Don't get involved? Be a good witness?

mk86fcc

New member
My wife received this story from a friend yesterday. I can't vouch for its veracity, but still thought it was worth sharing. I like to think I know how most who frequent this forum would have reacted.

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Being in the right place at the right time.

I was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, I slowed down to listen and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing were the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling and tearing of fabric. Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked. Should I get involved?

I was frightened for my own safety and cursed myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic? Shouldn't I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?
Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had taken only seconds, but already the cries were growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast. How could I walk away from this? No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.

I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don't know where I found the moral courage and physical strength-but once I had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed. I ran behind the bushes and
pulled the assailant off the woman. Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.

Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing. In the darkness, I could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock. Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a distance. "It's OK," I said soothingly. "The man ran away. You're safe now." There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder and amazement. "Dad, is that you?" And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest daughter, Katherine.

Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all times you can,
To all the people you can,
As Long as you ever can.


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"...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."
Luke 22:36
"An armed society is a polite society."
Robert Heinlein

[This message has been edited by mk86fcc (edited February 25, 2000).]
 
Doing the right thing is its own reward.

I was struck by a statement I heard made by Oklahoma Rep J.C. Watts (R) that integrity is "doing the right thing when nobody is watching" (paraphrased).

I shamefully admit that I have not always followed that maxim. The guy in this story is a true hero. The American kind. That could have been my wife or sister or daughter behind those bushes.

Thanks for the post.
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Sensop

"Get your mind right and the body will follow." - Shino Takazawa, sinsei, hachi dan, Keishinkan do.
Sensop's Corner

[This message has been edited by sensop (edited February 25, 2000).]
 
I'm reminded of a letter to Emily Post which posed the estute question, "What is the difference between manners and morals?"

The answer? An excellent reply to an excellent question:

In the practice of manners, if you break a rule of protocol and no-one notices, the mistake doesn't matter because all that matters is appearances. With morals, if you act against your conscience, it always matters because both you and God know what you did.
 
"Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is watching" is also the motto of Spyderco through its founder, Sal Glesser.

He's a good guy.

Personally I doubt this story and treat it more like a parable but, after all, it IS possible.
 
As I said at the outset, I've no way of verifying it. But it sure is a good story, and I'd really like for it to be true...

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"...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."
Luke 22:36
"An armed society is a polite society."
Robert Heinlein
 
This theme has been repeated several times in my readings. Treat all women as your mother, sister, or daughter. We are all children of God, part of the same family.
 
On reflection, I don't think it matters if it isn't an actual account. The lesson, the value is still there.

What Kathryn said.
 
Reading the ending sent chills through me. To think that the fellow almost failed to rescue his own daughter. Not to criticize the father, but he faces the same problem many of us do today.

We all want to do the right thing and help where we can. It's the human thing to do.
Unfortunately, the media screams "vigilante" and fear of civil liability promotes passivity or apathy. The majority of jurisdictions allows one the stand in the shoes of the distressed in need of aid and the rescuer is permitted to use the same amount of force as the person needing rescue. However, the problem of mistake arises (is the victim getting the upper hand and are you mistaking the victim for the criminal?).

We need tort reform and enough of this "product of poor or inadequate upbringing" excuse which shifts the responsibility from the criminal defendant onto society. It's overused and even Derschowitz (sp?), the civil rights attorney from Harvard says its abused (he cited the Menedez brother case in LA).

Enough soap box. Rant mode off.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
This is my rant:

Once in my pre-gun days I was going to a concert with a young lady. This was in the Pacific Northwest. A car of skin heads pulled up next to us in the street as we walked from the parking lot to the theatre. They yelled a racial epithet at me and my companion. Luckily, we were close enought to hurray to the theatre. I marked it up to sheer bigotry.

Later, however, I found in the NW that this was a tactic adopted by Skinheads and I read up on it. They would pull up to you and yell the epithet. If you respond in kind, they would leap from the car and beat you to death if they could. If caught they would claim mutual combat as you curse them back.

In fact, the same type of scum, killed an Ethiopian immigrant in this manner. A Californian Nazi had come to town to train them in this method. He was later civilly sued for millions and the judgement was against him.

This and some other things made me seek significant training in firearms usage.

Years later, I was going to the supermarket in TX. I notice that a fast food restaurant near the market had become a hangout for teens. Kids started to spread into the market lot.

An African-American womem of middle age was going to the store and walking along the sidewalk to entrance. A car full of teenage males pulled up to her and yelled the N word
and other things at her. I said that if they got out of the car, I would feel that she was at risk of grievous bodily harm and act accordingly. (Tactic would have been a strong armed challenge)

I shared this incident on another forum and was strongly dennoucned. I didn't know if they
would hurt her. I should have been a good witness - baaaaaah, baaaaaaah. One a**hole
said I was unfit to carry a gun.

The woman ran into the store. The car pulled away. The scum never knew that I was approaching them, ready to use legal methods to prevent grievous bodily harm.

I called the cops, the managers of the market,
the main offices of the market, the fast food joint, etc. and had a major fit.

They flooded the area with cops and security and the area is nice again.

I was and still am enraged by the criticism that I should let this woman be assaulted by
hoodlums. Sometimes you have to take a risk or you can't live with themselves.

I asked the mother of my children if I should have taken the risk. She said: Nuke 'em.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I asked the mother of my children if I should have taken the risk. She said: Nuke 'em.[/quote]

Now there's a woman.
 
Glenn, I'm with you sir. Reminds me of one of my favorite poems Horatius At The Bridge "I will stand at thy right hand and hold the bridge with thee". Sometimes doing the right thing leads to condemnation from the masses but it is still the right thing.
 
Being dead sucks. I've seen enough dead people to know that I don't want to join them. But I imagine that living the rest of your life knowing that you are a spineless, cowardly POS is worse. But I guess spineless.cowardly P'sOS find some way to justify it in their own mind. Semper Fi....
 
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