A Question of Scruples...

[Arkaine]

Now I'm not usually one for posting new threads, I find my interests tend more to taking new angles on others views and attempting to open their eyes to the world and to themselves through those means. However as I was posting today, an idea struck me and I believe it is a good one. The point of the thread is this. You are a member of a community who is being assailed with a massive influx of disaster victims from whatever type of disaster, natural or man made, on the scale of the Katrina evacuations. But for some reason or another, call it bitternes, or your own sense of self preservation, you refuse to help one of these families in need.

Flash forward to the future, two years later, you become the victim of a major fire that routs half your city including your home, you are evacuated for all the burning chemicals from plants and so forth, and it just so happens that the area you evacuate to is the neighborhood where the family you refused to help now lives. Now put yourself in the place of this family. Would you help you??? Please clearly define the reasoning behind your answer and please do not start your post with "well I'm a Christian..." or "I'm a Buddhist" or whatnot. This is not a question of your religious beliefs or lack thereof, but a chance to truly delve into the realm of human nature. And please be honest. Don't state what you would like to think you would do, or what society or interests groups would want you to do. Instead put what you think you would really do in this situation. I think a little self-reflection is good for the soul.

Personally I don't know, I would like to think that I could get past the pettiness and help a fellow family in need, and now that I am a father and have a family of my own I'm fairly sure that I would assist anyway because I would have been there and know what it was like.

[Yuki-onna]

My life has been sustained by people who have helped me, and I wouldn't back down from helping others for a single moment.

My latest lifeplan is to become a psychiatrist and open a home for abused or troubled children, and help them build their lives and get strength from their hardships. Yay me.

But if some freak natural disaster happened, heck, I say, treat people the way you want to be treated. Sure I'd help 'em.

[Edward Elric]

You know, that would actually depend on the situation I'm in, financially. If I needed to do it off my own funds, and I didn't have enough, then I wouldn't do it, because what's the point of helping other when you can't help yourslef?

But, if finances did not come into play, I would not see any reason to not let them stay. I mean, why wouldn't you? If everything to help them was possible, why not do it? I really doesn't make sense. Even the family that was at first denied access to the man's home, they shouldn't harbor bad feeling for the man for something that happened two years ago.

So, yeah, if you can, help people.

[TheHasteChocobo]

You know all the rpgs we play are filled with so much heroy justice and I think it has influenced most of us. I'd, and I hope you too, forgive the other person even if they didn't help me, it would only go to show them that it really makes a difference when you help others out; you might change them for the better too. Even if you have financial problem there are probably some small ways in which you could help out. Even if you couldn't feed them you might be able to let them sleep on your floor instead of outside.

[Sasquatch]

Katrina was a special situation. While the evacuees from Katrina actually needed help, they got much more than they should have gotten. All too many of them saw it as an opportunity to mooch off the government -- meaning, American taxpayers. It was right for the government to help them, but it was wrong to leave it so unchecked. Something like 1.5 billion dollars was wasted -- not how much was spent, but how much was wasted -- on Katrina evacuees. That's not counting the billions of dollars that was set up in accounts for them, which was spent on everything from food to (illegal) drugs to designer clothes and Gucci purses. Then you still had people complaining that they weren't given enough money. Combine that with the incompetent local and state governments and the low moral quality of many of the people living in New Orleans, and the entire thing was much more of a charity case than it ever should have been. But anyway.

I'm pretty sure I would help the family that refused to help me. I would have nothing to gain by denying them assistance ... and most likely, they would seen that the right thing to do is to help out somebody in need, not hold a grudge, sacrifice some of yourself to give to those that need it more, etc. etc. If they started mooching or staying too long, though, they're outta here.