Where’s the humanity??

A little over a week ago I was on the subway heading into the city. I had a coveted spot, leaning up against the door.  I know, it’s not as good as having a seat, but it sure beats having to hold onto the pole or to struggle to reach the bar above those who lucked out and got a seat.  It was crowded, but not wall-to-wall packed.  And even though it’s winter outside, it was really warm in the train.  

All of a sudden I see this guy that had been leaning against another wall collapse to the floor.  I must say, he fainted rather gracefully, just slowly collapsing towards the ground.  What wasn’t graceful were the people standing right next to him, who could have tried to help this young man as he dropped.  But instead, they literally (and yes, I mean LITERALLY) jumped out of the way!

I understand that it is surprising when something like this happens, because you don’t really know what exactly is going on.  But it’s easy to figure it out quickly.  Which is why I was really upset by the reaction of those standing closest to him.

Everyone that was standing near this guy was moving away as quickly as they could. Meanwhile, I was rushing towards him!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t close enough to cushion his fall or prevent him from making it all the way face down onto the floor of a NYC subway!  But I did immediately, without even thinking about it, move to help him in any way I could.

He woke up pretty quickly.  I talked with him to let him know what happened, asked his name, and if he had any medical conditions, including epilepsy.  He didn’t, but had been sick with the flu the week prior.  So that, combined with the warmth of the subway car was probably why he fainted.  I kept him seated on the ground for a bit, until he wasn’t as dizzy.  Meanwhile, I asked those around me to find out if anyone had a fruit or something for him to eat, and someone offered up a breakfast bar.  I asked that we find a seat for him when he was ok enough to stand up.  And again, unfortunately, my faith in humanity was let down, because, while someone did give up their seat, it wasn’t either of the people with the seats closest to this young man! 

The story about this young man’s ordeal goes on with more good people involved, but also with more things that made me shake my head in disappointment with people!  The whole situation made me sad. I totally get that this is a harsh world we live in, and that people (especially people in big cities like New York City) tend to have their guards up because of all the negatives that happen daily in this world.  But it really depresses me that we have gotten to the point where our self-preservation has caused some of us to lose our humanity!

It also made me wonder, if I had a different Dad, would I have been so quick to help?  Let me explain…

When I was a very young child, my Dad was a volunteer National Ski Patrolman.  He would be out on the ski slopes every weekend, helping those who got hurt.  Later in my life, but still while I was a kid, my Dad had joined up with the Coast Guard Auxiliary.  Again, he was helping people, but this time on the open waters.  And whenever my family was in the car heading somewhere, if there was an accident on the roads my Dad would pull over to see if he could help with anyone that may have been injured.  Anytime that my Dad would see someone needing assistance, especially first aid assistance, he would step up!  I never saw him hesitate.  I never saw him move away from someone in need.

So, I learned by example.  If someone needs help, I help.  If someone needs support, I’m there for them.  I think of others and not just of myself.  And it’s not that I “try” to think of others.  I just do it.  It’s how I was raised.  It’s just been instilled in me to do so, without thinking.  Because I follow my Dad’s example!

Yes, it was a different time when I was growing up.  The world (at least my immediate world) seemed smaller, and more of a community.  There weren’t terror attacks constantly in the news, or as many random acts of violence.  But is it these violent times that is causing people to lose their humanity?  Or is it the loss of our humanity that is causing the increase in violence in our world?

And more importantly, how do we get our humanity back?