Bare with me its long.

Set the scene
You are in your local store about to pay for your goods when a largely built man enters. He quite rudely cuts the que and stares at the cashier. The cashier gives him a friendly but nervous smile, which he returns. He then proceeds to pull a gun from his inside jacket pocket and shoots the cashier point blank in the face! He then turns to shoot a woman trying to escape in the back, 3 times. Another man who was behind you in the que attempts to be the hero and kicks him full on in the groin. The murderer stares for a bit and then bursts out laughin, manic glee in his eyes. He taps his crotch with the gun and a hollow sound is heard. He is obviously wearing a groin guard. He then rewards the would be hero with a hit to the head with the hilt of the gun. You hear a sickening crack, but just for good measure the shooter shoots him in the back of the head. He then calmly turns to you! He levels the gun at you, aiming it between your eyes and says;

"Justify your existence..." He proceeds to pull a stopwatch from another pocket "...you have exactly 20 seconds....go..."
End scene

What would you say? What gives your life purpose? The reason for this is because if we can get enough answers maybe we can make a "blueprint" for the age old question 'What is the meaning of life'. I say a blueprint as it it is one of those questions that cant really be answered but lets have a go.

Keep in mind you only have 20 seconds so it has to be kept short and sweet. I will play the role of the "mad-man" and will time how long it takes to read the answers (I'll read fast-ish ) and will be "shooting" anyone that exceeds the time limit. If you get shoot by all means try again. Just try to condense your answer a bit and for convienience (and my curiosity to see what you left out) can you put something like second attempt at the beginning.

Anyway, I hope to hear from alot of people and look forward to your answers.

Ben

Just to get the ball rolling here is what I would say (minus the stammering, etc):

"I am here to live life to the fullest extent possible and to try and experience as much of what life can offer as I possibly can"

"I am here to be a parent to my children and beside that live the life I always wanted to "

I would hope he's as thick as a brick.Tell him he's out of bulletts.When he looks down to check,run like hell.

BANG!!! "Wrong answer!"

Our first casualty!! Nope hes actually extremely smart...Just not all there in the head. Plus, the gun being aimed at your head, he wouldnt need to look down . try again!

Good answer there Fozzie. A parents perspective. BTW if you see an answer that you honestly would have said you can still say it again. Just try not to be tempted to read some of the answers and say, "Ohh, thats good. I'll have that!"

If he has just shot someone in the face,my guess he wouldn't be in the mood to listen to someones Jibberish.
He can't be extremely smart and not all there in the head at the same time.
Give him your wallet and hope for the best.If he's that much of a nut,sob stories wont help you.IMO.

Why can he not be extremely smart and a little crazy? You dont have to be sane to be smart do you? As for the shooting someone in the face it is merely a story. You are missing the point. Im more interested in hearing what people value most in their life and what they feel makes life...life.

I wasn't trying to be smart,athelos,just realistic.I'll bow out.

Its okey DSTM. Lol, I expected someone to be awckward (just kidding). This is the speak easy after all and were supposed to raise question. I hope you will give an answer though. Or maybe your attempt at running could be interpretted as:

"I live to survive"

maybe? I think I was too quick in shooting you .

Ben

If you had asked the Question,"What are the things you most value in life and would hate to lose"
Now that would get you the answer, I think you are looking for.
I think you were too quick in shooting me.

Well, if that is how you interpretted the question then your answer will reflect this. I didnt want to make the question too narrow you see. As you can see in my answer is different from Fozzies. We have completely different lives from one another and we saw the question in a different way. If I had asked the question in the way quoted above then the answers would all be along the same lines you see.

I live for my family and future.

"Truth, Justice, and the American Way!" (lol, old Superman quote)

sorry athelos, couldn't resist. in all seriousness, i would respond as such:

"to provide love for those i love, and compassion for those i don't. i exist to work toward becoming a human being everyday."


wow, that is one helluva question.

I have to say though blueandgold, that is one hell of an answer!! (the serious one more so than the superman quote )

I see we have another family answer from Yano. I can see that becomeing a popular answer already.

I do not deal in hypotheticals. I find it rather repulsive to "what if" the carnage described. For one, I doubt anyone would have the wherewithal to even mumble comprehensible words after witnessing whats been described, the brain would be in shock at the visuality and smell. The first blast would have rendered people within roughly 60 feet temporarily deaf, and unable to hear the question. Add the secondary blasts and nobody hears for a week at a minimum. Therefore the "question" is a moot point. If you choose to negate the facts of reality as I just mentioned them? Then I will add my "hypotheticals", to match yours.

As for my situation. He's not talking to me because "The Shooter" would have been dead as soon as that gun came to a rest in the cashiers face. I am authorized to carry a concealed weapon and as luck would have it, he chose my queue to be an idiot. As soon as that gun came out and he focused his attention on the cashier, and at the same instant as she smiled, he was dead. Because he was focused on her he could not possibly see my hand and gun. And on the off chance you say he does see my gun, I at least blow his knee off before he flinches a muscle to attempt his arm swing, to move the gun. And trust me a knee gets blown out a person falls with a quickness. As he goes down, I finish what this idiot started.

I do not answer to any mortal "playing God". And I will not give this scumbag the satisfaction of even thinking he is playing God.

Hows that for an answer?

Da Animal

You know if you run in a zig zag manner he has very little chance of hitting you and even less chance of hitting a vital organ if he does hit you.

I will have to think about my answer and get back to this post.

yes Animal, i agree. i didn't know we were allowed to shoot said scumbag. unfortunately i live in a state that has no concealed carry allowed. can you believe that?! i found out all these lovely things after i moved here.

I have a wife and kids that depend on me. .... And now I've your firearm.

where those dots are I would make my move..

I'm a sensei in 2 arts and am confident I will have his weapon in 10 seconds or at least seriously broken his arm/wrist.(Honestly)

As soon as he turned to shoot the woman my Ruger would have clear it's holster and the killer would be dead. It's nice to have a license to carry concealed.

I dont know what I would say "oh look I have a spot on my shirt WAM"

How about:

I didn't see anything and I am willing to get my hands dirty, if you do not waste my life.

I'm here to see you acting my friend, even if I have to die right now.

First of all it would depend if the person(s) whitnessing it were in a war or in a similar situation before if they would be able to answer the question. As for me the smell wouldn't bother me seeing as I hunt, and all I got to think is ok we are going to die anyway so nothing has changed in the manner historically.

As for being deaf it would depend on what type of gun, caliber or gauge, and how close you were to the shootings. Also how loud the man asks the question. Me I can hear pretty good after shooting a 12 gauge with no ear plugs just a ringing in my ears. So I would probably hear the question.

Now to the answer:

Seeing as I carry my knife with me where ever I go (excluding government buildings :D) I think he would be finding a blade stuck in his neck the second he made for the gun. If I didn't have it on me though then I don't know what I would say seeing as I could not imagine the situation mentaly. It would depend on too many factors like how my personal and professional life was doing at that moment in times and how I was feeling physiacally. So I could not give a straigh answer and I think he would kill me anyways seeing as he never said he wouldn't shoot you even if you had a perfect reason for your life.

Just my thought

-Steve

I am like Animal and TheTerrorist_75. However, I do not carry because I work in a school enviroment. Realistically... I would use anything I could to my advantage. A can of corn thrown as hard as you can will disable anyone if it makes contact to the enemy's head That little can of WD-40 in the register isle would also cause great discomfort if sprayed in the eyes. I want to survive and any diversion to get away will be attempted.

I know exactly what you are getting at,I was just pressing your buttons and I opologise.
I would think he wouldn't say a word,just aim the gun at me.
If I didn't die of fright on the spot, and I was able to talk,I would say you would be hurting my wife who would no longer have a soulmate,My sons who still need a Father and my Granddaughters who still love their Grandpa.I beg for mercy.Close my eyes and if he still was mad enough to shoot,hope the gun misfires.

Given that situation happening before my eyes. I would sincerely hope that I would be standing in line behind someone like Animal or The_terrorist75, because if not.. I would expect to die. I'd like to think that I would have nothing to say to my executioner. I would not deign to answer him or justify myself to him.. If I am able to say or hear anything I would like to be able to say before I die.. you justify yourself to me.

I actually answered without reading thru the posts. Now having read them. I think I have reacted somewhere in the first shot. As perhaps the first would have goten off due to positon. The second wouldn't. I answered from only the perspective of he turned to face me.

I have been reading the last few posts, the ones where the bad guy gets shot.

Extraordinary!!! I did not expect so many people to totally miss the point of the question posed by athelos; Justify your reason for being. Not how would you shoot a guy, or how do you take down a perpetrator.

The man with the gun was just meant to set the scene for goodness sake. If you want to take this literally, I would say that if the USA had fewer guns, this madman would probably come into the store with a knife or a baseball bat, instead of a gun. I bet this fool had a licence to carry concealed before he went mad and decided to kill a few people. Maybe someone 'dissed him.

So, forget how you would stand up for your rights. Forget how you would kill him with a shot to the head, because you have a licence to carry concealed. Forget disarming him with your martial arts moves.

What is the reason for your existence?

My reason for existance is to serve the almighty God and his son Jesus.

Good enough for you Constatine? Because that is why I exist. As for my earlier post I was just merely taking it for how it was displayed.

-Steve

Hi Pandy,I can't understand and don't believe you that you would be too proud to beg for your life.
You would rile the gunman and most likely get blown away for not showing that he's Boss.
I don't believe that everyone in the shop should play Wyatt Earp.If you haven't had proper pistol shooting practice,my guess is you would have a good chance of missing your target.Having pot shots at animals does not make you a crack shot.Even Police here have regular pistol Training.You could have a potential bloodbath on your hands,if everything didn't go as planned.I don't think fighting violence with violence is the answer,but thats only my opinion.

My question to you is where does is say this is a metaphysical exercise? How is it you are the one now judging we missed the point? The only one as far as I am concerned qualified to make that statement is the person who presented the scenario. No where do I see this presented as an exercise in philosophy and metaphysics. And if in fact that is the case, not defining the parameters leaves room for improvisation, which was not considered off limits. So I feel I thought "outside the box", if this was an exercise.

And I answered the question. Mortals are not worthy of an answer. Only my higher power needs to know, in my opinion.

Wow! Its getting quite heated here . I apologise if i wasnt clear enough but Constantine was right. The scenario was merely a "tool" if you would. I could have simply said something along the lines of "In 3 lines or less, what gives your life meaning?" but that would not have had the same effect. I wanted to put you on the spot and get a heart felt, emotional answer. Maybe this worked too well (or too bad depending on the way you look at it) as ive definately got emotional responses just in the wrong way!!!

Like i said, Constantine was exactly right. I know some people would be able to fight back and others wouldnt. To be honest if it actually happened I would rather try to fight back. But it hasnt happed (as far as im aware) and hopefully it never will.

Those who are offened by it. Im sorry but i kept within the guidlines set by the speak easy rules. I even got a private message from a moderator saying that this is exactly the kind of thread the speak easy is looking for. Im sorry but i cant see what is so offensive about it.

Hope this has cleared some issues up.

Ben

I actually find this topic very intresting, but I also think it is too emotional for others. It is The Speak Easy though and if it is in the rules I am all game for it.

-Steve

DSTM.. I am not justifying my existence to a madman.. in the apparently useless hope that he will spare my life. I'm not going to try to appease this said gunman and foster a false hope in my own mind he will spare me. Why would he? He didn't spare anyone else. He is going to kill me. What do I do I do? Beg? Cry? Justify myself? Nuh UHN he can justify himself to me.. what is the reason for his existence.. to be my death? No.. I'd like to think that I would have enough fortitude to hold my head up and die with a little pride.. not crying and pleading. This is just a scenario with no right or wrong answer. In fact I think it's a moot point because Animal and The_Terrorist75 have all ready saved me. Thanks Guys *WHEW* that was a close one eh? {{{{grateful Hugs}}}}

That's how I choose to think of it. I'm not wrong. Neither is anyone else.

Nice reply Pandy, I agree there really is no right or wrong answers.

-Steve

I am fully trained when it comes to using weapons and reaction to threats. The U.S.M.C. and living on the streets provided that training many years ago. I have had guns, knives and other weapons trained on me. I have been shot, stabbed, cut, burned and had shrapnel embedded in me. I have been confirmed dead twice, but brought back to life through the diligence and hard work of medical personnel. I do not fear death nor no man.

As for justifying my existence to someone, I would not and could not do that. I exist therefore I am.

athelos should rename this thread "RAMBO'S TO THE RESCUE" because that's what it's turned into.

I can't justify my existence to somebody else. Because what I think is important, and what I believe and know, a lot of people would laff off or shrug off. So I'd probably just stand there like an idiot wondering if I would be able to see the bullet coming at me..

You know, I'm starting to think you may be right DSTM!!! Although the people who have understood where I wanted to go with this have given very good answers. It gives a real insight into different people and how they think and what they hold dear, etc.

To Wildabeast: I realise it is potentially a very personal question so I am not going to push anyone for an answer. All I can say is that I am not going to "laff or shrug off" any serious comments made here.

athelos,
I don't mean to imply you or anybody here, but if some psycho was holding a gun to my head.... I don't think I could justify it. I mean, I'm not sure what I'm doing here, I have a great belief in God And Jesus, I've had enough miracles in my life to prove that to me, but to someone like that???? They probably only believe in the power they hold in their hand so it would be very hard to convince a person like that of anything they don't agree with.

Believe me when I say scumbags such as that hypothetical thug have no remorse or feelings toward other individuals. Many are truly warped and committed to their actions. I am not a Rambo, just a person who has dealt and lived with some very nasty people. Some of the actions I have witnessed from these people were totally outrageous, which includes murder. I walked away from that life style many years ago, but it still haunts me. My experiences have caused me to stay alert to the dangers surrounding us and my reaction to these dangers is still active within me, though a bit dulled.

In terms of "what would I do in a violent situation" the answer is I don't know. Probably freeze, faint, or do something incredibly stupid and don't ask me what 'cause I don't know. Chances are good, unless someone like Animal or Boopme were there, I'd wind up dead if such a maniac was indeed causing such mayhem.

In terms of "justify my existence," I can't. I cannot provide any valid reasons for why I should be alive or not alive.

In terms of "what is the meaning of life," I turn to Robert Fulghum's book, It was on Fire when I lay Down on it. I cannot find my copy right now as my library is in utter chaos, but there are at least three stories in which he pursues this question. In one of them, he is attending a class held by someone who has done remarkable work in healing a war-divided people. The instructor held up a piece of mirror he had found and polished and created an analogy. Basically, he said the meaning of his life was to cast light into places that otherwise would not get that light, and he used that bit of mirror to show how that could be done. To me, that seems to resemble most closely the meaning of my life. The story certainly reached me, and I would suggest seeking out that book as he tells the story so much better than my rough paraphrase.

It is a life-long journey to discover the meaning of life, and it is not an answer that can be provided in 20 seconds. My answer has changed and deepened as I have gotten older.

Orange Blossom

WOW this is a really coool debate! ok ermmmm

"at the moment my life is neither here nor there for its you whos holding the answer, come on then, shoot me"

ha ha like i'd have the balls to say that...or i'd say...

"Each moment that question has a different answer, right now, its you whos holding it...so come on then?" more or less the same as the first hmmm...

ha ha or if i was in one of me sarky moods i might say....

"why did the chicken cross the road" ha hah aha

hmmm and i think another answer i would give would be.

"whats your justification mate?"

ha ha hahah orrrrrr

"fancy a cuppa tea ana scone" (exaggerated cockney accent) LMAO....aaah i LOVE THIS, i could go on for ages but i'll stop ha ha hah BYE!

Existence was thrust upon me. Why should I justify it?

i didn't read all the posts, i'm just responding to the first one

everyone can find some kind of selfish reason for themselves to exist, whether it their kids, their job, a noble cause....whatever. but when it comes down to it, EVERYONES main goal is to survive. so you'd just have to bs the guy, and just hope he bought whatever crap you spit out

Excuse me, it seems to me that you Americans are all packed with arms or Holy Book.
Just like in my country when we were in war 10 yrs ago!
OK, what would I do depends of how scared I`d be.
If I am very scared I do not think, then it`s run or fight.
If I can think I`d say something about being to young to die, there`s so many things I have to see, do, learn, and share before I`ll be ready to check out. He can ask me that question in about 100 yrs. I might be grown enough to know what am I doing here.
Right now, I`m just beginner and there is so much I do not know. And when I learn something, I find much more questions then facts I can rely on.
It`s obvious, I have to stay here for next century or two...

I would say: I am too young to die. If you shoot me, one day it will haunt you. You took away a young, innocent life for no reason. You have no right to shoot me. I don't make your choices - you do.

Then again I could do the thing where if there are standing directly in front of you, you can always look to the left/right and make a wired facial expression. This will most likely make him turn around slightly giving you the very minimal chance that you an knock his gun out of his hand. He is surprised and when knocking the gun out, make sure you try to land it near your foot. Kick him in the face when he lunges down for it (Hope to break something) he lifts up grab the gun and aim it at him. Don't shoot. Call the police. Situation solved.

Or...hope for the best someone does something

This isn't something that you can laugh at because there is always the chance of something like this happening.

David

I have been IN situations where hypothetical questions /senarios have been asked and from that

I think that dealing IN hypotheticals can be a dangerous ground psychologically ; the person giving their answer to whatever the situation is , is at rish of being belittled and 'downed' , disrespected for giving THEIR reaction that others think is just plain stupid or beyond credibility ; and if you say THAT is not possible ? ..believe you me ................it IS....I speak from experiece on that point


I do not justify my existance.

God, my Father, (my Daddy)whom I respect and worship alone ,DOES

In a recent Job interview, I WAS asked how I would deal WITH a specific emergency situation ; my respose? I said my honest answer is I cannot tell you how I would react TO that situation as I will only know that when it happens as each time is different



on a side-note ( lighhearted touch)

I seem to have above me three people who ARE authorised to carry and use weapons ; and one who carries a knife ( legally?); and sounds like a good handful who are Martial Arts Trained?

with them in front of me tackling this incident I have already run out to call the Police


And now , because you have assumed to right to play with my life , I suspect you WILL shoot me because, as I originally said, I have NOT given you the 'right answer '.......................

To live my life in such a way that I never have to shy away from the mirror or apologize to my children.

Did you get the job?!!

As for the original question, if I don't take the matter literally, i.e. the man holding the gun between my eyes is just there as a metaphor, i.e. I'm obliged to answer, the answer would be to serve my Lord on earth, worship 'Him' and to do Good so that I may taste the fruits of my labour in the hereafter. The atheist might have a different story...