Aye, manly
men. Wait, isn't that a Monty Python line? From the OK Lumberjacks skit?
Yes, subjective. There are many
parts of the world where life is
cheap and if someone sees you in
distress, it is perfectly acceptable to wait until you've gone away or died, and then scavenge your
boat. Or, take you captive and hold you for ransom if you can't pay something out of pocket as a "gratuity".
Sorry, guys, the Western PolyAnna bit isn't universal, much as we might like it to be. Nor is the "compulsion" of laws, in many places. Heck, aren't there still roads in
Mexico where tourists are told "Don't drive there, there are bandits" ? And that's just one spot, not a bang on
Mexico. Guerillas and civil wars in...how many other places? Does the phrase "the former Yugoslavia" sound familiar? Rwanda?
Columbia?
Nicaragua? Not to say, getting mugged or gang attacked in London or LA? Kitty Genovese, in NY?
No one has a monopoly on "duty" and the lack thereof. The the Church of Rome seems to have a persistant problem with priests buggering altar boys, and bishops hushing it under the rug. Ooopsie.