Who Do You Include In Your Umbrella of Concern?
Do your actions truly support those people?
Today I arrived in San Francisco by train.
Within three minutes of being on the street I saw a man hunched over halfway in the crosswalk. I saw him as soon as I climbed into my Lyft, and we began driving to my destination.
We had a greenlight and the man was still standing in the middle of the crosswalk. As we drove past him, I looked at him as the traffic swerved around him.
His eyes were closed. His face was pointed towards the ground. He was holding a small object in his crumpled hand.
I wondered what was going on…
Was he okay?
Was he under the influence of something?
Was he battling some form of mental illness?
These questions rattled around my brain as my Lyft cruised past him towards my destination in the Mission District. Looking at my map to confirm I was going to the right place, I realized I got off the train at the wrong stop.
I got off at Civic Center, but I should have gotten off one stop later. I noticed myself mentally complaining about spending another $12 unnecessarily.
Meanwhile, I stared out the window. I saw many people who looked like they could use a boost in life. I reflected on how seeing all of these people was the gift my mistake of getting off one train stop early gave me.
I wondered:
How do we become so numb to the suffering of other people?
At the intersection with the man bent over halfway in the middle of the street, there were so many people who could have helped him.
There were all of us driving past him, all of the local pedestrians, as well as local workers outside.
Yet no action was taken to protect the safety of this man.
This man is someone’s child.
If he were a child in age, then the responses of the people around him would probably be different.
For some reason, due to a person’s age, appearance, or behavior, we cease to include them under our umbrella of concern.
The next opportunity you have to serve someone in need:
Take it.
Hey Evan, I love this post! Ya, people seem to do that a lot, in which they avoid helping those that are in need in front of them. I think a good point you made is that if that man were a child, people would’ve helped. I also think if that man were an animal, like a rescue dog, people would’ve helped as well. I think it has something to do with the innocence that goes away as we age as humans and lots of people probably being busy and thinking the next person will help. It’s definitely fascinating. I try to give money to people I see in need as much as possible. Hopefully seeing one person help can be enough to make a change. Thank you so much for posting this!
Just last week I called the police because I noticed a woman crying and after asking what was wrong she had just been in a domestic violence incident and wasn't safe. About a year ago I did the same thing for a woman who was assaulted right before my eyes. Both those times there were other people who unfortunately decided not to offer help.