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the point of the trolley problem isn't a numbers game. it's a responsibility game. the single person tied to the alternate track was never in danger, was never going to be in danger, and would have lived if you weren't there. choosing not to pull a lever is choosing to shed responsibility. choosing to pull it makes you directly responsible for that one person's death. could you take that? could you look a family in the eye and tell them that the death of their loved one saved a mere five people, that *you killed someone* for a mere five people? it's not an exchange. it was never an exchange. it has always been about you, holding a lever, with a choice to make, nothing to lose, and six people on the line.
*The Pines Family (and Bill) are gathered together in the Mystery Shack's living room as Mabel attempts to teach a lesson about ethics using the infamous trolley problem. Bill is fixated on doodling on the paper he's holding*
Mabel: "Bill. You've been quiet. What do you think about this?"
Handyman Bill: "Well, obviously the dilemma is clear: How do you kill all six people?"
*He turns the paper he was drawing on around, so that the Pines can see it properly. It's a vivid depiction of bloodshed and massacre utilizing creative methods that only a psychopath could think of...which he is. Sparkly, red glitter is glued on to color and illustrate the blood rushing from the victims' wounds*
Bill: "Well, I would dangle a sharp blade out of a window to slice the neck of the guy on the other track as we swoosh our five main guys."
*He looks around expectantly only to be met with tired expressions, too used to this kind of mayhem*
Bill: "Oh... I did the thing again, didn't I?"
Mabel: "Yeah. Ten more more, buddy."
*She flips around the blackboard she had borrowed from Ford to use for her lesson to reveal hundreds of "People=Good" messages scribbled on the other side in chalk*
Bill: "People. Good. People... Why is that so hard to remember? "
(The "Handyman Bill AU" was created by @/LosanPostle and @/waty_mot on Twitter)
(Incorrect Quote sourced from the episode "The Trolley Problem" of the series "The Good Place".)