Chips' Fun House ~ View topic

Alright everyone, here's something to consider for a moment.
We went over this in one of my school classes, and I was wondering what you guys would think. When you're done, say what you think, and please don't wander off topic. *glares at a few people*

The situation goes like this:
An elderly couple take a trip to a remote town in Germany. They arrive safely, and everything is fine. Late at night, the elderly man realizes that he had forgotten to pack his medication with him, medication that he needs to live. He does not have any way to get his prescription, and all the pharmacies are closed. The elderly couple break into the pharmacy by breaking a window, and take the medicine that the man needs. They are caught directly thereafter.

Question: Was what the couple did Wrong?

It was wrong in that they still commited a crime. However, given the circumstances, they did save a life.
So my vote would actually be:
"What they did was wrong. They deserve some form of punishment, but it should not be on the same lines as a different theft."
They also should have gone to a hospital.

Remote Towns in Germany don't have large 24/7 Hospitals to go to.
And Who voted Option 4?! Laughing

Hmm, and interesting dilemma. Of course, no one with half a heart in their chest can say what they did was entirely WRONG. But in all fairness, it was. I understand that the man was dire need of pills, and fearing his life he did something drastic. But come on now, are you telling me there was NO OTHER WAY to get help. That there was NO hospitals within driving distance, that there was NO way of reaching any kind of help what so ever? I don't know if they have 911 in Germany, but I'm pretty damn sure they have some kind of emergency services and the couple could have found some legal way of getting the man his medication.

What I don't get is that they would so quickly jump to such an extreme to get his medication. How do they even know the pharmacy carried his medication? It just seems to me they went a little over board here, and deliberately broke into a pharmacy and stole a bottle of pills.

They should definitely be punished. For committing a crime AND for being outright stupid people.

Bad Idea

Seriously though. Who the crap visits "remote towns" in Germany?

Assuming he agreed to pay for the window and the Meds, I don't see why the store owner would press charges. Morally, he did nothing wrong.

I vote 3....wtf were they thinking. someone who is addicted to methodone have to get their fix everyday or they will die. Can they have the same argument if they broke into a hospital and stole? I dont think so.

on a side note, my 10th grade teacher asked a similar but better question:
A husband finds out his wife has a rare terminal illness. There is a new, expensive, experimental cure for this illness. They see the only doctor who has the cure, and are able to save up half of the cost of the cure. The doctor refuses them the treatment if they do not have the full amount of money. The man and wife have no way of making the money before she is going to die.
The man breaks into the doctor's lab, and steals the medicine. Did he do the right thing?

What if him stealing the medicine cost another person, who worked really hard to get the money, their life?

Ahhhh Ethics, Breakfast of Champions.

We can ask a thousand questions about, "why didn't he do this, or had they considered another option" however the argument needs to be weighed simply on the actions.
If you consider yourself an ethical person, a man or woman of integrity and principals, you would be more then willing to accept whatever punishment be dispensed on you regardless of severity. This would be the "cost" of both "saving your life" and finding an acceptable reason to violate normally immutable values (like don't break things that don't belong to you, harming the store owner, breaking the law, etc.)

Well, let's stick with the current situation about the old man, old woman, and Germany. Just so that people don't get confused.
Chance didn't entirely get off topic, and what he mentioned is wholly acceptable. However, what he said could confuse people that aren't as...perspicarious as others.
*waves finger at Chance*

Moving on, please continue to respond.

Screw this question, I'll stick with EMS thank you very much. Ethics are a lot more clearer for it.

Example: You get called to the scene of an MVA(MVC is more politically correct, but screw that), and arrive to see that there are 10 patients. You only have resources for 1. What do you do? People are screaming for you to help, but whom do you help first?

It's simple, really. You call out to the patients, most of whom are not in cars, and ask the ones that can move to come to you. Four patients come to you, you give them tags to hold and place on patients. Each tag has 4 colors: Red; Yellow; Green; and Black. You walk up to the first car and find 2 people in it, one male, one female. The male patient is decapitated, and the female patient is in the seat, with the top half, breasts and above, in the seat behind her. You tell two of the walking wounded to tag them as black and move on to the next car. There are 3 patients in this car. You check the first male patient and find that he has a fractured femur and some lacerations to his face, but no signs of shock, so you tag him as a yellow. The next patient is female, and she has some lacerations on her face, they are bleeding a bit. She has Battle's sign, and is pale with a little yellow fluid coming out of her ears. You tag her as red, and tell your partner to start treating her. You check out the final passenger of the car, a male, and find him to have a broken tibia, but no other major problems, and mark him as a green. You quickly check the last car and find that the patient is unconscious, and breathing at 25 respirations per minute. You tag him as red, but go back to help the female patient with Battle's sign deciding that at the moment, she's more injured and has a more immediate chance of dying. As you are about to leave the scene, another ambulance pulls up and you direct them to the other red tagged patient, and leave the scene to the police.

See? Simple. You did everything you could for as many people as possible, didn't do anything morally or ethically wrong. It's wonderful really.

They were dead wrong. No matter what crime is ever committed, the person performing it has an excuse.....might be a BS excuse to you or me, but to them it was extremely important.
He could have easily called for his meds to be delivered, gone to the hospital..... a host of things.
Besides paying the pharmacy back for the window and the stolen meds.....did he make restitution to the cops for their time.....were the cops needed somewhere else instead of wasting their time on the old coots? What about the wasted gas driving to and back to pick their sorry asses up. What about the time it took for the judge and his salary to process all this....let alone, the court clerk?
You seem to take the "he paid the pharmacy back" to mean the end-all of it...but there are more expenses involved.
It was no ones fault but the old man....I say, string him up in the courtyard!!! Evil or Very Mad