"On What I Did"

There is a television show where unwitting individuals are set up in a variety of scenarios. Situations unfold with actors, and the camera records the reactions and responses of those nearby.  For example, there may be a conversation taking place in a restaurant where a mother, played by an actress, is verbally abusive to her child, also an actor, or diners/actors are openly rude to a service person.  The scenes generally include the unkind treatment of one person directed toward another. 

The premise of it all is, "What would you do?" a question asked of the viewer as they observe the response of those being recorded--intervene on behalf of the innocent, the victim; take notice but do nothing; ignore, pretend nothing is happening?  

In thinking about such hypothetical circumstances, I, for one, was hopeful that I would respond with the grandest of actions--sticking up for the underdog, standing up for the helpless, the innocent, the weakest amongst us.  But there is the picture--and then there is reality.  

I was awakened this morning at 3 A. M. by the sound of a guy running down the sidewalk yelling, "Help me!  Please help me!  Somebody please help me!"  As he came closer I could hear him colliding with garbage cans and recycling containers set out on the curb, bottles crashing to the street. 

My bedroom window is at the corner of the house where a fence connects, the gate adjacent to the house, leading into my back yard.  My window was open, and I heard him say, "Oh, good, there's a gate," as he tried opening it.

Heart pounding, wide awake at this point, I questioned whether or not I should call the police.  Was I in danger, was he an endangerment to himself, hallucinating from drugs or alcohol, his mind and body overcome?  What was really going on?  And what was I going to do?  How involved was I going to be? 

And this is what I did:  After checking that all the doors in the house were locked, I lay in bed, thankful I had placed the padlock on my gate, and I listened as he continued on down the street, dogs barking because he had awakened and roused them with his ranting and raving. 

As I thought about it, I determined if I had heard two individuals, one of them being chased, or if it had been a woman, I would have intervened, I would have called for help. But you know, I'm not sure if I would have done anything any differently. 

And the question that is running through my mind in the light of day--What if I was the one running down the street at 3 A. M. in the morning crying out for help and everyone who heard responded exactly the way I did?  And did nothing, absolutely nothing.
   

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."