a stranger's child?

[NotADailyMailJournalist]

Hello all

Slightly inspired by another thread where posters were surprised that people were more interested in someone's dog than their baby...

If you have a cat/dog and you could only save it or a stranger's child/baby, what would you choose?

For the purposes of this thread, no-one would ever find out you'd been given the choice, so you wouldn't face any consequences.

Thanks

Well no because I don't believe by giving a fiver to a charity, an individual child will be saved necessarily.

But let's say I was paying for my mascara and a starving child was placed in front of me, would I hand over the money so they could eat, yes of course.

The thing is if you took it that literally, you'd live in a single room, surviving on plain bread and tap water and wearing the same outfit forever.

You’re doing what suits you, same as everyone else. You just think your way gives you the right to virtue signal and say your way is ok and someone else’s isn’t.

No one is that altruistic that they give every spare penny they have to charity.

Pretty much everyone demonstrates some degree of selfishness.

It's more about what society deems as an acceptable level of selfishness . We have a kind of unwritten code and some people live below it and some exceed it.

So we accept people use their own money to buy things they like...and deem that as acceptable. We collectively agree that it's selfish to drink and drive though.

This hypothetical situation the op has presented is somewhat less widely agreed on clearly.

Other than live within the law, I couldn’t care less about what people think is acceptable, because people justify all kinds of stuff to suit their own agenda.

People judging others, when they’re doing far from all they can to help others, make themselves look stupid.

There are loads of things we do that aren't anything to do with the law but are societies unwritten code. So if an elderly person fell over in front of you, I'm sure you'd help them up or check they were ok. You'd hold a door open for someone I assume. If you saw a child crying in a shop by themselves because they'd lost their parent, I'm sure you'd try to help them. If you knew someone who refused to do these things, would you not judge them? I would.

And just focusing on living life within the law is a bit odd. I mean it's illegal not to have a TV licence...but I don't think it's morally repugnant to break that law. Conversely there are things which are nothing to do with the law but I would consider morally repugnant.

We all weigh things up and analyse them. We all judge others. The idea that you never judge anyone is quite ridiculous.

Not if they were dealing with their own important issue at that time, no. My responsibility and loyalties lie with my children, my animals, my partner, my friends etc first and foremost and I will always prioritise them over a random person. If my own ‘circle’ didn’t need me at the time, I’d help if I could.

I wouldn't necessarily judge anyone who didn't help in those scenarios, no.

Mainly because judging them wouldn't actually achieve anything, but also because you don't know what people are going through at any specific moment.

I'd also argue that (sadly) a man who helped a crying child would probably find themselves being slammed online as some kind of a paedophile.

I do judge others. I’m just saying that judging others when you’re not doing everything about that thing yourself, will mean that some people will call you a bit of a hypocrite and virtue signaller.

That is a different question. There is no point jumping in to drown if you can't swim.

You are not risking your own life, you are capable of saving one of them - if you need to make the choice between rescuing your dog or the baby and it will be obvious to the world that you made a choice. Which life do you choose to save?

@FakeMiddleton Thanks for the info. I do vaguely recall reading about a situation where several people phone-recorded someone who had been hit by a car, instead of assisting and summoning help. And legal consequences were to follow. Not sure which country this occurred in though.

Being a poor swimmer does not mean you cannot swim. And it does not mean you would necessarily drown whilst saving ‘the stranger’s child’.

Public shaming via surveillance is effective, I suppose. Because it results in fear-based conformity. Just look at this (anonymous) thread, anyone who dares to not go along with the prevailing sanctimonious, virtue-signaling opinion is name-called and attacked. Who could cope with that - without anonymity - on a national level?

I am sure many who lean the other way keep quiet because they do not want to invite vitriol. But, they still feel the way they do, and would act as they want, regardless. They just don’t articulate their opinion.

Why would they be seen as a paedophile? Just ask staff for help.

People who are distress in water tend to climb over their rescuers, resulting in them drowning too. Unless you are trained, advice is to throw something in the water for the person to hold on to and then call for help.

@XenoBitch I had no idea, good to know!

Interestingly, if convicted in France you can face, amongst other things, losing your right to vote, suggesting the duty to act is rooted in civic responsibility/social contract. So, for this debate: if you don't pick the kid, you're an outcast of society.

Disclaimer: I'd still probably reflex pick my pet.

@FakeMiddleton so would I.
Edited to add: but, after this thread, IRL I will definitely lie about it if asked. 😎

Yup! I was in that situation when I was a teen and it is terrifying. My friend thought it would be funny to throw her younger non-swimming brother into the pool at me. He completely panicked and frantically tried to climb on my head. I'm actually a great swimmer, but there was nothing I could do when he was pulling me under in his panic. I had to literally throw him off me to get away so I wouldn't drown.

There is no way I would physically attempt to rescue a conscious person in the water now. Hold something out to them, or throw something for them to hold on to, and call for help.

The so precious dog’s life, that was worth sacrificing a baby for, is not worth public shame? It is all about self preservation of your feelings.

It is anonymous again. Nobody would find out.

Do you honestly think you could live with yourself for choosing to allow harm to come to a baby? Loosing a dog would be traumatic, you would never forget but you can forgive yourself the pain of guilt because a child was saved. Actively choosing to allow a human child to die, to keep up the lie and pretence for the rest of your life, never being able to confide that horrific choice you made to anyone, long after a dogs life span, is something most people would never forgive themselves for or forget and the guilt would destroy them.

That sounds terrifying! And your friend was a total asshole. Thinking it is funny to throw a non-swimmer into water would be like thinking it is funny to throw someone into a fire.

A lot of people die by trying to rescue people (and sadly, their dogs... and dogs tend to swim their own way to safety).

You seem quite sure on this. Are their any accounts out there from people who literally did choose a pet over a stranger's child?

In the heat of the moment, no one can truly predict who/what they would choose.

This will sound awful, but I can not help whatever part of my brain drives this.... years ago, I was in a park with my sister. She had a baby in a pushchair. A lady approached us, and my sister was busy chatting and let go of the pushchair. It started rolling down a bank towards a river. The lady shouted "BABY!", and my sister managed to run and catch the pushchair. The lady was panicking, thinking that she was about to see a baby plunge into water. My sister was fine and laughed it off. When I saw it happen, I felt nothing. No panic... so not that driving urge to run after it either. Does that make me a psychopath? Well, I have been under MH services for years and it was never brought up... and a lot of MN think they can diagnose people with psychopathy on this thread alone.

But... if I am in the park with my dog, and she wanders off round a corner... my heart goes up in my mouth and I really panic and frantically look for her until she is line of sight.

I'd save my pet.

What scenario are we supposed to be saving our pet or a child from? Because I can't swim and these days can't run. I'm unlikely to be able to save anyone. I don't know how I'd react in the moment.

I have seen a similar theme on there before.. and it is the burning building scenario.

No one should be running into a burning building unless they are a trained firefighter.
And it begs the question why the fuck was a stranger's kid alone in my house to start with? Where were the parents? Why are they relinquished of any shaming about not saving their own damn kid?

My dog, I love her more than anything.