(This is a follow-up post)
None of what I write here is going to change anything. The history of this man's life and humanity has already been written for all of us to browse through, every time we pick up a newspaper or walk down a city street.
Kris, myself, and a few others had similar, instant reactions to this sad set of events as soon as this story found us. Here are a few of them.
What seasoned New Yorker(I hate to single out people from NYC, however, it is the only group of people I feel qualified to stereotype.) thought that this guy was just some homeless shmuck sleeping one off?! Anyone with an ounce of street smarts knows that people without homes don't sleep on the sidewalk in any manner resembling the way this human is doing on the video. HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE NOT STUPID, THEY DO NOT WISH TO BE STEPPED ON. You tell me who the morons are in this video. Perhaps the 25 assholes who stopped and could not recognize a man in a puddle of blood fighting to breathe. Or maybe the true fools are those who took pictures. Study the pictures you took, you degenerates. What were you going to do with that picture anyway?!?!
I sat down here with so much to say. However I can can't maintain enough control over my hands to keep them from shaking uncontrollably over the keyboard right now.
I will do everything possible in the coming years to be sure that my son has enough common freakin sense to tell the difference between a dying hero and a common drunk.
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8 comments:
Thanks for sharing this
Just adding to the last sentence you posted, and that we will teach Aiden that even a "common drunk" deserves more humanity than this man was given. I am proud to say I have witnessed dozens of times where you have taken the time to talk with, sit with and share food with many homeless people (even on our dates!). I know our son will not learn the behavior on this video from you.
What a tragedy. I heard about this on the news. I still can't believe this could happen. Kris is right. When people get to know you they see how compassionate you are and Aiden will learn that from you. I hope we can start spreading that around. The world needs it.
AMEN! I strive all the time to teach my sons the difference between 'sympathy' and 'empathy.'
These kind of stories just make me sad as ..................
Pardon me, I hope you don't mind a stranger posting a comment. While browsing Blogs I noticed yours and I just want to apologize on behalf of the NYers that try to make a new image for NY. I consider myself a NYer, I lived there most of my life and I think you are right in stereotyping us until we get this reputation changed. I too have been a victim of NY style "looking the other way" and I've witnessed this appalling *!*!* lack of regard for fellow humans my self although I took action. And NO WAY would I make excuses for them!! I just understand the reason they do it. Only because I lived there long enough to find out what happens to you if you choose to get involved in something. There are really long chains of relationships in these tight knit communities (and gangs) and everybody knows somebody who knows you. Someone, at least one person, in these chains will sell anyone out to advance him/herself and for sure there will be retribution for tattlers. I've chosen to be a "Tattler" for victims regardless and that's why I know what happens.
The people you see hesitating/looking for a couple seconds are likely contemplating their safety and quickly summing up that there is none (that they can see).
Southern NY is very much this way. Many Northern NYers are not, excluding the ones who fled 911, they brought their corruption north with them. While it is perfectly understandable to stereo type (and is often deserve) I hope you won't hate us as a whole because I have known some NYers to be extremely Good and Virtuous people who use that hardness in positive ways. They go against the grain and take a lot of garbage for it...I've known many. Please keep the door cracked just a little :) Thanks for posting this. We hope we'll be better people for your honesty.
Hey there Malisande,
Thank you so much for bringing your thoughts to me on this matter. I welcome any and all comments, especially from someone I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting in person.
I want to be sure one thing is clear.
My family and I are lifelong NYC residents. For three generations the majority of my family has worked in service of NYC, the greatest city in the world. I only made the reference to "stereotyping" people from NYC because I have a firsthand knowledge of how the city and it’s people function. This is also to say that I greatly understand (for many reasons) how the gang and community cultures permeate the city, for both the good and bad of all those concerned. Herein lies the source of my anguish. How could THIS have happened in a city I know to be full of heart and greatness. My opinion is simply that the people who walked on by are not real NY’ers….regardless of where they may get their mail delivered or what address is printed on their drivers license.
I LOVED the way you put this "My opinion is simply that the people who walked on by are not real NY’ers….regardless of where they may get their mail delivered or what address is printed on their drivers license."!!!!!!!!!!!
I share this view intensely "How could THIS have happened in a city I know to be full of heart and greatness."!
I feel so relieved to be conversing with a fellow NYer!! I was trying to be tactful, thinking I was communicating with someone less familiar with us (Westerners take our straightforward openness as rude). I presently live in the mid US (for reasons beyond my control) and truthfully I miss NY tremendously!! There are places, like where I live that are very disfunctional and make me appreciate NYs greatness!!
You are one of those "extremely Good and Virtuous people" I was mentioning :D I look forward to reading your future posts. I find them to be rich and deeply thoughtful!!
Wow is the first word that comes to mind but certainly not fitting enough to describe this video. If I have to be honest; I have tears in my eyes at the moment. It is more that humanity has become so self-consumed and preoccupied with the "what's in it for me" mentality.
Again, I found this video when on the heels of my own anger over countless declarations of hatred toward Americans and Freedom of Speech. You would have to follow my facebook to understand the reference but in brief; a man was arrested by some rent a cops (sorry) for holding a sign that said "impeach Obama" at an Alaskan Fair of sorts.
I also heard a warning for "American's to be aware of Terrorist Threats in Europe". I could go on but not the proper arena.
We walk around with rose colored glasses and blinders, oblivious to the world around us.
I would like to hope that I would have stopped. Just yesterday, at the end of church, I picked up my daughter from Bible class and while on my way down the stairs, I noticed a scraggly, dressed hooded youth sitting on the stairs with his head in his hands.
I'll admit, that at first I wondered should I say anything; his attire certainly didn't match any of us there. As I was almost a step below him, the human side of me stomped loudly in my head and forced me to stop being an idiot. I asked the young lad "Are you alright, can I help you"? He looked up, acknowledge me and said "No thank you" with a cup of half drunk coffee in his hand.
At the bottom of the stairs, I cast one more glance up at him to settle the tug of my own humanity and prayed; maybe he just needed food and coffee and we are a welcoming congregation.
Thank you for sharing this video and again, provoking sense to a "senseless" mass.
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