Paid To Be Shot?

I would first like it to be known that this post is in no way meant to undermine the severity of the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16th, 2007; I sympathize with everyone involved and affected by the tragedy and wish them only the very best during the recovery process.

I came across this New York Times article yesterday following up on the VT shootings. The article mentions the compensation available to the perished victims' families and the recovering victims of the shooting. While I'm glad that there is financial support for those involved, I thought to myself "would I get shot for that much money?"

So I pose this question: would you get shot for $50,000? Would you do it for $90,000? Would you do it for a free education? What is the price in which you would submit to being shot?

For me there is one major component of the proposal that needs to be confirmed before any decision can be made; would I have the chance of dying or would I be guaranteed to live? If I had the chance of dying I would say I ultimately value life more than money and the answer is no. If I was guaranteed to live I would say yes. Yes because that amount of money can be life-changing and physical pain can come from many seemingly harmless places (i.e. recreational sports that yield no financial gain).

I'm curious: would it be worth it to you?

- Mitch G