I wonder if the people basically saying the guy should have just let himself be eaten would be saying the same if it were their family member, child or partner being eaten alive? I'd venture a guess they'd not sit there and do nothing whilst hearing the agony of their dying loved one.
Just because you have no emotional attachment to this guard shouldn't mean you discard the value of his life.
Yes, the bear was just being a bear and encroachment on their territory whilst they're struggling to find food is foolhardy, but no, they don't deserve to be eaten alive.
Always a difficult comparison to make as I would not put my family into such danger. The general course of action would logically be to defend your family and kill the attacker. But for me personally it is difficult to get the comparison working as I, as mentioned at the start, would not put my family into such dangerous situations.
No emotional attachment means that people will discard the life of others easier, that is simply how the mind works most of the time. You may feel a tinge of sadness but not much above it for people that are really removed from you.
Real answer, I've been outdoorsy my whole life. Been camping every summer since I joined the cub scouts when I was a wee little marrec. One of the recurring themes during my camping trips was being aware that you are in a place where you can end up hurt or dead if you don't act accordingly. The Scout Master didn't carry a gun, and now that I camp as an adult I don't carry a gun. I do a lot of research beforehand to make sure I'm aware of local flora and fauna and if it's a bear area I carry bear mace and make sure to secure my food.
I camp because I love the outdoors, but camping is inherently dangerous and I'm aware of the danger and gladly accept it in order to get out and see the wild. Even now I follow the mantra, "take only photographs, leave only footprints". It IS possible to enjoy nature while putting both yourself and wildlife in minimal danger.
Disembarking on a beach in an area known to have polar bears is the opposite of enjoying nature while putting both yourself and wildlife in minimal danger.
I'd hope none of my family members would be callous enough to become a "polar bear guard" and I know for 100% certainty that my partner would leave me in an instant if I were to become one and would also expect me to let her get eaten by a bear rather than have me shoot one.
For some reason this reminds me of the Anime Yuru Camp (being an Anime about camping). Sounds like you have a good policy going, keep it up! =)
I asked because I was curious, in my head, understanding that people don't want to be moved from a place that they consider home is just normal, and something that is usually deeply respected.
That's the main problem with any "just close it down" mentality.
I understand that, my attachment is simply less due to how I grew up and matured in an emotional way. Growing up it was obvious that we would soon move again, therefore the attachment is less.
Personally I would respect it to a certain degree, which also depends on my position in the dialog this respect would get mentioned or appealed to. If my position in the hierarchy is higher then I maybe would reduce the weight I give to such sentiments as I have to think about more important and bigger goals then a family that is attached to their long standing home. At the same time I can understand, for example, elderly people that have lived in the same house for decades and have emotional attachment to it, thus finding it difficult to move out of the known environment.
In the end each situation would be different and I would have to re-evaluate it each time I would encounter such a situation.
Thus, to go back to my original point, I would need more information here if it is reasonable to keep a town running.
By the way, I mentioned this in another post in this thread, but I would consider moving some USA mining, struggling or almost deserted towns due to it not being logical to keep them where they are. It would be sad and emotional for those living there but some problems can't be fixed no matter what you try due to the location simply being totally against you. Same goes for the problems Japan faces with some rural villages. It always sounds heartless if you talk about it in such a statistical viewpoint and it seems you ignore the feelings of every single resident that lives in these small settlements, but sometimes you have to ignore these emotions as someone working in government and working towards a better goal. =/
I believe we will see this more and more that some areas will get reclaimed by nature as the years go by because people concentrate in specific areas.