Originally Posted by
ccw9mm
So long as jurisdictions deem it appropriate to "hang" good sams for doing good and operate on the presumption that something BAD has been done despite claims to the contrary (or unobscured fact), there is an inherent limitation to my willingness to do good for a stranger in a situation I don't know. If I ultimately help one stranger, but "take out" a half dozen family members by making my family destitute and pariah for a generation by virtue of those actions, is that a net good? Hard to think of it that way, with such results.
In a vacuum, good deeds are worth doing on their own merits. Trouble is, nobody lives in a vacuum. The real world intrudes.
Reality is, being a bystander to a brewing situation means that we're highly likely to not know crucial details about the encounter. Some situations are clear, such as a rape in progress. But many altercations are simply a whirlwind by the time we turn our eyes and ears that direction, such that we may not know the justification for the action of each player, the suitability of the response each is playing out, or even whether one of the players is a plainclothes LEO. Not knowing those things, who is to say whether jumping into the fray's going to be right or wrong?
That said, I'm all for halting a violent action right in front of me, or when it's obvious what's happening, or when it's directed against me or my family. In the case of gross violence right in front of me, it's going to be fairly easy to recognize that the level of violence playing out simply has no place. However, there are a lot of variables when one doesn't know the details from the get-go. Awaiting the cavalry may be the best choice. It isn't cowardice to make that choice. Simply, it's often the most reasonable approach amongst a host of choices, given the reality of a situation.
None of this, by the way, is meant to state or imply that doing nothing is ever a good thing. Nothing is further from the truth. Cowardice is fear to become involved. Equally, cowardice is to completely abandon reason and rationale, for blind action that could cause as much harm as good. However, there "is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip." In other words, different choices are available, depending on the situation. I have yet to fail to get involved. Calling for the cavalry (911) is helping. Following to ensure the car's license plate is obtained is helping. Being a good witness in a fluid situation is helping. Injecting myself into a dangerous and known-to-be-illegal attack on another is helping ... but it's hardly the only possible response or measure of help.
