Could you leave a loved one behind?

You ask a real question, but the answer will be different for many. I will offer the following advice I use to hear all through out my professional career even though it came from the original Star Trek in the 70's with Capt. Kirk and the saying comes from Cmdr. Spock applying Vulcan logic to critical situations once stated, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one." This is the simple rule I would follow if and when a time came that such a decision might have to be made.

The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one is a way of keeping things in perspective, but in the end, as long as emotion is kept out of the decision process, this little saying will be the most logical rule that I would apply if and when I had to make such a decision to leave behind a loved one. I know it may seem a little odd, but I always kept and used that logical rule and always seemed to make the right decision because of it. Perhaps it will help you and others as well.

Anyway, I hope this helps in some small way to help you see that it depends on a number of things, but for the most part it depends on applying some simple cold logic to the situation. This simple rule of logic I just provided is as cold and as serious as I would like to consider in the scheme of things.

Thanks for the posting.

reply to post by mamabeth


I wouldn't leave you behind.

A man should feel a sense of responsibility for those around him. He should do his best within his ability to protect his loved ones.

No one knows for sure what they would do in any given situation, fear is a powerful thing.

I think it would be better to die together than live alone.

The Almighty can sort out the rest.

reply to post by mamabeth


We all have our own paths in life Mamma Beth but fate is really just the weight of circumstances.

Having said that let me share a few powerful words with you “Physician heal thy self”.

Positive visualization is very important and the elites love to play mind games with the plebian masses and slaves to get them to manifest things that they really shouldn’t, because they simply serve the elites and not the plebes or slaves.

You really do have all the time in the world to heal yourself and be the person you wish to be, live the life you wish to and to manifest those things, but you must focus on those hopes and discipline yourself towards making those self fulfilling prophecies instead of your fears.

Forewarned is forearmed, and I truly thought the Crap was going to hit the fan back around the time of the first bailouts and the Presidential Election. I am big enough to say I was wrong, it didn’t and since then a half a dozen other predictions of impending doom have fallen short too and been false.

So much of what is going on right now with the manipulated economy and political climate is designed to get us to think negative, be negative, and in essence allow negative things to happen by placing our focus on that.

It’s great to plan for the worst, but once you have made those reasonable contingency plans, hope for and expect the best, and put your energies into that.

We all make mistakes in life, but we all can learn from them and through them.

You’re a terrific lady and I know in my heart of hearts, with a little patience and effort, you can turn that corner, attain a healthy lifestyle, and find even more ways through it to enjoy your family and friends. Nothing to loose and everything to gain there, and the truth is life is a fluid thing.

Just like we all encounter our own setbacks and snags along the road so do the elites.

Let’s not set the future in such stone that there is no way to escape it, especially a bad one!

The government, the media, and the elites very much want us to focus on being scared and angry. Why? Because they are emotional thoughts and not intellectual ones, because they defeat us, and divide us, and prevent us from being able to positively see our own futures and create ones to our own liking.

We have to get away from the negativity and the self defeatism, and the rampant fears.

We have to stop creating the world that none of us want but them!

We must think positive and do positive.

Speaking of which not only could I leave a loved one behind, I wouldn’t hesitate to pop one with a bullet between the eyes if it meant the difference between life and death or them being captured, tortured, brainwashed or executed by agents of the enemy!

Remember we always hurt the ones we love!


[edit on 3/4/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

My little boy hurt his leg a few days ago, and hearing him cry is the worst thing ever so, I say No...I can't ...

Ill be damned if my family gets left behind, id shoot my best friend, and his dog if he turned against me or hindered me, but not my family, they'd be led of even if i have to run beside the damn quad firing shotgun shells every three seconds. I am fully prepared to die for them if need be. Its almost happened a few times when we were out hunting Cyotes and they turned out to be Hybrids... #ing things can run fast..

Originally posted by mamabeth
I have been giving this topic a lot of thought.With the strong possibility of a major
disaster happening at anytime.Could you leave a loved one behind?

I think that I would hinder my families chance for survival.I am in my mid-fifties,
I'm obese and have other health issues.I walk with a slight limp and I can't run.
I am allergic to perfumes and strong scents .If I have to help make lye soap,I
don't know how it will affect me.

I do have a mask I can wear when around scents that bother me.But,if I do
have a problem,I usually develope pneumonia.The last time this happened,I
was treated for walking pneumonia,which is contagious.An illness like that would
devastate a weakened community.

I do have medicine I can take immediately after exposure.I haven't had pneumonia for 18 months.In the wilds,you won't have access to a drug store.I
would have to find an herbal replacement.

I have been working to build myself up and lose weight.This takes time that we
might not have.I do have things prepared for my family to take when the time
comes.

I do have skills that would be important for my family.I can cook,sew,bake and
I'm not afraid of hard work.But,I also have issues that could affect my families
well being.I would probably stay where I'm at and wish my family good luck.

That is why I'm asking,could you leave a loved one behind when the SHTF?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mamabeth:

Short answer for me is no, I could not leave a loved one behind. I would still worry however about relatives scattered in locations throughout the US, especially if normal communications are effected; yellowstone and solar flares being two of my concerns.

With regards to your obesity, that sounds like something you are working on which is great. Have faith that you can and will get down to a more normal weight and make it happen! You can do it and that will greatly assist with your mobility and overall health.

Let someone else make the lye soap if needed. Get more than one mask as a backup. Even those cheap white ones are ok (better than nothing) for things like that.

Are your able to get a pneumococcal shot? If so they are usually good for preventing most common forms of pneumonia for several years from the time of first shot. They are about twice the cost of a flu shot.

Buy some "Neem" tablets if your doctor says ok. They are one of the only natural products that have both antibacterial and anti-viral properties, have been used by people in India and China for thousands of years, and sell for less than $10 at most health food stores.

Get to know your neighbors well if you haven't already. They could
be the lifeline assist you may need someday, especially if they end up staying vs. leaving in some sort of emergency and your nightmare of being left behind becomes a reality, which I don't think is going to happen.

You can do it mamabeth!

Yes. In a heart beat. To some it may seem cold or cruel, but that's what the real world is. Cold and cruel. It's all about survival and in order to survive, I would leave anyone behind if they slowed me down or lowered my chances of survival in any way.

Love, at times, can give a person strength. But more times than not it is his greatest weakness. But that's the difference between being weak and dead, or cruel and alive. I'll take alive.

Originally posted by mamabeth
I know this won't mean a lot to some people.
Today, I was able to run for the first time in
over two years!

This is wonderful! Who cares what reasoning made this happen, the point is you are getting stronger and healthier. And that is a wonderful thing.

I have to admit gang, this post is dark, very dark even for ATS. And yet it is a very valid question for one to ask themselves.

Mamabeth, I understand your worries are real, and your feelings quite valid, just please make sure to stop, look around and remember to laugh and love. Take a moment to see that there is still real beauty all around you. If you only focus on the scary, and not any on the good, then no matter how far you can go to survive will be for not.

I have often wondered this myself but not in the context of all this paranoid SHTF stuff. Rather after what i went through here in Houston during hurricane Katrina. Was on the road evacuating the suburban area i lived in which was mandatory and being bumber to bumber traffic for some 300 miles for 18 hours. I took my whole family and as head of the family i was in charge of everything. I had to force my mother to empty her trunk of junkand i do mean junk she had in there so we could take just essentials for survival. The media had everyone scared to death. I debated if i should leave or not and in the end the damn media is what convinced me to get out or possibly perish with my whole family. So we all left. Now i am divorced and i have custody of my son and my exwife gets him on weekends and summers and she lives 300 miles away. My oldest daughter who is 18 lives with her. So what do i do. Go with my girlfriend who is also divorced and who also wonders should she take her ex who is her daughters daddy or go with me or do i go with my son and head to my daughter and ex or what? I know this isnt exactly what the OP meant but it still has me wondering. I dont want to leave anyone behind but i would have to make a choice. I would probobly go with my girlfriend and take my son if he was with me and pray for the rest. My mother and sister are too far away now for me to get to them as well so in the end its going to be hoping everyone is safe. If something was to happen to my GF and she couldnt travel and i had to leave to save my son i would probobly leave her. I mean it really all depends on whats at stake and who is being left. In the end it would be the worst decision i ever had to make. reminds me of a post i wanted to start about a similar topic i think i will start now and see how people respond.

Nice thread. SnF

would be very hard to do that.... and unless i tried all avenues to get a person to safety... then I can say... I doubt I could.

But, there is a factor in this as well..... I have to look out for the needs of the others in the shelter and I cannot risk all of their safety for one person... so the dilema for me is going to be..... how do I justify taking a course of action that would actually leave someone behind...

I just do not know to be honest... but if I did make that last decision, then that burden falls upon me, and I have to live with that.