would you stop and help someone.....

hothothot_3

I have a bad conscience, it was pitch dark and raining and 4 people were pushing a car that had obviously failed to start........it didnt manage to jump start either..... I have a fully charged jumpstart unit in my boot for emergencies and was in a 50/50 mindset whether to stop and help. I decided not to, the reason being we live in a day and age where there is so much violence going on, after all I was on my own and there is nothing I could have done if they turned out to be dangerous people. My OH told me I did the right thing, but as in the past good samaritans have helped me out, I felt bad I couldnt have done the same thing here.

Would you have helped in this situation?

mollycat

Yes, of course i would have helped them beat you up!!

YOU TROLL !!

Sandrock

Depends.

Four women - yes.
Four OAPs (regardless of gender) - yes.
Four middle-aged well dressed men - yes.
An obvious family (with kids) - yes.
Four tracksuit wearing 25 year olds - probably not.

I have often stopped to help, but wouldn't put myself in danger if I felt there was something a bit fishy going on.

robpw2

Sandrock wrote: »

Depends.

Four women - yes.
Four OAPs (regardless of gender) - yes.
Four middle-aged well dressed men - yes.
An obvious family (with kids) - yes.
Four tracksuit wearing 25 year olds - probably not.

I have often stopped to help, but wouldn't put myself in danger if I felt there was something a bit fishy going on.

yes because none of the others could be dangerous

your just stereotyping ....

hothothot_3

Sandrock wrote: »

Depends.

Four women - yes.
Four OAPs (regardless of gender) - yes.
Four middle-aged well dressed men - yes.
An obvious family (with kids) - yes.
Four tracksuit wearing 25 year olds - probably not.

I have often stopped to help, but wouldn't put myself in danger if I felt there was something a bit fishy going on.

they were all young muslim men.....20 to 25.....my OH said I was stupid to even consider, they could have been a gang and carjacked me. I feel quite stupid now to even let the thought enter my head to help. After all, we all should be responsible for our own car maintenance and breakdown services etc. its not the 1950s anymore...its dangerous times, recession and all.

Cool_Username

robpw2 wrote: »

yes because none of the others could be dangerous

your just stereotyping ....

There's stereotyping and there's simply different degrees of risk based upon the factors involved - clearly there is more risk involved stopping for a group of teenage boys in hoodies than stopping for four elderly women. Come on that's pretty obvious surely...

robpw2

Cool_Username wrote: »

There's stereotyping and there's simply different degrees of risk based upon the factors involved - clearly there is more risk involved stopping for a group of teenage boys in hoodies than stopping for four elderly women. Come on that's pretty obvious surely...

yes just because you can see four elederly women doesnt mean thats all there is ..
im just saying that anyone can be risky

Errata

How could you tell they were Muslims in the pitch dark ?

sebdangerfield

Definately would stop.

I was stabbed when I was younger after a group of guys attacked my girlfriend while I was in a shop buying us a drink, I came out and confronted them but was stabbed. There were literally hundreds of people about as there was a football match on that day but nobody came to offer assistance. After what seemed like years, I collapsed from loss of blood and my girlfriend told me people were just walking around me until a lady from the shop I was in prior to the event came out, offered first aid and called the ambulance. The people walking around me were generally football fans off to the match, men and in a position to help. The lady who helped me was 5' tall and in her 40s. Needless to say, she got the largest box of chocolates I've ever bought anyone and a special letter of thanks sent to her.

Since then, I've vowed to help anyone I could. Admittedly, when I stop and offer assistance now more people are wary of taking it nowadays. During the snow a few weeks ago I was driving back from a night mountain bike ride in Cannock Chase when I saw a van stuck at the very far end of a remote car park. So far back I could only see it when the reverse lights kept going on and off as the driver tried to rock the van out of the rut they were in. I stopped and walked up to the van trying to be as conspicuous as possible so as not to give the driver a fright. As I approached, the window went down and the driver was a lone woman who used the van to walk her dogs and got stuck on the ice one and a half hours ago! By now, the time was past 9 at night and the chances of a) her getting out and b) someone else driving past until the following morning were remote. I helped and we managed to get the van out within the hour. I was admittedly worried, approaching the van as car parks in Cannock Chase are somewhat notorious and I was expecting there to be blokes inside but I'd rather be in that situation than to open the paper the following day to read a lady had frozen or something because everybody had driven past.

Sandrock

robpw2 wrote: »

yes because none of the others could be dangerous

your just stereotyping ....

I am indeed stereotyping, but so do most people. I too am a mid-20's male.

Cool_Username

robpw2 wrote: »

yes just because you can see four elederly women doesnt mean thats all there is ..
im just saying that anyone can be risky

I'm not saying anything different - but you have to agree that in any situation you can only base your decision on the factors involved. I can see the point you're making - people could be hiding out of sight waiting to pounce and I don't disagree with you.

However the degree of risk in stopping for four elderly women who appear to have broken down on the side of the road - for example how likely is it for a potential attacker to have obtained four elderly women to use as bait - is pretty negligable.