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Originally Posted by butch50
This thread has degenerated from a thought provoking and thoroughly reasonable question about protecting people too insipd to protect themselves, into a series of increasingly narrowly defined scenarios that have little or nothing to do with the original question.
What duty do you as an average citizen owe to other average citizens that have not taken the time, interest or effort to protect themselves as you have? That is the question.
Can you step up to that plate and answer it?
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Okay, fair enough. First off, the issue of whatever protection I "owe" to people who choose not to carry guns, is completely irrelevant to me. If I arrive at the conclusion that I should interfere with a situation in such a way that it involves me using my gun, the question "what do I owe this person?" is the furthest thing from my mind. My questions would be more along these lines: "Is it right and logical and
necessary to intervene?" "Will I simply escalate the situation if I involve myself in the situation - and be guilty of reckless endangerment?" "Is this a fight I can win, or will I be throwing my life away?" These questions are simply more pertinent to me.
Basically what I'm saying is that I, personally, don't need a reason to help people if they are in some sort of grave peril. For many, the act of rendering aid has its own intrinsic motives. A person might be considered careless and weak who has never given much thought to protecting himself because the issue "never came up before", but that doesn't mean such people should be left to their fate. If it looks like they are going to lose their life and I can do something about it, I will. But, I do bear in mind the questions I already mentioned. I am not an LEO or any other kind of public servant, and if I protect someone, it's not out of a sense of duty - it is a choice. And that choice can be either justified or downright stupid depending on the circumstances.
Anyway, that's my personal belief, and I wouldn't presume to impose it on others. Protecting one's own person/family/loved ones is obviously a given, and something that we can all agree on.