A Gun to Her Head

A Gun to Her Head

I was watching a movie the other day. The good guy was chasing the bad guy. Both had guns, but the bad guy had a hostage. Then came the inevitable confrontation scene. The bad guy held a gun to the head of his hostage and informed the good guy that if he did not put his gun down he would kill her. The good guy gave up his gun. The bad guy picked up the good guy's gun and killed the hostage with it. Then he tried to kill the good guy, but he escaped, and, of course, the bad guy got away too.

I have seen this so many times. What amazes me is that the good guy puts his gun down. This is the only choice that he should not make! It is a pure stand off. If the bad guy shoots the hostage, the bad guy dies instantly. He can't shoot the hostage unless he wants to be killed. And if he wants to die, he would just kill the hostage or point the gun at the good guy. (They call it "death by cop.")

The good guy has three better choices than surrender. The first is to simply back out of the room. The second is for the good guy to talk to the bad guy while watching the position and angle of the bad guys gun. When it points away from a kill shot on the hostage, take the shot. And the third, a variation of number two, is for the good guy to explain that the only way the bad guy leaves alive is to surrender the hostage. Then tell the bad guy that he, the good guy, will count to five and that on five he will shoot the bad guy if he doesn't let her go. Shoot on four!

If I were the hostage I would want the good guy to take the shot. At ten or fifteen feet, he couldn't miss and the bad guy would probably be so surprised he wouldn't even be able to pull the trigger. No matter what happened, it would be over. And for all you good guys out there, I forgive you if the tactic fails. But for God's sake, DON'T GIVE UP YOUR GUN!

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