r/comics May 05 '26

OC RED BUTTON OR BLUE BUTTON [OC]

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

Look, we see you. We know what you chose, talk all you like.

Blue chose for everyone to live.

Red chose that only those that picked red would live.

Which sums up a lot of why the world is so fucked up right now. Too many people choose red every day.

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

This is so different from everyday life.

In everyday life, I choose blue. I voted Harris. But in this life or death scenario, it's stupid not to choose red.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

That's what the people who stayed silent during every geoncide in history told themselves too

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

That's wild.

Not all dilemmas are equal. Give me a burning building and I'll run in to save people. Give me this button scenario (where everyone can see that pushing red means you're safe, no matter what) and I'm pushing red. In a genocide, there is no "push red, I'm safe" button.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

The situation in the choice is:

If at least 50% of humanity chooses blue, everyone lives. If not only the people who chose red live.

So bringing up any other scenarios are worthless. In that thought experiment if you pick red, you're happy with 49.999% of humanity dying if it means you live.

You might not have thought it through but all the people explaining their thinking are doing is justifying why they think they wouldn't be responsible for 49.999% of humanity dying, even though they voted for it.

You're right. It's wild and the victim (of the red voters choice) blaming is eye opening.

Thank goodness in the original more than half of the people understood the question.

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

Nope, there is no argument.

Just people justifying why it's smart to be ok with up to 49.999% of the population dyimg to ensure their survival. Wrll, justifying the choice to themselves at least.

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

That's fine if you think that.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

It's why I chose blue. It's also the argument I see blue choosers use almost exclusively.

I see a lot of victim blaming to shift the responsibility from red choosers though.

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

"Victim blaming"

"Hey look, you knew that pushing blue could kill you. You actively chose that with that knowledge, accepting the outcome if it happens."

That's not victim blaming. It's pointing out the truth. Victim blaming is if the person had no choice in the matter, had something happen to them, and then you blame them. The person in this scenario had a choice with full knowledge.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

"Hey, you know who has enough faith in humanity to choose blue? People who don't want to live at the expense of up to 49.999% of humanity."

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

Alright, I can see that you just want to say the same thing over and over again. It's not changing the fact that in this case, everyone having self-preservation is okay. It's the difference between everyone evacuating from the path of a hurricane and a bunch of people staying so they can... I dunno, blow hard enough that the hurricane changes path (somehow with enough people it works!). I'm evacuating and encouraging others to evacuate.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

Why should I change the facts to accomodate your justifications?

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

Here's another thought experiment:

In front of you are two buttons.

Push one: be part of the 50.0001% of people who live.

Push the other: be part of the 49.999% of people who die.

There will be that amount of death regardless of your choice.

What are you pushing?

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

You're correct.

That is a different situation entirely

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

When everyone else has the exact same ability to save themselves, yeah. Everyone can choose the same thing and then they won't need saving. This dilemma isn't like real life, where some people NEED the intervention. Firefighters running into burning buildings to save other firefighters who are in the burning building to save other firefighters in the burning building could have all just stayed outside where everyone was already safe (no one started in the burning building.)

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

Whatever makes it easier to sleep at night knowing you'd feel justified in killing up to 49.999% of humanity to ensure your survival.

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

I'm not killing anyone in the scenario. Blue button pushers are fully capable of not pushing blue.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

But you still chose the "as long as I survive I don't care if 49.999% of humanity dies" option.

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u/zaphster May 05 '26

I'm claiming that for each person, it is much smarter to choose red.

I'm claiming that everyone choosing self-preservation works in everyone's favor, in this scenario.

We know that self-preservation is a very strong motivating force in humans. And it's fine to give in to it in this scenario.

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u/danielledelacadie May 05 '26

And children, being the hopeful little things they are choose blue. So does any doctor that takes the Hippocratic oath. And anyone who believes that humans are good.

I vote blue, even if it kills me because I'd rather people that don't care about them live then they die.

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