Today I went to the dairy, a lady was there with her baby in a pram. She asked if they had Bonjela, “no, sorry” said the shop keeper. She looked disappointed.
Thinking back to how much Bonjela saved my sanity at times I almost said “I have a tube in my glove box, I’ll get it for you”. Then I remembered, I’m a stranger, worse, I’m a male stranger.
I re-considered and by the time I’d decided to take the risk, she’d gone.
I think it is so very sad that we live in a society where offers of help are so frequently taken as suspicious that people have to think before helping.
One hears of ancient civilisations, civilisations where people helped each other. Where if you needed help you could turn to a neighbor and trust they would do the best they could to help. Now we are so suspicious that offers of help are assumed to be threatening until proven otherwise and I’d no sooner ask my neighbor for help than an axe murderer.
What have we become?
A while back I saw a small child walking through a book store alone. She looked to be about 2 or 3. The mom in me wanted to go to her to see if she was lost but I hesitated and with my eyes on her I found an employee. The mother was close behind and everything was fine but I wondered what kind of world we live in and moreover, what kind of person am I that would hesitate. Sad, sad, sad.
This made me so sad! But – I completely understand. Our society stamps down our natural instincts as caring individuals and we fear being profiled as something sinister. 🙁