TOO MANY people these days are afraid to get involved. Too many people suspect things are not right in various places and don’t investigate further, don’t ask authorities to check, don’t keep an eye out to verify or disprove suspicions.
The rest of this is an emotional rant… read on if you dare!
How many children every day are hurt — even killed — because a neighbor, a teacher, the parent of a friend, a relative chose to ignore warning signs? How many “survivors” of domestic abuse (I put that in quotes because of course some don’t survive…) could have been helped to safety much earlier if someone had just said something?
This is an angry, frustrated post. The topic is very close to my heart for many reasons.
I am thinking of two things specifically. The first is some information floating around the web indicates that people who lodged at the Fritzl home in Austria — even neighbors and childhood friends — thought something was wrong and said nothing. 24 years is a long time to notice nothing at all…
And another article I saw while surfing, from Orlando, Florida about a controlled study, placing a child actor in a mall (alone) sitting right next to a poster of herself saying she was missing. Dozens, maybe hundreds of people walked right past her. Some hadn’t even noticed the poster, or hadn’t seen her. Others saw her, and the poster, and thought it was probably a coincidence. Some few noticed the poster, recognized the child and (this is what gets me) didn’t know what to do! Some stopped and asked the child if she was okay. Finally, one person did connect the dots and contacted mall security.
People every day walk past homeless people who are obviously ill and do nothing. People every day hear animals in pain and do nothing. People every day see, ignore and leave to others the dying, the hungry, the ill, the abused.
This has to stop.
Or rather, something has to begin.
And that something is to start caring again.
I am not a brave person — but even I have called the police to do welfare checks on a homeless man who was lying on a sidewalk — and who didn’t move over the course of a couple of hours (ot even a twitch when some very loud teenagers walked by). I have pulled to the side of the road and called 911 and waited with an elderly person who had fallen on the sidewalk, when other drivers just kept going. I have even called animal control a few times when a critter seemed to need attention and I wasn’t able to contact the owners. I have spoken to teachers about children who seemed to have some bizarre behaviors, knowing that teachers must relay the information to the appropriate authorities if something truly seems amiss. I have called 911 a few times when I was on the road to report dangerous loads or reckless drivers.
Why do I do these things?
Because if it were my child being abused (or using drugs), I would want him to get help. If it were my dog in pain by the side of the road, I would hope someone would stop to help her. If it were my brother or grandmother lying on the sidewalk, I hope someone would stop to comfort them and get them whatever help they needed. If it were my husband driving along the road, I would not want him hurt by flying debris or killed by a drunk driver.
Why should you care?
Because someday, it might be you sitting alone, afraid, needing help.
What can you do?
If you are like me (small, not in the best health) and a personal interaction is required, call the police or whatever government agency seems most likely to able to do what needs doing. Even if you aren’t sure of what is going on, these are people who have the training to know if there really is a situation that needs to be addressed.
If you are able, you can volunteer at places that help people like the senior center/meals on wheels homeless kitchens, respite programs for parents who need it, foster parent; you can make blankets for newborns, donate books to the library, knits hats for homeless people in the winter; you can plant gardens for people who lack the funds and strength to build their own (in my area, GRUB does this); you can help an elderly neighbor mow the lawn to keep it safe to walk on, you can pick up trash while you walk the dog.
You can donate money if you don’t have time. You can talk to people honestly and openly about the problems and open up the door for them to ask for help.
You can choose one way to help that you are passionate about…
you can care.
And that will be enough. It will change the world.
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