Do You Offer Assistance Or Not?

Do You Offer Assistance or Not?

Last night, I had a very nice evening with my husband and friends. We all went to see a comedy club in NYC. We viewed many comedians from the infamous Saturday Night Live as well as the writers from SNL. Some of the comedians we saw were: Vanessa Bayer, Kate Mc Kinnon, and Jay Pharoah. There were many other comedians as well. However out of all, my favorite was Mr. Pharoah. He was hysterical and does a great Chris Rock imitation as well as President Obama. It was a very comical night. When we left the comedy club, we made our way back to Penn Station. We had ten minutes to make our train which was more than enough time. My husband is still getting over his virus so he was a little out of it. Suddenly, I saw a young girl board the train. I am definitely not good at telling age. I would say that she was between 19-25. She appeared to be shaken up and distraught. Then, I heard her crying hysterically. I felt bad for her. I questioned myself if I should say something and see if she is alright. However, I felt funny about doing that and read my book instead. I kept getting interrupted by her sobbing which definitely increased a few octaves. I asked my husband if I should say something who was half asleep. He said that I could if I wanted to. I decided to glance out my window as if I did not hear anything. I started to feel guilty and thought about Catherine Susan "kitty" Genovese. I thought of how she cried and screamed for help while she was being attacked, raped, stabbed and no one came. When most people see some one distraught, do they offer the person a hand? Isn't it a known fact that it is much easier to look away and pretend you did not hear anything? I knew that the girl's cry on the train could not be remotely compared to the screams of Ms. Genovese. However, I don't like to see some one so distraught. I asked myself, do I really want to be a regular statistic standing by, watching from afar and ignoring these girl's tears? I want you to stop reading this and take a second. Close your eyes and pretend it is you on the train and not me. What would you do? Would you question her to see if she needs help or would you look the other way? Well, I forced myself to do the noble thing. I stood up and asked her if she was ok. She said that she was fine and thanked me for coming over to her. Her crying subsided. In looking at her, I could tell that she was not crying because she was in any physical pain. Nothing severely wrong had happened to her which was a relief. I imagine that her boyfriend and her must have had a fight and he broke up with her. Who knows? What I do know is that I offered help from one woman to another. I am proud that I did not watch from afar and look the other way. If we help someone in need, it makes you feel good as well as that person. I ask you to try to do a good deed today. It will make you feel so good inside and out.