CMO_Ratchet

This sort of situation only attributes to the terrible bystander effect we have. Not only do people think 'someone else will help so I don't have to' now they have this constant worry of 'will I get hurt? Will this negatively effect me? Will I be sued for helping?' etc. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. I'm glad and thankful for what this guy did and hope you can pass that message along. Stories like this remind me of the tale of the boy and the starfish.

Little boy is throwing star fish back into the ocean at the break of dawn, old man walking the beach asks him why. Little boy says "If they don't get back in the water, they will dry out and die."

Old man looks at the beach, covered with starfish and laughs, "There are thousands of starfish, you'll never make a difference."

The little boy picked up a starfish and looked at it, before throwing it back into the surf and said, "I made a difference to that one."

We may not be able to change the world, but that lifeguard helped save a life that otherwise may have been lost and for that he's got my thanks.

Hi Zach! I didn't know about you prior to Workout buddies but I've been going back and watching all of your stuff and I love it! It's been a rough time right now, my mom has been in the hospital for a month with a snowball of issues from liver and kidney failure to pancreatic nercrosis. It's starting to get better but it's a long and slow process. I wanted to just thank you, seeing you find humor in everything and not let anything get you down has been great for me and I've been showing videos to mom telling her how 'If Zach can do it so can you!' So just thank you for being you and a High Five Friday to you from Ashley and Mary in the hospital. And here is what I'm wondering, for me staying positive is just about finding humor in as much as I can and you've helped alot. For you how do you handle tough days or situations in order to spread the positve energy you do on your shows? I understand it can't be easy all of the time and there have got to be lots of challenges to overcome.

You are correct sir, Enough people, every day, could save all the starfish and I truly wish we could see something of that caliber happen in my life time, but I just don't think it will. Sure that makes me pessimistic but I still do what I can, I just know I can't force anyone else to get up at the butt crack of dawn to go toss starfish back into the water.

I agree, I've always thought trying to make someone do something is usually going to backfire, even if they were neutral to the idea beforehand. I think that's the best we can do, like I said, individually doing what you can, educating without preaching, etc.

Thinking of more expanded situations. There's a car crash, you pull someone from a burning car, you're later sued because they end up paralyzed. Sure there are good samaritan laws but they don't protect against every case. My father works as a firefighter and I hear lots of bad situations from them where emts or firefighters are getting suspended, fired and sued because they tried to do the right thing, did the right thing, or did exactly what the concious, lucid adult told them to and a family member complained that they didn't take said injured person to the hospital (which is considered abduction unless said person is showing signs of mental instability, etc).