Walk on by.It is our ignorance & lack of compassion that is killing this world.
By James72
@James72 (26790)
Australia
February 1, 2007 10:15pm CST
Come on. Admit it. We all think that someone else will take care of something so we ignore it and walk on by..... Take for example a time I was walking through the city; an elderly homeless man (who appeared drunk) had fallen and split his head open. I watched literally hundreds of people walk past, look at him in disgust and just keep on walking.....
Was he not a human being? Was he not in pain? Did he not need assistance? Myself and another stranger helped him to his feet and waited with him until an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.
This is SOOOO common. A teenager is bashed at a bus stop while 10 commuters look on..... A woman is assaulted and stabbed at a crowded bus station and even though there were at least 100 direct witnesses no one steps forward..... No one wants to get involved any more. "It's not my problem; I don't want to get involved etc etc" This is not good enough.
Nobody wants to get involved, everybody expects someone else to take care of it. But you know what, that "someone" doesn't always come. It is up to us as individuals to bring compassion back into our lives and be better people. Don't be ignorant, don't be oblivious to the needs of others; change this one small thing about yourself as an individual and collectively we can change the world.
Wake up.
7 people like this
14 responses
@Thomas73 (1467)
• Switzerland
2 Feb 07
What you're describing is unfortunately not new. I remember reading, in the early 80s, the story of this woman who was raped at knife point in one of the busiest metro stations of Paris. It was rush hour and about 500 people were said to be present... and not a single one did anything!
The crowd is anonymous and doesn't care. Man's gregarious instinct keeps the individual within the flock, and oblivious of unexpected and disturbing events that occur on the outside. Only by keeping our own individuality and acting in situations like the ones you and I described will we remain truly human. Otherwise, we're just sheep.
3 people like this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
2 Feb 07
Agreed. The "sheep mentality" is certainly alive and well in our society. The story you have mentioned in Paris..... Unbelievable; and each and every person who was there has to live with this for the rest of their lives. (if of course they even had any idea) Thanks for responding.
1 person likes this
@Tetchie (2932)
• Australia
3 Feb 07
Hi James, I admit it.Everyone seems to be waiting for someone else to fix their personal problems too. We as a society have become so self absorbed we now have no idea how to help someone else who is really desperate for help.
Our own neurosis has made us selfish, needy, obnoxious greedy, and above all ignorant and non caring.
Compassion comes from our hearts. Something has happened to our hearts. We are becoming so desperate as human beings. This is not good!
WAKE UP. I agree. WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP.
I send heartness to you for taking the time to express what is so fundamentally wrong with us today.
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
5 Feb 07
We all just assume that everyone else will take care of it..... In the long term, the effects on society will eventually show how human kinds lack of compassion will annihilate our sense of self and our sense of community. We will all be the worse off for it. Thanks for responding.
@emisle (3822)
• Ireland
2 Feb 07
It's interesing what you've said because it reminded me of something I heard. There were people talking to us in school a few years ago and they said that if you were being robbed in the street and shouted, 'help', that you would probably be ignored. However if you shouted,'fire', you would more than likely get many people rushing to your side.
1 person likes this
@beautifulceiling (1300)
• United States
3 Feb 07
You've received a lot of interesting replies, most of which I agree with. I'll focus my comments on the one part of your post I didn't see anyone else address.
The person you helped was a) elderly, b) homeless, and c) drunk. Any one of those three reasons would be enough to prevent most people from helping. All three together and it's a miracle that he had someone like you and the other stranger to recognize his humanity and do the right thing. This is because although we may claim to believe that all people are equal, most people don't really buy into that. There is an artificial scale of worth for humanity that most people aren't aware of having; or if they are they just quietly accept it. If we really and truly believed that human life has inherent value and it isn't based on anything as superficial as possessions or the ability to earn money, then we wouldn't act this way. I wonder what would have happened if it had been a cute, rich young girl who was sober. No, I don't wonder. Her chances would have been much better for receiving assistance because people value her more.
Bless you for helping.
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
5 Feb 07
Good point. If it had of been a rich, attractive person in trouble there would have been no end of help available to them! Obviously there are some situations where common sense would ensure that you walked on by rather than get involved but the issue is that many of the reasons used to do so are selfish and based on ignorance rather than a concern for personal safety. Thanks for responding.
@momokoseiya (453)
• United States
2 Feb 07
I agree. There is a severe lack of compassion in this world. I have never witnessed anything like this, but I would step in if I had seen something like what you described.
I guess people never want to get involved when it comes to other people. This society has taken the whole "it's not my problem" idea and blown it way out of proportion. It has made the world so cold these days.
1 person likes this
@Lush_heidi (994)
• United States
2 Feb 07
Kudos! More people need to help. Awhile back my hubby and I were at a mcdonalds and it was next to a gas station. Well we saw this guy sweeping the lot,and you could tell he was homeless. Hubby called him over and gave him 5.00 to go get some burgers! He literally cried and thanked us. I told him that at the time I worked in a book store and we made small talk. I asked what would you like for christmas? He answered a pocket bible. SO I went and purchased one for him,it took until almost easter to find him again and we called him over the car, gave him a few bucks and I gave him the bible. I was blessed to have met this man- even tho he had no home, he was thrilled to have a friend and that someone remembered him! I call him an angel, cause everytime we've given him something, something really good has happened in our lives!
1 person likes this
@fiyahcreation (2140)
• United States
2 Feb 07
so true, tahnks for the truw words james, the world is our oyster, and just because it effects another country or another family doesn't mean your'e not involved, wer'e all brothers and sisters
1 person likes this
@fiyahcreation (2140)
• United States
2 Feb 07
Unfortunately now, people will only look after themselves
@p0tterific (73)
• Pakistan
2 Feb 07
absolutely true and painful i dont know y ppl hav developed this selfish attitude they really seem not to care about anyone other then themselves
i just dont get it y r we moving towards isolation
@NancyLobo (680)
• India
3 Feb 07
Yes, it is very true as human beings we should try to give help when any situation demands it, but in my state though it is a very small state, people are friendly and once our car was hit from behind by another car, my husband got up to see and the people who hit our car were not worried about it so my husband got out of the car to see what has happened to our car, then there were verbal arguments then the people who hit our car from behind came to beat my husband, my kids were crying in the car, I went out to help him but it was not enough then a huge crowd gathered and helped my husband out and they had to apologize, yes there are many people who help. sometimes people are scared as the police gets involved and they fall in trouble so you can't balme people all the time, sometimes it is the law also which prevents people from helping the other.
@ananth85 (209)
• India
2 Feb 07
This is what most people like to do, but due to lack of assistance, there`s no one willing to do a job all alone. Everybody, seems to be busy, whether or not they are engaged in really important duty. Just to show a sympathy towards people like you`ve mentioned, the onlookers could atleast step forward and assist the victims. When you imagine yourself in such a situation, watching other people march past you, you`d feel the same that they`d have felt. That kinda thought is enough for people to transform into spiritual beings....
1 person likes this
@perrygunight (555)
• United States
3 Feb 07
Doing little things like picking up small items that people walking in front of us drop (mittens, train tickets, etc.) and giving them back is a start. I'm grateful when someone does this for me and they usually seem grateful too. Some of them seem genuinely surprised.
I came across an injured dog once. It wasn't long before a group of people had gathered and started crying. We gave the dog water and called an animal shelter, but I wonder if there would have been as much concern for a person.
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
2 Feb 07
Human nature hasn't changed much over the centuries. There have always been those who will ignore the distress of others, some who will help, and some who will simply take advantage and make things worse. The more we are crowded together with strangers, the more likely it is that we will wait for someone else to take the initiative.
1 person likes this
