Thread: Would you shoot?

Lying in bed last night I was thinking about society (and for those that know me, yes it was all scorn and cynicism) and for reasons related to a planned paintballing trip and helmets* I got to thinking.

You know how you sometimes see special needs kids on TV (or worryingly frequently where I live) and their parents or minders are trying to give them a "normal" life style and allowing them to take part in all the things that an able bodied person can do, albeit an incredibly padded and safety conscious life style. Where does society draw the line at what these kids can do and how much it should accommodate them?

Imagine: You are paintballing, you are in a situation that revels in blurring the lines between polite society (we don't kill anyone, there are no real consequences of our actions) and the realities of war (a high adrenalin environment where we shoot at each other, it hurts, there is often no mercy). You are in the middle of a match and this mentally handicapped kid (on either team) comes up and shoots you with a paintball gun from a distance of 10m.

Do you shoot back and why?

This is a completely hypothetical question, I've never actually been in this situation, there are no right or wrong answers. Try to weigh up the idea of social acceptability with the realities of life and answer based on your own personal opinion, not what you think is expected of you.

For those wondering, I would shoot back, I'll explain why later.

*Helmets: I live in an area where there is seemingly a high proportion of disabled people and quite often while working I will see parents guiding round their disabled children who are wearing helmets for their own protection.

Originally Posted by 98abaile

Lying in bed last night I was thinking about society (and for those that know me, yes it was all scorn and cynicism) and for reasons related to a planned paintballing trip and helmets* I got to thinking.

You know how you sometimes see special needs kids on TV (or worryingly frequently where I live) and their parents or minders are trying to give them a "normal" life style and allowing them to take part in all the things that an able bodied person can do, albeit an incredibly padded and safety conscious life style. Where does society draw the line at what these kids can do and how much it should accommodate them?

Imagine: You are paintballing, you are in a situation that revels in blurring the lines between polite society (we don't kill anyone, there are no real consequences of our actions) and the realities of war (a high adrenalin environment where we shoot at each other, it hurts, there is often no mercy). You are in the middle of a match and this mentally handicapped kid (on either team) comes up and shoots you with a paintball gun from a distance of 10m.

Do you shoot back and why?

This is a completely hypothetical question, I've never actually been in this situation, there are no right or wrong answers. Try to weigh up the idea of social acceptability with the realities of life and answer based on your own personal opinion, not what you think is expected of you.

For those wondering, I would shoot back, I'll explain why later.

*Helmets: I live in an area where there is seemingly a high proportion of disabled people and quite often while working I will see parents guiding round their disabled children who are wearing helmets for their own protection.

I would shoot.

This reminds me of a question I heard long ago about a chick asking a pimp some advice on why she gets approached by lesbians for sex and other pimps to work for them at work*she works as a stripper*

He said something on the lines of: *First of all, I dont understand retarded ass bitches thinking they can just go into any environment, fully know the rules of that place or at least what kind of people there and then wonder why the experience all the shit they do not want to experience:

Its like Driving a car, as SOON as you get behind the wheel you are considered a driver, if you only go TEN FEET you are still behind the wheel so you are considered a driver so all the driving rules apply to you, period! if you are in a car going ten feet and a cop stops you cause you have no seatbeat on, you get a god damn ticket *and if youre black a baton up yo ass*

So yeah, pretty much that, if hes on a paintball field, he gets shot he is on the field so he is subject to the rules on the field. period. If he doesnt want to get shot, then he doesn't need to play paintball, or if he wants to play anyway and gets buthurt about getting shot by an *abled* person then he needs to get the fuck off the field

Ive actually worked with special needs children, and usually in 99.9% of cases, they are VERY happy children, and wouldn't get mad if they were in a game they were not winning, they know they aren't as *able* as other students/children and it doesn't bother them, they have fun playing the game. It sounds like to me that this isnt a hypothetical situation but rather some school drama B.S. where some administrator of a school trip or something chastised kids for not going easy on the *retarded kid* (you have no idea how many times Ive seen this happen among school administrators with that kind of attitude). Pretty much, if I was the kid chastised for that, I would either just go home right then, or not go in the first place, stay home or go out with other friends paintballing without *adults* trying to butt in where they are not needed nor wanted.

If someone wants to ruin my fun because of over sensitivity to how someone *MAY or MAYNOT* feel, then fuck them. The world doesn't work like that. If it did, every establishment would be out of business. i mean everything.

SO yeah TL : DR I would shoot, AND give a big *Fuck You* to anyone who said shit about it, Then shoot them again and the person who said anything.

P.S. you dont need to explain about the situation, just do what you want and do it with no remorse, remember you have the capacity to live your life how you want and obtain whatever you want, so does the disabled kid or anyone else for that matter. . .anyone that says otherwise deserves no attention paid to them, and if they get in your way, then a big Fuck you is in order.

P.P.S. If someone can find the youtube video of a guy with no arms and legs giving an inspirational speech on his success and post it that would be great, I got shit to do today.

I would shoot Oprah.

I hate that bitch.

yea, why wouldn't you shoot back? He's playing; he knows the other team is going to try and win. Somebody is going to shoot back at him. If you can't take the heat, get out of the game.

I think I may only be lenient if this occurred in like the first minute of the game cause it's no fun to get out so early...

then again, I have terrible far sight vision and probably wouldn't be able to recognize the person so if someone was shooting at me, I would shoot back without hesitant.

Of course I'd shoot. I wouldn't want to lose.

i'd shoot.

unless he somehow took the gun and ran off, it's understood by someone with his best interest in mind what paintballing entails. i don't find it cruel or socially unacceptable. complaining about his presence in the game would be worse than shooting him back

...right in his paraplegic balls.

Wow, some suprising replies (esp you CPR), and pretty close to what I was thinking, although the argument that went through my head was that despite what some people feel, society (and by extension, myself) has no real obligation to these kids, any attempt to accomodate them is a matter of choice (one I at least morally support), so if this kid's minder has brought him to a paintball game and is expecting everyone to go easy on him, then that's just damn arrogant of the minder to impress their views on others (who've paid to be there and play a competetive game).

I brought this up because I often get annoyed by how the press and the public tend to gush over touchy feely issues and percieved moral injustices, 'cos that's life, shit happens.

Let's expand a little on the question, this kid is propperly retarded, the kind that really doesn't know any better, the kind that can only really go anywhere with a guardian. This kid has no concept of what rules or conflict are, they are there because their parent or guardian naievely whats them to experience the kind of things that normal people can do. The scenario is still the same, the kid (on either team) is in a paintball game, having just deliberately shot you from a distance of 10m, they may or may not be fully aware of the consequences of their actions.

Would you still shoot?

I would.

Originally Posted by 98abaile

Let's expand a little on the question, this kid is propperly retarded, the kind that really doesn't know any better, the kind that can only really go anywhere with a guardian. This kid has no concept of what rules or conflict are, they are there because their parent or guardian naievely whats them to experience the kind of things that normal people can do. The scenario is still the same, the kid (on either team) is in a paintball game, having just deliberately shot you from a distance of 10m, they may or may not be fully aware of the consequences of their actions.

Would you still shoot?

Absolutely. He may not be aware of the consequences of his actions but that does not mean his actions can be without consequences.

That kid would not be normal, and couldn't be treated as such. And I'll be happy to shatter the guardian's delusions by treating him as one and showing exactly why they're wrong, assuming I even knew the kid was disabled in the first place. They can't expect the world to accommodate unreasonable, irrational delusions.

I'd do the exact same thing that I would do with any other person, "special needs" or not:
- If he was on the other team and his shot hit me, I'd go sit down, because I lost.
- If he was on the other team and his shot missed me, I'd shoot back.
- If he was on my team, I'd yell at him to let him know I'm on his team, just in case he didn't notice.