Have we lost faith in Human Kind?

[kazzee69]

Is it sad that we can no longer trust strangers? I was out somewhere the other day and for a while I was on my own and a man started walking towards me and without realising I started holding my handbag tighter because he looked a bit 'scruffy and strange'..! He could have been the kindest person on the planet but I was judging him! After he had walked past I was actually dissapointed in myself for judging this stranger! I was reading 'dmsjps's reply to 'Beswad's 'Dealing with a pervert?' question and it amazes me that so many people can turn a blind eye when someone else is in a situatin where they need help. I think this is the typical British way (I am British) of not wanting to be embarrassed. How many times do you hear a car alarm go off and you simply think 'That's annoying'! Do we ever think that maybe someone's car is being broken into? Does this make anyone else sad that we can no longer rely on the kindness of strangers? Or has anyone got any stories that can restore my faith in Human Kind?

[orange-gnome]

In a word yes!
I could go on for a long time about various things to do with this such as 20 years ago ppl used to leave their doors unlocked and you could safetly pick up hitch hikers etc etc
We all know this and so I won't bore anyone, yes I do think it is sad.
I always wonder why it is so? Crime rate has gone up which ia mostly why we feel we can't trust anyone anymore, but why has the crime rate gone up? Is it because of the rapidly growing population? Is it just me or are chavs taking over the country? Is it because of this? Is it because of the higher numbers of failed marriages and so troubled children from broken homes? (I have divorced parents and I am not saying all children in that situation grow up to be criminals btw!)
Who knows!!!?
However I would like to also add that I spent a year in New Zealand last year and I felt much safer there, the people are much more friendly and while on the bus I regularly got into conversations with the strangers around me, I even made long term friends that way! A fair amount of ppl I knew did leave their doors unlocked and I never hitch hiked but I was offered lifts by complete strangers!!

[Morrisonker]

Actually on the 'crime has gone up' note I'd like to add that in many cases when the crime rate is reported as having gone up it's because there are more police catching the criminals.  There's the same amount of crime but it's being brought to our attention more often, especially in cases involving children and violence towards women.

I'd love to be able to tell you a story with a happy ending but depressingly enough I can't think of one. 

[ursula62]

There was a letter in the papers last week about this very subject. An elderly man had been trying to change his wheel on the motorway hard shoulder late one night. A car stopped and three young men got out and did the job for him. 

He said to them that it was extremely unusual for someone to stop and help on a busy motorway.  They then told him that they had seen him from the other direction, got off at the next exit and turned round and driven back to help him!

The old man said they refused to leave their names or accept anything for their help and that this had really restored his faith in young people today.

[kazzee69]

I do believe there are some people out there who are helpful like that. My boyfriends mums car broke down late at night back when she never had a mobile phone and she walked to her brothers house (which was quite far), she was walking down quite a long road when a car pulled up and a man offered her a lift but she refused and carried on walking. When she reached her brothers house then went back to get her car only to find the whole area covered in police. Turned out the guy who offered her a lift was worried about her so when he got home he called the police and said to them 'There is a woman walking alone out there and she is refusing help. Can you go and make sure she is ok?' Things like that make you feel good about people.

[jake-the-peg]

Do you live in a city?

Populations have gone up a lot since I was born and brought up in London. If 1 person in 10,000 is a dangerous nut, increasing the population by a million places 100 more on the streets.

Then there's population pressure for resource, whether it's housing, schooling or just parking places. Starve 20 dogs in a pen and throw in 5 bones and see what happens.

In the village where I live I dropped my wallet one morning and when I went back looking for it somebody I didn't know caught up with me and waving my wallet asked me if I'd dropped it. They'd found my driving license and were on the way up to the address to post it back through my door.

Wild horses wouldn't make me live in London again now.

 Mind you I'm always amazed how many people come home put up their feet and watch TV with a pizza most nights or go down the pub with a couple of old friends and complain there's no community where they live.

[Scarlett]

Okay, here's one.

A scruffy/dodgy man approached me at a bus stop and asked for 60p for the bus. I gave him 60p- he needed it, and it was nothing to me!

At least 2 years later the same man came up to me and gave me my 60p back. He said "you lent this to me ages ago- I've been looking out for you to give it back"! Now THAT I was not expecting!!

Another time I was at a bus shelter at night (I really must learn to drive) and a really dodgy tramp like man came up asking if he could borrow 3 quid. He was bright red, scruffy and looked very drunk. I said yes, and went to get my purse. He then explained, in a very well-spoken voice, that he was diabetic, needed insulin urgently, and needed to money to get a taxi to the hospital. I had initially judged him on his appearance, but the only reason he looked so ill was because he WAS ill!! The taxi came, and he went to hospital.

[Mistopheles]

I've been physically attacked 3 times (once as a kid, twice as an adult) - there are a lot of horrid people out there.

But yes, there are some lovely ones too. I've lost my wallet twice, and my cheque book twice - once with my card with it - and every time they've been returned with nothing taken.

I think Scarlett's are wonderful!

[necromancer]

when I was young and silly I accepted a job selling vacuume cleaners. This work took me thousands of miles from home, one town at a time. We only made money when we made a sale which we hadn't done in weeks. We were getting hungry to the point that when any food was found it was being hoarded. I lost over 17lbs in a week and a half and developed conjunctivitis (pink eye) so bad I had to be hospitalized over night. I even considered stealing. Not cash mind you but life saving food. Finally we got a customer that was interested but had no money for fuel to travel the 10 miles to make the sale. A nice little Egyptian man ran the motel where we stayed. I put my pride aside and asked him to please loan me $10.00 until we got back from the sale. Without batting an eye he handed me a 20. I refused and said i only needed ten. I offered to leave my rings but he wouldn't hear of it. He didn't even want me to pay him back. He said it was a gift. I guess he could see what a hard time we were having and felt sorry for us and how hard it was for me to ask a stranger for charity. when we made the sale we ate. I then went directly to the office where I attempted to repay the man. He wouldn't take my money then but I left it for him when we checked out. i will never forget his kindness and charity to a complete stranger. 

[angel1978]

Sometimes worry I'm too helpful that it could get me into trouble sometimes, especially nw I live in a large city, but it's just me.

Always have to help people if I can, often helping strangers get to where they need to be, even taking them if poss, as I always worry they'll get lead astray by someone less well meaning but I do worry about my own safety now esp being a young female.

Have always done a lot of charity & voluntary work and some of the thing I've seen just amaze me.

Remember being out of a day trip as part of a residential volunteering project with the disabled.  We'd just got everyone sorted and were sitting in a cafe about to order when a gentleman on a nearby table asked me if I was having a good Christmas (was Christmas Eve).  He later got up and quietly came over and passed me a �20.00 note saying to get everyone's drinks and such, wished me a merry christmas and went on his way.

Charity collecting is a good one too, between the abuse you can get (always amazed me that) the amount of homeless people who come and give a donation (never asked to might I add) just amazed me.  People who have almost nothing giving some of the little they do have.  I remember quite an elderly guy dressed in rags sitting with a begging bowl calling me from the other side of the street one day.

Awful, but I thought he'd seen I was charity collecting and thought I was a soft touch.  Went over anyhow and he said "You know what my dear, I've had a really good day today" and put some money in my tin.

Also did a charity jailbreak with my boyfriend at the time a few years ago.  We hitch-hiked from the west coast of wales to just outside Glasgow in 24 hours and the kindness of the people we met was amazing.

[angel1978]

Cont...

When we got to just out of Glasgow we were given a free ride to a better hitching point by a taxi driver we asked for advice then on running out of our 24 hours found a large store/shop (we had to get stuff to prove our challenge had been met).  They weren't even open yet as it was a Sunday but took us inside, gave us breakfast which they wouldn't charge for, went into the back to get us a postcard we needed as there were none out front and even took it to stamp and post back for us to prove we'd been there.

They asked their delivery drivers if they could take us to a decent point to get back and when they couldn't gave a member of staff time off to drive us ot the nearest main service station where were cheekily asked the rather upmarket looking gentleman driving a mercedes if we could have a lift being cheeky and tongue in cheek.

He took us all the way from Glasgow to Birmingham!

Sure I have loads more, will have a think this aft :)