Should idiots be saved?

[Devastatin Dave]

I'm watching the news and they just had a live shot of some stupid women who had to be saved off a cliff that she was climbing. In my opinion, I believe risk taking dumbshits should not be saved when they put themselves in dangerous situations for there own thrills. "Evolustion" I suppose.
So am i wrong to have such a chavalier attitude for dumbasses out there seeking adrinaline highs? Inquiring minds want to know...

[BDC]

As anyone who has read Brave New World knows, you need the stupid to do boring menial labour.

[Duke Malcolm]

As anyone who has read Brave New World knows, you need the stupid to do boring menial labour.

What a coincidence -- We are studying that in my English class just now in preparation for the exams in May. And that is the only use for idiots...

[Ser Clegane]

Save them - but make sure to present them the bill afterwards

[Meneldil]

Save them - but make sure to present them the bill afterwards

Way to go. They'll likely not try to climb another mountain after that.

[drone]

Save them - but make sure to present them the bill afterwards

Don't the French charge you for rescue for skiing accidents. I hear rescue helicopters don't come cheap . Isn't this the point of Carte Neige insurance?

[King Henry V]

Let them get them selves out of trouble if they are stupid enough to do things such as this. Or present them with a wacking great bill with a 20% surchage for having saved their lives.

[Dîn-Heru]

Of course the person should be saved. What are the circumstances that led to the accident? It is not necessarily something about the person that has caused the bad situation. Unforseen bad weather, equipment malfunction and so on. Basically, Sh** can happen.

As for the argument that people should not seek situations that may be potentially dangerous, what should we rather do sit or lie on the couch watching tv. The result of such behavior can be seen in the western world (read: obesity..).

So, imo it is the socity's resposibilty to save people if this can be done without endangering the life of the rescuers. However, if it was incompetence of the person that led to the person needing to be rescued, then that person should be responsible to pay for the entire or large part of the rescue operation.

And if you are still not convinced that they should be saved.. I seem to remember that you have said that you are a born again Christian. What would Jesus do..? (This is in no way meant as an attack on Christianty or any other religion, or DD, it is simply an example of how one should think like about these things)

[Ldvs]

Don't the French charge you for rescue for skiing accidents. I hear rescue helicopters don't come cheap . Isn't this the point of Carte Neige insurance?

We certainly do. It is out of the question we rescue suicidal idiots for free.

[Dutch_guy]

Save them - but make sure to present them the bill afterwards

Don't they always do that ?

Like Drone I was under the impression that you had to pay for your own rescue, be it skiing or some other sport were you need to be saved from death.

[BDC]

Don't they always do that ?

Like Drone I was under the impression that you had to pay for your own rescue, be it skiing or some other sport were you need to be saved from death.

I don't think you have to at sea though. Which is for the best, the lifeboat people need practice!

[drone]

Don't they always do that ?

Like Drone I was under the impression that you had to pay for your own rescue, be it skiing or some other sport were you need to be saved from death.

I was under the impression that the French do charge you, but I'm not sure about other countries. The Carte Neige gets you off the mountain (on or off piste). I don't know if this covers other winter sports activities though. IIRC, Carte Neige profits support either ski patrols or go to the ski team.

[yesdachi]

Save them - but make sure to present them the bill afterwards

No kidding, I remember seeing a most extreme rescue show on national geographic and there were a handful of guys trapped on a mountain and they needed a helicopter to rescue them. The copter caught a bad wind and crashed right next to them. Just how much does a rescue helicopter cost?

[Togakure]

Save them - but make sure to present them the bill afterwards

If I was the rescuer and the taxpayers were so worried about spending money to save a life, I would punch-out and do it anyways.

Well-spoken.

[JimBob]

Just cause you guys can't hack Denali don't take it out on me.

Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier are usually very safe. Work out and do a day hike up and down. But should the weather turn foul quickly people get in trouble should we sit and let them?

And why are people who do these things dumbasses? Because it's dangerous? Suck it up, if we stayed away from danger none of us would be here.

[Devastatin Dave]

I rarely agree with you

Common sense always trumps politics!!!

[Reverend Joe]

Let the idiots die. It'll clear some of the muck out of the gene pool. I mean, I don't support euthanasia at all, but... well... come on- you have to draw the line somewhere!

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Should idiots be saved?

No. I hope all Liberals go the way of the Dodo

[bmolsson]

No. I hope all Liberals go the way of the Dodo

You are to hard on your self. I would save you.....

[Papewaio]

Should soldiers be saved that are wounded on the battlefield?

Of course they should be saved. What kind of spineless society leaves their people to die. Charge them for it, make a profit. But do not be so weak a society that you cannot look after your own.

What would Judas Do?

Go get the authorities, get you rescued and expect a reward for his effort.

Which is a lot better then some around here. And if Judas is a more moral person then yourself, I suggest you really take stock of your life.

[bmolsson]

Should soldiers be saved that are wounded on the battlefield?

Actually you should not kill your enemy. You should only wound him and you bind up two additional soldiers to help him. It's a well known fact that wounded enemy soldiers are better than dead ones. More resources are bound up and the cost for the enemy increase......

[Yawning Angel]

I'm very disappointed by some of the attitudes in this thread

I have done my share of "dangerous" sports (at this point all sorts of more people killed doing x 'safe' activity than y 'dangerous' sport could be recycled, but since you can prove anything with statistics . . . ) and I am also aware that many people are prepared to do some things I wouldn't consider trying. Should people who do these activities be rescued if they get into difficulty? Of course they should. Should they be charged for this? Not so clear cut - not everyone who partakes of these activities is as wealthy as some might think.

Having said that there are precautions you can take to safeguard yourself and make the job of any rescuers (if required) easier. When I've been scuba diving as part of a club, we take two boats, not everyone dives at the same time, the boats have flares, radios, GPS etc. And most importantly you tell the coastguard where you are going and what time you expect to be back AND then you tell them when you are back safely.

Have I ever needed to be rescued? - yes when the engines of both our boats failed: we called the coastguard who already knew where we were and the Lifeboat came and towed us in. Did we get charged? - no this is a free emergency service in the UK, but we all regularly contribute to the life boat charity (before and after this incident) and we bought the crew a bottle of scotch as a thank you

So a definate yes this idiot should always be saved

[Red Harvest]

In the past, the various national agencies that get called in for rescues have resisted the idea of charging for the rescue. The reasoning is that people won't call when they really need help. I haven't made up my mind on that.

Ok, you say, "Big deal. They don't call, not my problem." What's going to happen...a long search for the bodies, not knowing where the heck they are. It's not like you've really saved anything.

So what happens when it is Capt. Clueless sailing into a storm when he should have known better. Now you might not feel sorry for him...but what about his wife and kids or others who happen to be on board?

This isn't a yay or nay post, just thinking through some consequences here. I personally would like to see a "means test" for sending a bill for rescue. Not saying let anyone off light...but also try to prevent the bill from becoming a reason NOT to contact authorities when someone needs help.

[Strike For The South]

Its days like this I am scared of the conservative movement. I honestly hope to god one day DD you or someone you love is cuaght in a position like this and then see how you feel. I never thought I would see the day when a human life has direct correlation with luck. Charging for rescuses what kind of bullshit is thas. Cutting this out of Taxes might give you pennies back but why stop there I say we cut everything the goverment uses to help people wouldnt that be swell

[Spetulhu]

Cutting this out of Taxes might give you pennies back but why stop there I say we cut everything the goverment uses to help people wouldnt that be swell

Sounds good. Only idiots would live in tornado country, so to hell with them!

[Mongoose]

Your missing the point. Most of these people are fairly wealthy, why should we pay for their hobbies?

i agree that they should be saved first, then billed. We do want to avoid this:

Nut case:i need help! I'm in the middle of a strom!!
Coast guard:Can you afford it?
Nut case:How much is it?
Coast guard:How much were you playing on spending?

[Kralizec]

No. I hope all Liberals go the way of the Dodo

(Guy hanging on a rope off a cliff): HELP!
Gawain: Don't worry, I'm here! *pulls the guy up* Err, wait a second, who did you vote for?
Guy: What?
Gawain: You didn't vote for Kerry, did you?
Guy: Well, actually...
Gawain: To bad for you kid, back you go...

[Kaiser of Arabia]

No. Idiots should be used to solve world hunger.

[AntiochusIII]

No. Idiots should be used to solve world hunger.

You mean cannibalism?

[Kaiser of Arabia]

You mean cannibalism?

Only the poor will have to eat them, who cares about the poor?

*gets shot by Che Guevera's Ghost*