Results: Helping people who don't ask for it

Jamie:

This was an interesting week to have this challenge.

My first interaction was allowing a person on the street to use my cell phone when they were trying to make a call.

The other episode was much more shocking. My girlfriend and I were walking home after a wonderful afternoon of sailing off LA. As we reached an intersection, I watched a girl on a bicycle inexplicably attempt a left turn across traffic without looking. I started to say something to my girlfriend about it when I saw a car coming from behind her at the speed limit of 35 mph. He barely had time to see her, slam on the brakes and swerve, but it wasn't enough. They collided hard and she was thrown about forty feet through the air into oncoming traffic; luckily no other cars were there right at that second.


I immediately called 911 and worked my way over to her; I heard a number of people yelling "Call 911", but no one was doing it. As I arrived some other motorists had gotten there, one with a First Aid Kit. They looked like they knew what they were doing, so I went to see if the motorist was ok. He was physically fine, but was shaking badly and really worried about the girl.

It looked like she was somehow going to be ok, probably just a broken leg and a lot of bruises. I can't believe it wasn't much worse. I stuck around and gave my statement to the police about half an hour later. It was an awful scene, but it wasn't the driver's fault, and he shouldn't have to get in trouble for it.

There were a few people who sprang into action when this happened. There were also many more pedestrians nearby who did nothing but gawk. I had my girlfriend stay on the opposite curb while all this happened. She said some workers on a smoke break were laughing and making fun of the injured girl. Another person actually made fun of her for crying after seeing someone thrown 40 feet through the air and lying motionless on the ground. The default action of a human should be to help and be sensitive in a situation like this, apparently it isn't. The firemen actually congratulated the two guys who gave her the most basic medical attention, saying it was far, far beyond what people usually did. Humanity fail.

David:

I have to classify this as a failure. Unfortunately I had a very busy week and free time was minimal. The only time I dedicated towards looking for opportunities to help was during my daily commute, and maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but I didn't see any.

In the past, I have tried to help whenever I see people struggling with large / heavy objects on subway stairs. Particularly single mothers with strollers, or travellers with multiple suitcases. I generally always help in these situations, even if they are travelling in the opposite direction. Sometimes it's just the desire to lend a helping hand. Sometimes, when I see a mother bumping a stroller step by step, it's for the baby's sake and safety.

It is easy to forget to help. Even though I didn't see the opportunities during this busy week, my  mindset throughout the challenge of opening your eyes in every day environments should translate to helping out in the future whenever I get the chance.