That doesn’t sound very macho. I think there’s a big difference between saving a boy drowning and jumping in front of a “speeding” train.
No. Only if that something good goes hand and hand with something masculine. I suppose if someone came into the thread and said something like “Yes, I would. My countless years of martial arts training has turned me into a highly skilled warrior waiting for a chance to display my skills,” that might be a little macho.
But just exercising the thought of being a hero if a situation presented itself isn’t inherently macho… though now that I REALLY think about it, my countless years of martial arts trained has primed me for…
That doesn’t sound very macho. I think there’s a big difference between saving a boy drowning and jumping in front of a “speeding” train.[/quote]
Exactly. Of course anyone who can swim will jump in to save the drowning boy. No brainer. And I’m the type to intervene to help – absolutely. But to jump in front of a moving train with a pretty good chance of getting killed in the process? Only for Dragonbabe.
Of course it depends on your own perception of the chance of success – if I think I can probably save the guy before the train arrives, that’s one thing, but to have the train miss you by 2" is another. If there’s a 40%+ chance of death? I think people who say they’d do that for a stranger may sound like they’re trying to come across as macho.
But you have the luxury of forethought; this guy admitted that he didn’t think it was heroic when he did it, but that it just seemed the right thing to do.
I really think it’s something you don’t know for sure unless - dog forbid - it actually happens.
And, BTW, if it were Dragonbabe down there and you jumped on top of her, she probably would have been better off with the train.
Why would that sound macho? If I say in the event I am confronted with a boy drawning in the pool, I surely would jump in and save him. Why would that be macho?
Is is macho to say that you would do something good?[/quote]
Well now, here’s the difference. I would have no second thoughts about jumping in to a pool to save a drowning boy. Hell, I used to get paid to do it. Difference is, I wouldn’t really be putting myself in danger. Now… if it were shark infested, I think it might be on a par with jumping onto a subway track.
OK, ok, the question was simply “could you be a hero?”
Who cares what the situation is? I gave the example of the boy in the pool, but it could be any situation really.
I think more people have it in them than realize it. I’ve been in a somewhat similar situation and my mind has never been more clear about what to do. Kinda hard to explain, but I think there’s either an instinct or a learned reaction that just takes over at a certain point.
I’m a hero twice. Officially. My mum has certificates to prove it and everything. But I wasn’t heroic. You assess a risk, take a chance and if you’re right you live and so does the other guy.
I think there’s a big difference between saving a boy drowning and jumping in front of a “speeding” train.
Aye-aye aye!