Understanding People, I'm trying

In light of that fact that I have been bickerring with someone, who I would consider to be a good friend, lately, about the true intent of my words on this blog... I've been inspired to post one of the most difficult activities I've ever taken part in, to see where a person's true intentions lie.

When I went to MATC, this assignment was given to our speech class. What it has to do with speech, I'm still not sure?. What it DID do however, was open our eyes to what it really means to understand others, and not just pre-judge from what little you may or may not know about an individual. This was after 9/11 so the atmosphere around this assignment was very serious. Almost too serious. It is meant to be a worksheet for coming to a consensus within a group of varied beliefs, opinions and walks of life. So it was perfect for MATC, otherwise known as
Milwaukee's Area Tribunal Counsel.
If you're a fan of the show Unanimous, 24, Survivor or even LOST, you'll probably enjoy this activity. Or even if you just enjoy playing Devil's advocate.
It has stayed with me ever since that speech class and I've just now found it on the web after a dozen or so word searches.
***By the way, my group never came to an ultimate unanimous decision. Rather, some of us "broke the rules" and gave in, for the better of our grades.
If you would like to post your top 4 picks in the comment box, I would enjoy seeing your thought process in critical descision making.
I will list MY top 4 picks (that to this day, still remain the same) after I've given other people the chance to fairly look within themselves, instead of trying to challenge my ideals.
Enjoy!

“Airplane Hostages”


Instructions:
A plane has been hijacked! The hijackers offer to release four passengers to the U.S. embassy. In return for this gesture, the government of a neutral country will agree to allow the plane to land at its airport and refuel.
The captors insist, however, that U.S. authorities select the four to be released from the following list. The President has given your group the job of making the selection. If you do not select the people, the hijackers are perfectly willing to allow the plane to run out of gas and crash, killing all passengers. You must reach a decision by consensus, and you must do so within the next half hour.
You may assume the terrorists are honest about releasing those who are chosen to be released. You do not know what will happen to those who remain on the plane, but given what is known about this particular terrorist group, you expect most or all of the remaining hostages probably will die.
Quickly rank the following passengers in the order in which you would choose them to be released. In the column titled “Your rank,” place the number 1 by the hostage you would save first, the number 2 by the one you would save second, and so on through number 8, the hostage you would save last.

Hostages Your Rank

1. Brenda Jones, age 27, has three children by three different fathers, none of whom she has married. She loves her children, however, and has resolved to get her life together for the children’s sake. Her mother is caring for them so Brenda can attend a six-week training program for women who lack job skills.

2. Fr. John O’Brien, 65 years old, is in excellent health. A Roman Catholic priest, he has dedicated his life to working with the poor in an inner-city ghetto. He is taking this flight to arrange for funding and personnel that will enable him to set up a program to carry on his life’s work after he becomes unable to work. Should he die at this time, the work probably will end.

3. Juan Garcia is 45. He has a history of heart trouble and might not survive the stress of a prolonged hostage situation. He is a wealthy businessman whose estate would easily provide for his wife and three young children, even if he should die in the hijacking. His business, however, which has employed and given dignity to many Hispanic people, probably would fold without his vision and drive, putting many people out of work who will not be able to find jobs

4. Elijah Brown is 52. He did time in jail for armed robbery. Since his release two years ago, he has worked hard, gone to school part time, and supported his invalid wife and youngest child (the only one remaining at home). There would be no money to provide for his family in the event of his death.

5. Betsy Bates, 29, is a well-known and successful model. Married a little over a year to rock star Duke, she has just found out that she is pregnant, a discovery she views with mixed feelings.

6. Congresswoman Jan Perkins is 47. Widowed young, when her husband died in the crash of an Air Force plane while on a diplomatic mission for the State Department, she has devoted her life to politics. She has been an effective and eloquent worker for peace and for the rights of women and minorities. Her death would be a crushing emotional blow to her elderly parents, though she has provided for them financially in her will. Perkins is widely seen as the most likely candidate for the first woman President of the United States.

7. D. B. Calhoun is 43. Little is known about him, except that he is a very bigoted person with an unstable employment history. He reads Soldier of Fortune and similar magazines, and dreams about being a mercenary. It is quite possible that he will try some hostile action against the hijackers and ruin any chance of getting the remaining hostages out alive.

8. Andrea Ohms, at 19, is already a distinguished pianist, having started performing professionally at age 8. Her performances give immense pleasure to thousands of people around the world. She is engaged to be married.

THE RULES

Your task is to reach a consensus ranking of the four hostages to be released by the terrorists. This means that the ranking for each of the four should be agreed upon by each member of the group before it becomes part of the group decision. Here are some guidelines to use in reaching consensus.

1. Don’t argue stubbornly for your own point of view just because it is yours. (An emotion that greatly exists in the blogosphere) Listen to other members of the group and be willing to change your views on the basis of reason and logic.

2. On the other hand, don’t change your mind simply to avoid disagreement. Seek differences of opinion and try to get every member involved in the decision-making process. The more information you have, the better chance you will have of making a sound decision.
3. Avoid such techniques as majority vote, averaging, flipping coins, and bargaining

So who would YOU choose? Some of them seem like "no brainers" but you would be surprised at how many people have deep set prejudices they don't even know about. Others hold the belief of "Don't judge me until you walk a mile in my shoes"

I love projects like these, because it really helps someone to better see who they are.

This is my attempt to live up to the TROLLING I've been described as doing. With something like this, I encourage everyone to participate.