What would you do?

[9Westy9]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

 

[elmarna]

I would die both times because i am niether aggressive or violent.

 

[jarofthoughts]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

Attempt to disarm and passify him.
I'd only kill him if I felt I had no other choice.
I'm not in favour of using voilence, but I will if I have to.

 

[Storm]

In a kill or be killed situation, I prefer to do the killing. (It's never gone that far.)

 

[darkstar]

I'm guessing the purpose of this is to determine if one would treat a murderer differently than a simple mugger. I would have to say I would not.
If someone actually attacks me with a weapon, they are trying to kill me and I react accordingly. I'm no more, or less, likely to kill someone based on what they have done. I'm more concerned about surviving in a situation like that.

 

[9Westy9]

You all seem to have answered the 'what would you do' question but would your emotional state be different in both situations? and if so would that change how you act?

 

[Storm]

You all seem to have answered the 'what would you do' question but would your emotional state be different in both situations? and if so would that change how you act?

Sorry, missed that. Fight or flight conquers all. In my case and imx, it's fight all the way. I HAVE run away, but it's not my instinct.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

I would present my handgun in both cases. Firing would depend upon his distance from me & his apparent intent.

 

[9Westy9]

I would present my handgun in both cases. Firing would depend upon his distance from me & his apparent intent.

what if you were unarmed?

 

[Revoltingest]

I'd consider what other weapons are at hand vs fleeing.
Dang! This is why I avoid travel by plane or thru states without reciprocity for my CCW licencse.

 

[Badran]

Well both your examples include one hell of a surprise, so i'm sure i would panic. Not as in freeze, but certainly afraid, if not for my life being at risk it will be from the terrible shock of seeing someone in an empty ship running at me with a knife.

The one thing i won't be intending to do is get murdered because some maniac felt like it. I'll kill him/her without feeling sorry for a moment, if i had to. Regarding the difference between the case where i know he is a murderer and the other where i don't, it will make a difference.

The difference being that in the case of the murderer, the decision to kill him will be easier and probably faster, not only because its more likely for him to kill me, but also because i won't feel i've taken a life unfairly.

 

[HonestJoe]

I think in either situation I'd go for the "tactical retreat" to seek assistance. I think the only reason for confonting him alone would be if there was someone else in immediate danger (e.g. someone injured he was attempting to kill).

As a side point from the second example, a body apparently killed with a knife plus someone standing next to them holding a knife doesn't autoamtically make that person the murderer.

 

[jarofthoughts]

You all seem to have answered the 'what would you do' question but would your emotional state be different in both situations? and if so would that change how you act?

Sorry. Must have missed that one. ^_^
Having worked as a bouncer for several years I've had people pull a knife on me in real life, and I find that I usually respond with cold calculation in those kinds of situations.
I usually don't feel much until after the situation has been resolved one way or the other.

I suspect that would be the case here too.

 

[TheKnight]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

Situation 1:

1. Since he hasn't hurt anyone yet (to my knowledge)I would try to talk him down. Pulling a knife, while startling, isn't necessarily an attack on me. If he didn't calm down and tried to attack me then I would engage him with whatever resources I had.

2. I would feel compassionate. I used to work in law enforcement, so someone pulling a knife on me isn't all that new. Generally, people won't actually use it. So I would approach it with that in mind. He's probably just as scared as I am, and he's probably emotionally charged. Unless he's mentally unstable, he can probably be talked down. There's probably something bothering him that I could try to help him with.


Situation 2:

1. I would engage him immediately in attempt to disarm him (or stop him). The situation changes if he's already hurt someone. If he's scared or feeling guilty or just sociopathic, chances are that he will attack to preserve himself, given that he's already hurt someone.

2. I would probably feel more anxious because I get extremely sympathetic when it comes to murder. At the same time, I would at least try to get his side of the story. It would definitely be the least preferred of the two situations.

 

[Tarheeler]

In both cases, I'd do my best to defend myself.

And in both cases, I'd feel glad that I have a better than average chance at doing so. NC is a concealed-carry state.

 

[bobhikes]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

I would defend myself both times and hopefully win.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

Take the person down, possibly kill them, in both situations.

 

[Storm]

Take the person down, possibly kill them, in both situations.

What happened to being a pacifist?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

What happened to being a pacifist?

Decided it'd only work if everyone was.

 

[Father Heathen]

I'm going to set up 2 hypothetical situations and I would like to know
1) What would you do in the situation
2) How would you feel in each situation

1st situation: You are wandering on a ship at night (We'll call it a ferry) and there appears to be almost nobody around. Then a man appears and pulls a knife on you.

2nd situation You are wandering on the same ship but you come across a body. The person has had their throat slit and they are clearly dead. Soon after the murderer appears and again pulls a knife on you.

I'm interested in hearing the responses ^-^

In both situations I would attempt to knock him off balance and then unconscious by kicks to the head.