moral dilemma
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moral dilemma
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 someguyincanada Send message Joined: 6 Jul 02 Posts: 144 Credit: 912,086 RAC: 0 
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Tonight I went to the Mcdonalds for some food. There was this kid about 15ish who took my order. As my order was being made, I watched a kid behind the counter drop a paper bag. He looked down at the paper bag and then started to kick the bag a few times and then booted it under the fry machine. The whole time I watched him do this not saying anything. When he brought me my food, I told him "The amount of energy you used on kicking that bag, you could have bent down and picked it up and put it in the garbage next to the fry machine". The kid looked at me and started to cry. Was I wrong or mean in saying this to him? ID: 825144 ·  |
kittyman     Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004 
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Tonight I went to the Mcdonalds for some food. There was this kid about 15ish who took my order. As my order was being made, I watched a kid behind the counter drop a paper bag. He looked down at the paper bag and then started to kick the bag a few times and then booted it under the fry machine. The whole time I watched him do this not saying anything. When he brought me my food, I told him "The amount of energy you used on kicking that bag, you could have bent down and picked it up and put it in the garbage next to the fry machine". The kid looked at me and started to cry. Was I wrong or mean in saying this to him? Nope....you were right......geez, the kid's gotta learn sometime. If his parents didn't teach him right from wrong, maybe he's gotta pick up some lessons from a stranger....hopefully he gets the right lessons from the right stranger..... It should not be that way, but do not feel that you have done anything wrong by trying to show him the light of day. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster 
ID: 825148 · |
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Ianab Send message Joined: 11 Jun 08 Posts: 732 Credit: 20,635,586 RAC: 5 
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You probably reminded him that it was his job to clean under the fryer at the end of the shift.... ID: 825215 · |
AndyW   Send message Joined: 23 Oct 02 Posts: 5862 Credit: 10,957,677 RAC: 18 
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You probably reminded him that it was his job to clean under the fryer at the end of the shift.... LOL. I also think you did good. If the kid doesn't know what's right at his age then he has to start learning quickly! ID: 825217 · |
AriZonaMoon*  Send message Joined: 26 Apr 06 Posts: 5556 Credit: 1,541,289 RAC: 0 
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Hmm.. If a 15 year old boy starts to cry because of what you told him, there is some major wrong.. and I do not think that has anything to do with a paper bag........ ;p ..when it comes to the question in the situation itself.. No..you did not do wrong.. By being told this from a stranger may even be the one thing that cause him to remember - next time he start kicking trash instead of picking it up and put it where it shall be.. ;-)) But his reaction is definitely not from your saying alone.... Someone must have pushed him pretty hard lately.........  ID: 825240 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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Moral dilemma.......what would Jesus do???? Just last night I had to do this..... For the second time in the last two weeks, my usual stop after work charged me the wrong price for a few packs of cigs.............. Bought 4 packs.......the gal charged me for about 2...... I went back the next day and asked the owner to charge me to take his take for the other packs.........he now thinks I am the only last honest person left on this earth.........which may be true, considering his experience........ Am I the only one left who would ask to be taken out for the right amount? He seems to think so.......... But I am happier for having done so.......my concciense would not let me alone if I had done otherwise.... "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 825242 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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And am I strange in having something over my shoulder that bothers me that I had to do that? I really would have been upset if I had not made that right......... I mean really.......I would not have been able to sleep at night if I had not made that right.......... Or would you all have taken the change and run? What would the kitties do??????? "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 825243 · |
[KWSN]John Galt 007  Send message Joined: 9 Nov 99 Posts: 2444 Credit: 25,086,197 RAC: 0
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Tonight I went to the Mcdonalds for some food. There was this kid about 15ish who took my order. As my order was being made, I watched a kid behind the counter drop a paper bag. He looked down at the paper bag and then started to kick the bag a few times and then booted it under the fry machine. The whole time I watched him do this not saying anything. When he brought me my food, I told him "The amount of energy you used on kicking that bag, you could have bent down and picked it up and put it in the garbage next to the fry machine". The kid looked at me and started to cry. Was I wrong or mean in saying this to him? No, you didn't do anything wrong. We need more people in this world to point out what is right. Moral dilemma.......what would Jesus do???? I would have done the same thing. It just shows that you are an honest person with a good heart... But, I thought you weren't buying those anymore....maybe it is a bigger test for you... Clk2HlpSetiCty:::PayIt4ward 
ID: 825264 · |
Carlos  Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 29819 Credit: 57,275,487 RAC: 157
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And am I strange in having something over my shoulder that bothers me that I had to do that? I really would have been upset if I had not made that right......... Mark, you did the right thing. I would have, and have, done the same thing many times. It's a lesson that I try to teach my kids. I don't ask myself "what would Jesus do" I ask "How would I like to be treated if the roles were reversed." Chances are that the cashier is not making very much. If the kitty is short that night, the cashier gets to make up the loss. I sure don't think the cashier making minimal wage should pay for your cigs. By the way, I thought you had quit? ID: 825272 · |
Fuzzy Hollynoodles  Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 9659 Credit: 251,998 RAC: 0 |
Moral dilemma.......what would Jesus do???? I would have done the same. In fact I have done a few times, telling the person at the cash register that he/she had charged me for too little or given me too much money back. I know they will get in trouble in the warehouses if the money in their cash register don't balance with the accounts, and they can get fired. Opposite I also tell them if they give me too little money in return. That's just who I am. If I cheat others then I shouldn't complain when they cheat me. So I don't cheat others. I have the same attitude as my boss, she says that when she's honest about things and what to report, then she has the mocking right if others are doing wrong to her or accuse her of not reporting right. "I'm trying to maintain a shred of dignity in this world." - Me 
ID: 825287 · |
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AriZonaMoon* Send message Joined: 26 Apr 06 Posts: 5556 Credit: 1,541,289 RAC: 0
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Moral..? That should be a part of us.. not something we "put on..." , and then explain why we do things, and then having to dig up others dont`s.. If there wasnt people who in our eyes behaves "un-morally", we couldnt walk around feeling "moral" ..could we? A really high-moral person doesnt put names or questions on it. so.. do and forget. ;-) - now Coconut - Run! lol ID: 825289 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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True.......the best test of my mettle would be to not be buying the cigs in the first place........ But it wouldn't matter if I was buying cigs or a can of tuna for the kitties...... The cashier was in error in my favor, and I just could not go home having a clear conscience without trying to make it right....... Something in the back of my mind would not allow me to do so these days....... Wicked thing, that conscience..........I would not have it any other way. And believe me folks........having the smile of the store owner looking my in the eye and thanking me for being such an honest man from the bottom of his heart was worth a thousand times what that few dollars would have meant in my pocket if I had just taken the money and walked away.......... Priceless....... "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 825299 · |
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Blurf Send message Joined: 2 Sep 06 Posts: 8962 Credit: 12,678,685 RAC: 0
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You both did the right thing! As to the fryer---there are obviously WAY bigger issues then just a paper bag, however I suspect there may be a fire hazard in kicking a flammable paper bag under a fryer. Kudos for you too, Mark.   ID: 825378 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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You both did the right thing! Thanks Blurf.....but when your being gets set right, it is harder to walk away with that money in your pocket rather that to do what is right. As a younger lad, it would have been easier to take a hike and laugh at somebody else's mistake......I am no longer that young lad, and have learned much in my life's journey......... You see, when you have it right, there are not too many 'moral dilemmas'... It all becomes clearer to you what is wrong and what is right.....so the choice is a simple one. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 825382 · |
Allie in Vancouver  Send message Joined: 16 Mar 07 Posts: 3949 Credit: 1,604,668 RAC: 0
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Just a minor thought here: these aren’t really moral dilemmas, but ethical ones. Questions of moral right or wrong often involve spiritual or religious concepts as well, ethical questions do not. Unless Mark thought that he was going to be punished by Dog if he didn’t go back and pay for the cigarettes, it was an ethical decision. It be impossible for an atheist (ahem, not mentioning any names!) to be a truly moral person, but she could be an ethical one. RE the kid in the restaurant: I agree with Moon, there is clearly more going on in his life than someguyincanada’s comments. Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. Albert Einstein ID: 825390 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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Just a minor thought here: these aren’t really moral dilemmas, but ethical ones. Hmmm.....kenz..... I do not see much if any difference between 'moral' and 'ethical' issues...... It's all what one wants to make of one's self. And no, it was not the thought of future punishment that came into play......just my own ingrained sense of what is right and what is wrong...... Maybe my own self doubt if I did not do the 'right' thing....... But let me tell you again......having the store proprietor look me in the eyes and say 'thank you' for being an honest man........ That was worth more than any man could ask for.......believe me. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 825396 · |
Jeffrey  Send message Joined: 21 Nov 03 Posts: 4793 Credit: 26,029 RAC: 0 |
A really high-moral person doesnt put names or questions on it. so.. do and forget. As I've always said: If someone has to proclaim how (adjective of choice) they are, they probably aren't... ;)  It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .
ID: 825413 · |
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AriZonaMoon* Send message Joined: 26 Apr 06 Posts: 5556 Credit: 1,541,289 RAC: 0
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Hehehehehe... Ok you two... let me tell this once again.. mmhh.. or maybe not.. I just came in thought that i am not an expert, and that i first of all shall get the needle out of my hand, the mirror out of my eyes, and the walls out of my mind.. ;-) ID: 825429 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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Hehehehehe... It's either within you or it's not........ It can only be taught at an early age when such things can be intilled in a young person's mind........ The force of 'common sense' cannot be taught......it is something you are brought up with, or I guess it is lost to you forever....... "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 825441 · |
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AndyW Send message Joined: 23 Oct 02 Posts: 5862 Credit: 10,957,677 RAC: 18
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Moral dilemma.......what would Jesus do???? I share your honesty. Just last weekend a shop tried to give me £10 too much change and I told them and let them take it back. The worker in the shop would most likely have had short change in the till deducted from their wages and I wouldn't like to think anyone is going without something while I benefited something I wasn't entitled to. ID: 825445 · |
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