I just had such an experience that really said a lot about how people are these days. I am 21F.
One of our local homeless guys in my neighborhood is in a wheelchair. His wheelchair must’ve had an issue and he was stuck in the middle of a crosswalk. This is a very busy intersection.
Not one person got out of their car to help him. I stopped and tried to push him up the curb on my own. Multiple people passed me and didn’t offer help. One lady finally did try help me get him over the curb.
As more people continued to pass us by, I finally stopped this guy and said “people have passing us so far. We are not strong enough to lift a grown man and a wheelchair. Can you please not be another jerk who passes by and help us? “ He stopped and we were finally able to get the gentleman safely out of the road.
I think it says so much that no one got out of their car and that the majority of people walked passed me trying to assist him.
I don’t get it. Be late for work. Helping a disabled homeless man who is stranded in the middle of an intersection cause his wheelchair malfunctioned is a very reasonable reason for being late. It’s called being a decent human being. It just really hit a nerve with me.
If you see someone who needs help, please stop. It’s only five minutes of your day.
Update: I called 311 and proved the intersection. They are going to send someone ASAP to see if the curb is ADA accessible and see what they can do to make sure this isn’t a recurrent issue. I’m not really familiar with how responsive 311 is but am hoping they can fix the curb so he doesn’t get stuck again.
EDIT: The man was actively seeking assistance from those passing and is known to the local community as being friendly and mentally sound!