I've been a Seattle-area resident all my life and have spent the last 10 years living within the city limits and there is one thing that continually disappoints me about Seattlites - We all look the other way. Now I'm probably just as much to blame here as everyone else, but I think it's time for us all to turn over a new leaf.
I was recently told a story about a friend of my sisters. She was just sitting on the bus minding her own business when someone came and stole the ipod out of her hand and ran off the bus. She then had to grab all of her other belongings and take chase, eventually losing sight of him and failing to recover her ipod. My question here is why didn't anyone else try to stop this guy?
Now I can understand that whole attitude that "it's none of my business and don't want to get involoved". It's so much easier that way. However it's not the right way. We need to be more attentive to what is going on around us and when we see injustice we need to step up and try to make a difference, because next time we might be the victim.
So Seattle I say wake up and start caring a little more. The only way that things like this are going to change is if we start making them change. Each and everyone of you has the power to make a difference, now do it.
I take issue with the generalizations you make in this blog. I too have lived in the Seattle city limits for a long time and I have also witnessed extraordinary acts of kindness and generosity.
ReplyDeleteJust the other day I was walking past a corridor in Pioneer Square where an old man had passed out against a wall. He looked like he might have even suffered a heart attack or a stroke. There was a group of young women surrounding him, one was calling an ambulance, another had run into the nearby Quiznos to grab a glass of water, and the rest were making small talk with him, trying to rouse him awake and hopefully keep him that way. This was clearly not an example of how "we all look the other way." A friend of mine told me about something she witnessed last week. A young couple in the Pike Place Market area were being continually hassled and assaulted by a man on the street. He actually kicked the man, and was trying to grab the purse of the woman, but was prevented by an entire group of passersby who aided the couple in chasing the man away, and sticking around to make sure they were OK.
I understand your angry reaction to the anecdote you described, but I think it's unfair (and inaccurate) to label an entire population of a large, diverse city as inattentive and uncaring. As in every city, there are people who look the other way, and people who don't, and focusing your attention on those who don't is unfairly robbing the compassionate Seattleites from the attention they deserve.
Nathan, your point is well taken. It just seems that for every good act I hear about there are two or three that just make me cringe.
ReplyDeleteHonestly Seattle is always being revered for how fantastic its residents are with issues like this. From small things like how tourists holding a map will almost always be offered directions without them even asking, to bigger things like people's lost wallets showing up in the mail, cash intact, which has happened to two people I know.
ReplyDeleteOnce I ran after a purse snatcher who was maybe 5 years old in Chile, who because of my pursuit threw the bag up in the air; when I returned it to the woman she SCOLDED me! That reaction would have been unheard of in Seattle, where I have witnessed people getting yelled at for inaction; I thank my upbringing in Seattle for instilling in me this kind of justice-seeking honesty and kindness, whereas if I had been raised in Chile I likely wouldn't feel the same urge to help.
15, not 5, but still, the level of danger was low as he clearly had no weapon and was just a stupid kid, which was the point I was trying to make by mentioning his age.
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