The other day on my way home there was a older Toyota Camry blocking the right-side of the road, unable to move. The driver, a young black man, was sitting in the car. Unhesitatingly, my immediate response was to pull into the Walgreens parking lot in front of the stranded vehicle. I hopped out and jogged over to the stranded car, asking if I may be of assistance. I could see that he was mildly confused as to what to do, as numerous impatient drivers were leaning on their horns. I asked him if he would mind steering his car into the Walgreens as I pushed it. He agreed, putting the car in neutral. So I began pushing the car. It slowly moved but he failed to turn the vehicle into the parking lot. So, I clarified that it would be best to get the car off the road as quickly as possible. So I pushed the car back to where we started so we would be able to turn into the parking lot. By this time, I was a little winded. Yet I pushed, getting as much speed as possible to get it up the slightly steep incline of the driveway. No such luck. It was clear I needed his help to push it up the incline. So we both pushed but the incline was too great. HERE IS WHAT AMAZED ME...
Not only could dozens of drivers see we were struggling, but also two pedestrians passed by separately- one a young black man and the other a white woman. We asked the young black man if he would help us. Strangely, he seemed to ignore our request. Both walked past us unconcerned even though they were about 15 feet from us. The driver and myself tried for ten minutes with all our might to push the car up the incline, without success. At no point did anyone else attempt to help us. We left the vehicle on the inclined driveway, only a foot or so away from the road and traffic.
This being said, where has people's concern, care, and sense of community gone? Does it matter that both of us struggling to push the car were brown skinned? Is it easy to assume that we had the strength to accomplish the task, even though the looks on our faces expressed the strain and difficulty? You decide.
Rather than getting angry, I realized that I felt sad that society may be losing its sense of community, brotherhood, and genuine care for our fellow men. What are your thoughts?? Please share!
