hostage situations

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we all watch tv right? just for a minute let's believe we do.

you ever see those situations where the bad guy has one arm around the chick and a gun in the other, and he's holding the love interest in the direct line of fire of the good guy? you'll notice they all tell the hero to "put the gun down."

that's not how that works, it's rather frustrating, because the only thing keeping you from shooting him is the meat shield of a love interest in front of him, and the only thing keeping him from shooting the chick is you still have a gun trained at his center of mass.

if this was any movie, the hero would slowly put the gun down and the bad guy would shoot him in the leg. only for something to go wrong for the bad guy, and the hero karate chops him in the throat.

but that's not how this works, that's not how the world works, and good doesn't triumph over evil when it makes a good story. the correct way to handle this situation is to hold onto your gun, and calmly explain to him that the only thing keeping you from busting your clip in him is the fact that he has a love interest in front of him. then explain to him that if he shoots him/her he will die.

this is because, the only thing keeping you from shooting him is the love interest, the only thing keeping him from shooting the love interest is your gun, the only thing keeping you from putting down your gun is the safe knowledge that if you do he will shoot the love interest after shooting you. don't believe me? this is what boot camp tells you if you train to be a police officer, or an armed forces person, the first place you go to learn anything about the hell you will be placed into teaches you what not to do. and that is, to put the gun down.

this has been a PSA from the: piss off a scientist foundation. (mad scientist, kekekekeke)