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Flame all you want, but this is pathetic.

I think heroism is great, and I think it would be great if we can all manage to have the presence of mind to be heroic when heroism is called for, but it seems like it doesn't always work out that way.



I don't think it's a matter of heroism. I think it's a simple matter of doing what's right.



In the "presence of mind" department, I am thinking that is not always a simple matter.

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Before I would condemn my weak-willed compatriots to the fires of Hell for failure to act heroically, I am guessing I would want to acknowledge that it ain't always easy-- on the spur of the moment -- to judge who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. So that can be difficult.


I didn't hear anyone having difficulty determining what the details of the situation were, really. Seems like good guy / bad guy was pretty clear.


I guess I am still stuck on the "matter of degree" issue. Do shoplifters necessaririly go on to kill Peter Parker's relatives?

I think that there is a relevant corollary here. There has been a lot of controversy in the US about high-speed police pursuits. Time was that police would pursue criminals at uber speeds in a determined effort to apprehend criminals, regardless of the cost to bystanders. Now things have changed. It has been deemed unacceptabl;e for cops to chase Walmart shoplifters at 120+ MPH because the associated costs are deemed unacceptable.

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And then there is the matter of degree: OK, picture this: It's payday, and I just got off work at my not-much-higher-than-minimum-wage job and I am strolling past the Walmart. A guy is running past me with a cheap revolver, Hot on his heels, a Walmart security guard is running while shouting "Stop Him! Stop Him!". At home, I know that my wife and four kids are sitting at the dinner table waiting for me. Oh, and not to put too fine a point on it, they are waiting for me to spend my paycheck on some food,

So, I have some responsibilities to society and family. Do I stick my leg out and trip the guy with the gun?


Unless you want to be (in part) personally responsible for anything the bastard does from that moment on, yes, you trip him. Or you can just go home to the wife and kids and tell them about how you let the guy go, and thank them for being an excuse.



That cop *almost* had that perp in his grip when the Crown Vic's rev limiter kicked in. He has to go home and face his family. What does he tell them?
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Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.