Dan wrote.... >>major snippage<< > We could ask Gary what he meant; I certainly don't always > read posts the way the author intends them to be written. > But I'd be happy to bet a beer, a buck, etc. that my > interpretation is closer to his meaning than yours. A literal > interpretation of the words also supports my contention. If > he pays the money and the child is not returned safely, then > he has failed in his attempt to ransom his child; he has not > ransomed his child.
Wow! I can't believe that this topic came back to life! Actually Dan, you have a very good understanding of the original post as I had intended it. Let me make a few clarifications for those that took the original post much too literally... 1. It is very unlikely that my children would be kidnapped for any type of ransom. I simply do not have the net worth to make them a equitable target for ransom. 2. If they were kidnapped, it is also equally unlikely that I would have the access to a bank full of money nor would I have the expertise or equipment to steal it. 3. There are limits to who & what I would sacrifice to save my children. If I were in the UNLIKELY position that I had to choose someone or something to sacrifice to save my kids, I would gladly sacrifice my own life if that had even a slim hope of saving my children. Would I sacrifice a plane load of people to save my children - no. Would I sacrifice myself and a couple of other adults - given the right situation probably. As Dan said, it all comes down to priorities. Let me restate the original idea of the post.... In the unlikely event that my children were kidnapped - for any reason - I would use EVERY available resource to either ensure their safety or even to give them a reasonable chance of safety. If those resources included access to a vault full of money, then it would be gone. Granted that is an unlikely scenario, but my priority would be life over material objects. Rob's post about genetic factors influencing the parents built in desire to protect their young is more accurate than he knows. I can't find the reference at the moment, but there have been multiple studies that show that a crying child triggers a hormonal response in many adult brains that cause the adult to be concerned and sympathetic with the child, in the parents brain, the hormonal response is virtually overwhelming. I'll look for that reference when I get a chance. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
