would you help?

[dannyday5821]

its funny the things that stick with you...i always remember this...

i was only a kid myself, about 10, 12, 14 at the latest. i was with my mum in town, and outside this cafe was a girl about my age crying, clearly upset about something. it was a busy day and loads of people walking back and forth. No one stopped. No one had stopped accept my mum. turned out the kid was lost and i remember my mum managed to get this kid back with her mum again.

what would you have done? people always like to say they would help cuz they know its the "right" thing to say or the "moral" thing...but i wonder how many people are being honest with themselves...those people that walked passed, i wonder what they were thinking...

i honestly hope i would follow in my mums footsteps and do the same to help...

[hippyhoppy]

Yes - I would help. I work with little ones so it's just instinct to comfort a sad child..Hopefully,won't get slapped with a compensation charge (!) but good on your mum!

[bensmum]

I would help danny - I work in a school and we often fetch sobbing girls out of the loo for a bit of tlc. However given today's climate I would try to have someone else with me - I've had to have Child Protection training andit's indicative of the times that we are told not to get in a position where you're alone with a child. It's just so instinctive to try to help though. Good for your mum

[Eve]

I don't know how people can't help.

If I ever see little ones upset or on their own I'll always keep and eye on them and make sure they're with someone or go and see if I can help.

Similarly with people who look lost or hurt. I live in a big city and there are so many people who don't know where they're going and I've often gone way out of my way and taken people to where they need to go especially at night or if they can't speak much english or such to make sure they get there safely.

There was an older gentleman in town the other day looking like he was really struggling, everyone just walked by him so I went and checked on him and sat with him until his wife turned up.

There's a lovely blind man I see a lot as well and I alway skeep and eye on him and go over and guide him if there are roadworks or barriers about or cars have blocked a crossing and such.

[stonekicker]

i would certainly help with a young person or child - thye are quite vulnerable and often don't know what to do in a crisis. however, with older perople i am much more wary - after being chased by a drunk man i thought had passed out on the floor and set on my a man and woman having a public domestic (after asking the lady if she was ok after being slapped!). i would probably only intervene with an adult now if i knew an accident had taken place or there were plenty of others around i knew i could rely to help me, shoukd the sh!t hit the fan...a sad reflection of life today

[sara3]

I help anyone who looks like they need help, after all.. we'd all like to think someone would help us in a dark moment.

I helped a drunk Polish man the other day and pointed him in the right direction. well, it sounded like he was saying, "London Road" anyway!

I was queueing to pay for some drinks in a cafe, the old dearie in front of me didn't have enough cash and wanted to pay with a card but they wouldn't have it, so I paid for hers. it was only about �4 but she was touched. a small gesture, but the world would be a different place if we all spared a thought for others.

[Eve]

It makes a lovely difference when people help back too. I used to do a lot of voluntary work including in a local hospice and holiday and respite centre for the severely disabled.

I came along a lot of prejudice when out with people which really shocked me but I remember one Christmas Eve a few of us were out in a cafe with some of the guests.

We'd just got all the tables sorted for wheelchairs etc... and a gentleman sitting nearby asked me if I was having a good Christmas. I smiled, thanked him and said I was.

A little later he got up to leave and quietly passed me a �20 note and told me to get everyone whatever they wanted for drinks and such.

I was really touched.

[stonekicker]

unfortunately, sara, the world has many more people in it that don't give a hoot and would sooner rob/spit/dump on you etc than do something positive. i try to be a good person and, like you, do contribute small gestures to others of altruistic kindnesses. BUT, i am also aware of the cost of doing this to myself and make sure that i am ok before i do so to others. selfish? maybe - but at least i know that i will be ok to carry on with my life and continue to be a person with a good moral compass. i would like to point out that people should always be wary of helping others - particulalry if they are drunk etc - as they can be unpredictable and sometimes violent - and ensure their own safety and wellbeing first

[sara3]

you're quite right. a man was watching from his garden (obviously doing nothing but watch!) so I felt safe to help the drunk guy. I didn't touch him and as we went our separate ways he shook my hand. then he went to kiss my hand and I pulled it away sharpish!

you do have to be careful, and you do need to look after yourself. a quick risk assessment is always needed.

[firewatch]

I have helped a person in the past, a hungarian lad coming to our town to work in a factory. He nearly got off of the bus 8 miles from where he was supposed to be. Anyway, we got to town and i said look i will walk you down to where you have got to go. So i takes him to where hes gotta go (he looked alot like toby mcguire) and he was very pleased.
It turns out he got a crush on me, and when he found out i was marriead, well apparently i broke his heart and now whenever i see him he walks the opposite way.
Hes a bit freaky!
I work in a supermarket and from time to time we have to retrieve wailing tots who have lost there mums, my least favourite part of the job as i hate screaming kids! its a running joke amongst the staff as soon a kid starts screaming i head into the freezer!
At school i often had to retrieve friends from loos who where crying because of boys/parents/school etc. often cries for help.
Now if i saw a stranger in trouble then i would help, particularly if there had been an accident, seeing people in pain is heart breaking, ok, so if only holding there hand is all you can do than that has to be some comfort.
But there is allways the element of danger and i would never put myself in a situation where i could get hurt i would allways make sure there are other people around.

[beso]

I recently encountered a blind man using a white cane. He was walking along the edge of a main road in a small country town. I thought he was on a rather risky path.

I looked for a place to pull over and ran back. By then he was right out into the middle of the traffic. Cars were just driving around him and continuing on their way. Nobody else stopped.

I guided him off the road and helped him to where he was going.

[andrea81]

Ye I would help. A little girl of about 2 yrs walked out of a shop in my town without her mother. I just so happened to catch her do a runner. I stopped her and took her back into shop and to a shop assistant. I stayed there until the mother was found, she had been looking for her all over the shop. She was a white as a sheet and was shaking terribly! I really felt for her and wonder how things could have been if no-one noticed!