Ignore, Kill or Rescue?

[Cloudpatrol]

What would you do? :


1. THE BIRD: You are driving down the highway. Ahead of you, cars are slightly swerving out of their lane. You whiz by and see that a bird has seemingly been clipped by a vehicle. It is squawking in pain, dragging it’s wing and trying in vain to get out of the traffic.

Do you ignore the bird and drive on? If so, are you still thinking about it? Do you stop and turn around to go back for the bird? Do you do something else altogether?



2. THE DRAGONFLY: You are staying somewhere on vacation that has a pool. While you are sipping a cold drink and have your face to the sun, a dragonfly comes too close to the water surface and falls onto it’s back. Taking in water, it struggles to right itself.

You tread to where it is and scoop it out to dry in the sun. When you get out of the pool {some time later} you see the wings are not intact and the insect can only walk in drunken circles.

Do you leave it to meet it’s end naturally or do you ‘put it out of it’s misery’?

Would you have scooped it out of the pool in the first place?



3. THE CHILD: You are in a restaurant and see a family outside. The parent's and older sibling are arguing with a pre-teen child at the back of their vehicle. It is obvious to you through the window that harsh language, facial expressions and gestures are being used.

Suddenly the Mom opens the trunk and points for the child to get in. They do and the trunk closes, while the other 3 get in the vehicle and back out.

What do you do? Anything?

 

[Pionart]

Well I'll tell you two stories about myself...

One time, I heard buzzing, and I saw a cicada trapped in a spider web.

I took it out and spent a good half an hour getting the web from its body so it could fly again, gave him the name Ben, and played it a song on the piano.

Second of all... well, the main story I'll keep locked up. But I don't fear death, I'll approach all frontin' till one of us gets knocked down, or locked up.

And as for the bird?

Well, I can always use more friends.

 

[Lark]

I'd make a note of the third, probably not the first two.

The third may or may not be significant, the other two would make me sad but its also kind of the natural order and you sometimes have to be stoic about these things.

Good thread topic though.

 

[ceecee]

# 1 and #2 - I live in a more rural-ish lake area. You will never and I mean never, beat wildlife or insect life. They are always there, in huge numbers, they don't need my assistance. I have hit and killed more wildlife than I can count. Not because I wanted to or was trying to but because I'm not endangering myself, my passengers or any other car by swerving and trying to miss them.


#3 - Seriously? The likelihood of someone videoing this is very high. The likelihood of multiple people calling the police about it (with the plate #, very easy to get the right info) is astronomical, myself included.

 

[/DG/]

For 3 I would call the police. Being confrontational to the group is a bad idea.

The others I wouldn't do anything and probably wouldn't notice to begin with.

 

[Totenkindly]

1. THE BIRD: You are driving down the highway. Ahead of you, cars are slightly swerving out of their lane. You whiz by and see that a bird has seemingly been clipped by a vehicle. It is squawking in pain, dragging it’s wing and trying in vain to get out of the traffic.

Do you ignore the bird and drive on? If so, are you still thinking about it? Do you stop and turn around to go back for the bird? Do you do something else altogether?

I ignore the bird and drive on, although I feel bad for it.

It's just that it's part of what happens on highways, especially in rural areas. (I've hit birds and animals myself by accident, just growing up where I did.)

There isn't much to do, and by the time I would go back (to do what exactly?) it's likely to have already been hit and killed, and I'm just endangering myself.

2. THE DRAGONFLY: You are staying somewhere on vacation that has a pool. While you are sipping a cold drink and have your face to the sun, a dragonfly comes too close to the water surface and falls onto it’s back. Taking in water, it struggles to right itself.

You tread to where it is and scoop it out to dry in the sun. When you get out of the pool {some time later} you see the wings are not intact and the insect can only walk in drunken circles.

Do you leave it to meet it’s end naturally or do you ‘put it out of it’s misery’?

Would you have scooped it out of the pool in the first place?

I would have scooped it out of the water (and have done such in the past).

In the past I haven't really killed insects in that kind of situation, although I'm 50/50.

I did have a terrible experience as a teenager where an outdoor kitten developed necrosis (we had cats who lived on our property), and I could see maggots in some of its limbs. My family did not own guns, and I just couldn't bring myself to give it a messy (albeit quick) death, so I held it under water in a bucket until it drowned and then buried it... but the experience was pretty terrible and prolonged for both it and me and I don't know if I could do something like that again. I thought I was being merciful, but it was prolonged instead.

I think I'd have a less intense reaction to insects than mammals... it depends on the insect. (I have no issues swatting flies and the like.)

3. THE CHILD: You are in a restaurant and see a family outside. The parent's and older sibling are arguing with a pre-teen child at the back of their vehicle. It is obvious to you through the window that harsh language, facial expressions and gestures are being used.

Suddenly the Mom opens the trunk and points for the child to get in. They do and the trunk closes, while the other 3 get in the vehicle and back out.

What do you do? Anything?

Call 9-1-1 and report the license plate and what I saw.

 

[Hawthorne]

Ignore ignore ignore.

Forget the bird almost immediately. Never pick the dragonfly up. Lack of discernable threats or immediate violence means I keep moving.

 

[Evo]

I did have a terrible experience as a teenager where an outdoor kitten developed necrosis (we had cats who lived on our property), and I could see maggots in some of its limbs. My family did not own guns, and I just couldn't bring myself to give it a messy (albeit quick) death, so I held it under water in a bucket until it drowned and then buried it... but the experience was pretty terrible and prolonged for both it and me and I don't know if I could do something like that again. I thought I was being merciful, but it was prolonged instead.

Holy shit!

 

[/DG/]

I did have a terrible experience as a teenager where an outdoor kitten developed necrosis (we had cats who lived on our property), and I could see maggots in some of its limbs. My family did not own guns, and I just couldn't bring myself to give it a messy (albeit quick) death, so I held it under water in a bucket until it drowned and then buried it... but the experience was pretty terrible and prolonged for both it and me and I don't know if I could do something like that again. I thought I was being merciful, but it was prolonged instead.

That sounds terrible.

If you ever feel as though euthanizing an animal yourself is a good idea, decapitation would probably the your best bet as far as least amount of suffering goes.

 

[Yama]

Ignore the bird. I'm driving, not gonna pull over and run into traffic to help it, nor would I know how, and it's just gonna die sooner or later anyway. Sucks, but that's how it is.

One time, I was parking in front of my mom's house and there was a large group of birds there right where I needed to park. Most of them all flew away or got out of the way. One of the birds jumped right in front of my wheel instead of getting out of the way and I ran over it and it died. I didn't feel that bad about it. I mean, natural selection. The other birds were smart enough to move. Maybe that bird was just suicidal. :/

Ignore the dragonfly. I'd just leave it there. Probably wouldn't even notice. Bugs are gross and I'm not going to touch them. This stuff happens every day with bugs dying this exact way. It literally makes no difference if I do anything. It'll probably just do the same thing and die tomorrow.

The child... I probably wouldn't even notice, I tend not to notice stuff like this. Not to mention it wouldn't occur to me to look at the license plate, and I don't know car models/types so I couldn't report that. Honestly, I'd probably just call over the manager/an employee if I saw what was happening and alert them. Then they could take whatever measures they wanted--police, confrontation, whatever.

 

[Lady Lazarus]

If I were an animal I'd be a bird and I probably wouldn't accept help even in its position. So I'd ignore it out of respect.

 

[EJCC]

2 and 3 are easy choices, because so little work is required to do the right thing. 1 is harder.

1. THE BIRD: You are driving down the highway. Ahead of you, cars are slightly swerving out of their lane. You whiz by and see that a bird has seemingly been clipped by a vehicle. It is squawking in pain, dragging it’s wing and trying in vain to get out of the traffic.

Do you ignore the bird and drive on? If so, are you still thinking about it? Do you stop and turn around to go back for the bird? Do you do something else altogether?

I'm about 60% likely to pull over and rescue it. Depending on the details of the situation, and how well-behaved the bird is, I will either move it very far off the side of the road so it can recover and not go back into traffic again, or I'll take it to a vet.

Whether I do anything or not, it's going to upset me for the rest of the day. I'm a sucker for animals.

2. THE DRAGONFLY: You are staying somewhere on vacation that has a pool. While you are sipping a cold drink and have your face to the sun, a dragonfly comes too close to the water surface and falls onto it’s back. Taking in water, it struggles to right itself.

You tread to where it is and scoop it out to dry in the sun. When you get out of the pool {some time later} you see the wings are not intact and the insect can only walk in drunken circles.

Do you leave it to meet it’s end naturally or do you ‘put it out of it’s misery’?

Would you have scooped it out of the pool in the first place?

I will have scooped it out, and yes, I'll put it out of its misery.

3. THE CHILD: You are in a restaurant and see a family outside. The parent's and older sibling are arguing with a pre-teen child at the back of their vehicle. It is obvious to you through the window that harsh language, facial expressions and gestures are being used.

Suddenly the Mom opens the trunk and points for the child to get in. They do and the trunk closes, while the other 3 get in the vehicle and back out.

What do you do? Anything?

Write down the license plate number and call the cops.

 

[Starry]

Bird

If there was a safe place for me to pull-over where I wouldn't become a traffic hazard for others I would snag the bird and have done this very thing a handful of times. I have brought all kinds of animals to our local humane society.


Dragonfly

If I'm at a pool I probably wouldn't notice a dragonfly.



Child

If I saw someone putting a child into the trunk of a car through a window of a restaurant... The problem with being Ne dominant is it sometimes takes me a while to figure out what's actually going on in the physical world if it's not something you see everyday...so while I would like to say I would immediately take action...the truth of it is that some other customer will have most likely done something prior to me piecing it all together in my mind...or I'd be having to call the police after the fact when I had figured it all out.

 

[Frosty]

Ignore, ignore-maybe mercy kill, depending, call the police.

 

[Cloudpatrol]

From the deepest part of me: thank you to everyone contributing to this thread


Each of the 3 scenario's has happened in my life and I am trying to figure out how balanced my perspectives are. I was also curious to see if I could predict answer's based on type and happily (cuz it's more intriguing, grin) that has NOT been the case.

[MENTION=7]Totenkindly[/MENTION] I am so sorry for the incident you described. My Father had a similar situation and his relating it; is one of the few times I have ever witnessed him weep.

Leaving soon for a social engagement but will return later to offer more insight on my own experiences...

Can't wait to read more (if people wish)!

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

#1

This is funny because it ties into story #2

But I have rescued a bird in the middle of the road with what I thought was an injured wing. It was just walking in circles. Brought it back to the house, and realized that it had been shot in the head by a BB gun.

Like, the thing was on auto-pilot. Alive but no one home kind of thing. As there was no real help for him, I put it out of its misery.

THAT was hard.

Anyway, now? It would depend. If I could safely get to the bird to save it, I may. But if I'm jeopardizing my life to save it by running into heavy traffic? I will cut losses and leave it to nature to hammer out.

#2

I would and have rescued bugs/lizards/dragonflies from pools but don't ever put them out of their misery as I figure they may dry off? I don't know. I usually don't check back on the critters.

#3

I would jot down the plate and call the police.

 

[Galaxy Gazer]

Save the bird, scoop the dragonfly out of the pool (or get someone else to do it), and call the police for the child. Obviously.

 

[Avocado]

I'd make a note of the third, probably not the first two.

The third may or may not be significant, the other two would make me sad but its also kind of the natural order and you sometimes have to be stoic about these things.

Good thread topic though.

Basically this.

- - - Updated - - -

Bird

If there was a safe place for me to pull-over where I wouldn't become a traffic hazard for others I would snag the bird and have done this very thing a handful of times. I have brought all kinds of animals to our local humane society.


Dragonfly

If I'm at a pool I probably wouldn't notice a dragonfly.



Child

If I saw someone putting a child into the trunk of a car through a window of a restaurant... The problem with being Ne dominant is it sometimes takes me a while to figure out what's actually going on in the physical world if it's not something you see everyday...so while I would like to say I would immediately take action...the truth of it is that some other customer will have most likely done something prior to me piecing it all together in my mind...or I'd be having to call the police after the fact when I had figured it all out.

You are more compassionate than I am.

 

[magpie]

1. I wouldn't stop and help the bird. I'm on a highway and even if I wasn't, I wouldn't know what to do for it. I would think about it though as I drove on and feel sorry for it. One time there was this giant tortoise stuck on the middle section of the highway. I called the police and told them so that maybe they would rescue it. I don't know if they did though because they may've thought I was wasting their time.

2. I scoop insects out of the pool whenever I go swimming. After I scoop them out, the rest is up to them. I'm not gonna kill it and obviously there's nothing more I can do for it.

3. I'd call the police. However, I have a really hard time not approaching people in situations like these. I just get this spike of adrenaline and I know I have to help immediately and uh, sometimes things don't really... turn out. But I would try to just hang back, make a note of the license plate, and call the police.

One time I was walking near Public Square at about two in the morning and this man and woman were arguing as they crossed the street. I was right behind them and I saw the man hit the woman in the face. So I caught up with them and told the man not to do that because I'm an idiot. He threatened me so I said I'd call the police and the woman begged me not to call the police. It was heartbreaking. So I said I wouldn't and then I called the police. The police told me they'd "keep an eye out" and didn't do anything at all. About a week later I was out at night again around the same area and I heard them screaming at each other.

I think people getting hit is a hair trigger for me though. It's my berserk button, more or less, to coin a phrase from TV tropes. Another time I was working at a medieval faire and we were all backstage and the stage combat director and his wife were arguing and he hit her. So of course I involved myself, got inbetween them, and told him off. I think he was still really mad because he charged at me and I could see the quickly unraveling self control in his eyes. It was wild. One of the other actors pulled me back and then berated me for getting inolved with something that was none of my business. But after I'd finished working there the stage combat director wrote me a really nice recommendation letter and I'm still friends with both him and his wife on facebook. So that's nice.

 

[Tellenbach]

1. I'd like to say that I'd stop and rescue the bird, especially if it's an owl or a raptor of some sort, but realistically, I'd drive on because stopping on the freeways isn't safe.

2. The dragonfly would be ignored. I don't like most insects and it's pointless to try to save an insect when they have very short lives anyway. I also wouldn't kill it because then I'd have to touch it.

3. It'd depend on the weather. If it's a hot day, I'd call the police. If it's in the winter, I'd probably laugh. Trunks are relatively safe places except when it's hot.