Agnostic.com

37 3

If you had to choose between saving your mother’s life or a stranger’s baby, which life would you choose to save?

EmeraldJewel 7 July 24
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

37 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

7

Stranger's baby. My mother's a troll.

Mine has been dead years.

But she chose Thanksgiving Day to tell me that my beloved dog had died.

Six months earlier.

@BufftonBeotch I'm sorry she did that to you. That's rough.
if I believed in hell I might comfort myself that there will be justice for my mother. But it has to be enough that I eliminated her from my life and she can't cause any further harm.

5

I guess it depends on the situation. Like if you're running from an erupting valcano, the baby's gonna be easier to carry, you won't have to pay for your mom's end of life care, and you get the praise from your community for saving a baby. But if you're running from velociraptors, that baby's cry will give you away, and your mom can help you build barriers and traverse obstacles. You can also trip her to get away if you have to. I think I need more info before I can swing one way or the other.

OMG. Dying. ????

5

My mother would have killed me if I didn't save the baby.

4

My mum would never forgive me if I saved her over a baby.

4

Baby by default because my mom's dead. If my mom was alive, she'd have wanted me to save the baby.

3

My mother is 87 & suffers from dementia. She doesnt even recognize me & thinks its 1959. I'm saving the stranger's baby.

2

This is a moral dilemma....! My mother is dead a long time now, but in any case I know this is all only a hypothesis. My answer would be dependent on the age of my mother at the time. If she was an old lady, I would definitely choose the baby. If she was a younger woman, I would probably choose my mother.

2

I find the comments below insightful; if you notice, a few people talk about saving the mom b/c family ties obviously, but the other most common reason is the baby could grow up and be another Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. Those that save the baby either do it b/c that's what their mom would want, their mom is a POS, or the baby has the probability of a longer life ahead. What if the baby grew up and became another Ghandi, MLK, Galileo, Einstein, Helen Keller, Mandela, Churchill, Socrates, Amelia Earhart, Lincoln, Frederick Douglass. These people were human, and had faults of course, but I think we all agree they raised our collective consciousness, intelligence, and/or empathy toward others. I find it curious that we seem to default to a jaded - glass half empty mentality when evaluating the value of a person.

Just an observation....

2

Not completely unrelated.... Many years ago on a family vacation. I got on a boat ride with wife and two little daughters. As the boat owner kept on sailing away from shore, water was getting rougher by the minute and then it dawned on me that neither my wife or daughters knew how to swim at the time. Just the thought that something unexpected could happen made me realize that likely I was not going to be able to save all three. Who do you pick?. I though..... I started to freak out, asking the boat owner to take us back to shore. Just the thought still hunts me today.

That’s why I hated the film “Sophie’s Choice.” It haunted me for years

@UUNJ Not everything is a pleasant memory but somehow it is a learning experience.

2

Stranger's baby.
No hesitation whatsoever.

2

well that's a no brainer. I'd save the one I loved

2

My Mom even if I have to toss the baby into the river... MY MOTHER. She Gave Me Life. End of the Bullshit!!!

You’d also be taking a chance if saving a damn monster cause there’s no telling who the baby could grow up to be so your mother’s life was sacrificed for no damn reason!

@EmeraldJewel I am not questioning or taking chances my 6 Siblings dead or alive will be saying the same thing... Mom lives!

2

You should turn this into a poll. I’d save the baby and then feel horrible for the rest of my life for allowing my mom to die. I can imagine still hearing her screaming in horror and pain 20 years down the road. Meanwhile, the baby I saved grows up to be a depraved serial killer.

Hermit Level 7 July 24, 2018

Wow your glass is empty ...but in a funny dark way.

2

The kid. My mother's already dead and when she was a live I wouldn't have pissed on her if she was on fire.

2

My mom, without a thought. She has been my rock and I would do anything for her.

1

How about killing the bastard threatening the baby and the pensioner

1

My mother has been gone a longtime. Hypothetically, if she were alive, I would choose my mother. The vast majority of children grow up to be adults I don't really like. I already like my mother. 🙂

1

This question took me a moment. But, selfishly, I have to say my mother. She has people depending on her (not just me). The baby, while sad, doesn't have much depending on it.

Lol I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought like that, plus the baby could grow up to be any kind of crazy person.

1

My mother would have killed me if I didn't save the baby.

1

I find the thought of saving either to be rather unpleasant. I'd just go grab a bite to eat and let Ma and the fecal factory deal with their problems on their own.

Lol that's horrible

1

What the fuck kind of question is this!? My mom would NEVER forgive me if I didn't pick her! My dad would probably get mad, too. Well, it's hard for her to get mad if she's dead, but I feel like she'd judge me negatively anyway.

A kind of question to make you think.

@EmeraldJewel the sort of question that makes me overthink

1

My mother. Easy. I don't know your baby. I'm sorry.

Jjones Level 4 July 24, 2018

Just when I thought I was effed up cause it’s like that baby could grow up to be anything, including a killer and here I did throw my mom’s life away for them.

@EmeraldJewel I gave it a second or two of thought but my morals are to protect my family above all others. Now if we are talking about either a mother or their child and they have no relation to me. Yeah I'll be saving the baby but it's my mom.

1

To be honest, and I would figure that this might go against the grain here, but My mom is the closest thing to a best friend. I would save her.

1

I think any decent adult would beat you away to go get the baby.

A reasonable competent and healthy adult has an assumed ability to get themselves to safety.

A baby has none.

I’m not sure, but I think you’ve altered the parameters of the dilemma.

1

My mom has been gone for a while, so I guess the kid wins by default.

LEPeff Level 8 July 24, 2018
Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:138976
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.