Indifference

A shocking example of human indifference and lack of compassion was highlighted in the recent case of the homeless man who lay dying from a fatal stab wound on a bustling New York City sidewalk. Did you hear about it? Apparently dozens of pedestrians marched right by him without offering any assistance. There might have been a lot of different reasons why people didn't stop to help the man. Maybe they thought he was drunk or sleeping. Maybe they didn't realize that he'd been stabbed. I don't know if there was a lot of blood or not. I'm not judging their actions. But lack of compassion frequently has its beginnings close to home. With families...not wanting to get involved in a family dispute. Not wanting to create a scene or not offering support to a family member because there might be dissension with the others. Lack of compassion can be seen in neighborhoods...with neighbors who are indifferent and unwilling to help or even acknowledge their fellow residents.

Compassion does not necessarily mean extending yourself on a grandiose scale. Sometimes compassion begins as a basic, warm-hearted gesture. A friendly act of kindness that brightens the day for someone else. Often the simplest things make us feel good. For example, I think it's nice when I'm out in the yard and a neighbor driving by in their car stops for a few minutes to chat. Or when a person out for a stroll...whom I recognize from the neighborhood but do not know...takes time to say hello, admire my garden or offer a bit of cheerful chit chat. It just seems like such a natural, neighborly, affable thing to do. And whenever it happens, it makes me feel good to know somebody took time away from where they were going to carry on a pleasant conversation with me. Whenever I'm out for a walk...even if it interrupts my timing...I'll still stop and say hello to another neighbor. I don't consider these friendly greetings as definitive acts of compassion. And I certainly don't want people engaging me in conversation out of pity. But in a sense, being outwardly friendly toward your neighbors is a small kindness that shows you care about other people. It is the essence of a compassionate heart.

Yet I find it sad that so many residents in most neighborhoods including mine, can't be bothered with this simple form of civility. I'm not suggesting people stop and carry on in-depth discussions. Just a cordial hello and perhaps a few pleasantries are all it takes to instill a sense of comraderie within a community. People in my area enjoy walking and running. I realize that runners are an entirely different breed. So for the most part, I seldom try to engage a heavy-breathing runner in conversation except to offer a smile or a quick wave. But there are many neighbors who leisure-walk by our home on a daily basis. A certain element of them would no more extend a nod or a greeting or a smile my way than they would offer a terrorist a cup of tea. At first, I wondered if it was just me. Maybe these nose-up-in-the-air folks speak to everyone else but not me. Maybe I've become the neighborhood pariah. But after a while I noticed that they won't talk to anybody. They're just downright unfriendly. If I'm outside, I usually say hello as they're passing by. I'm rewarded with a grimacing grunt and then they start to walk faster so they won't have to carry on a real conversation. I'm not kidding. It's sorry. It's a shame. It's disgraceful. It's what brings down a community rather than building it up. It's all about people who can't be bothered...who don't want to get involved...even in something as simple as a friendly greeting. So is it any wonder there are people who blithely walk over an injured man on a busy city street?

Luckily in our community, we also have many, many wonderful, kind and lovely homeowners who will take time to share greetings with their fellow neighbors. But for those who can't be bothered to even glance sideways at their neighbors as they're walking by or toss a friendly wave as they drive along the street...it's not that big of a stretch to imagine that these same folks can't be bothered to help a neighbor who needs assistance. Or that they will never get involved in a community project. Or that they snub the gay couple down the street. Or that they are indifferent to the elderly widow lady. Or that they'd ignore a man dying on a busy sidewalk.....

POSTSCRIPT: A sad, ironic twist to the story of the dying homeless man. Turns out minutes before he was murdered, he had performed a very heroic act. He jumped between a woman and her knife-wielding attacker in an attempt to save her. The woman escaped but her assailant stabbed the homeless fellow several times. Tragically, none of the people passing by that morning cared enough to save the compassionate, good Samaritan who tried to make a difference. Sphere: Related Content