Over on Fatal Attraction, Phlegm Fatale muses about a horrible event in the Metroplex early Sunday morning. A little more information has come out, which I will try to incorporate. A motorist stopped at what appeared to be a car wreck on the side of the road and went forward, saw that the stranded motorist had a shotgun in his lap and ran away. He called 911 and pulled away. Two more motorists stopped and approached. Both were shot dead. A third samaritan stopped and approached and was shot critically. The police arrived, and one patrolman was shot in the face, in the right hand and right leg. His injuries are not critical, though it appears he will lose his left eye. The motorist then killed himself. There are reports other motorists stopped, one with a conceal-and-carry, and shots were fired, but this apparently had no effect on main events.
So the community mused this morning on the radio--can a good samaritan take the risk these days? Admittedly, only a small number of dangerous ones are there, most of the need is legitimate, but you are a parent with children to raise. What do you do? A number called in with efforts to help gone wrong where they were shot, robbed, or carjacked. And yet, about half of these people still said, "Yeah, I'm still going to stop after I assess the situation, because you just can't not help." The ones who said they would not stop seemed really troubled by their decision, and did say they would call 911.
Interestingly, several women called in to say if they are the one stranded, they would just as soon not have some stranger they don't know approaching. They said that's why they have a cell phone and roadside assistance. Killing by senseless killing, we are becoming more wary and afraid of one another. And yet many people continue to act to help in a crisis.
A police officer I know said a disturbing trend on 911 is the calls they are getting, in the middle of the day,when an unexpected visitor knocks on the door. The visitor is a stranger. The home resident feels threatened and calls the police. Personally, I seldom answer the door for unexpected calls these days because it is almost always someone trying to sell me something. If it's the neighbors, they will catch me later. But puh-leez! 911 for an unexpected knock?
Remember, this is the Metroplex, where we have crammed more than 7 million bodies into six counties. Last I heard, we get about 350 newcomers moving in every day and moving somewhere in this seething mass of humanity. Even when I go to the grocery store, I'm surprised when I run into someone I know. It just doesn't happen very often any more.
I don't know about moon phases, but this weekend in the 'plex was extraordinarily gory, brutal, and often lethal. Fights, shootings, beatings. Time to focus on some more positive lifepoints.
Go for the selfish creature comforts. It's supposed to hit 105 degrees today and nothing has been said about rolling blackouts or strained power grids. Just in case, though, I think I'll do the wash in the morning rather than at the peak of the energy use right now.
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4 comments:
I know it sounds weird, but I don't stop for a breakdown - I call *GSP - except in the rare instance when I drive past and something just bugs me to turn around and go back to them. Granted, we're out here in the country, and nine times out of ten I'm more than happy to have someone stop and help me because odds of even having a cell signal out in the middle of nowhere are spotty at best. We still have good people around here. Another reason I'm perfectly happy to stay out in the middle of nowhere and not have to deal with the city mindset.
I don't even remember the last time I locked my door. It's been awhile.
Events like that are just horrible. Would I stop? Yes, I probably would have... I say probably because I wouldn't have with my three kids in the car, I would have called someone instead. If it was just me, I would have likely stopped and asked if they had a cell phone or needed help.
Would I still do that? Yes. If you change who you are because there is evil in the world, then evil wins. No matter what another person does to you, you can't let it change who you are. Now, would I want a stranger to help me on the road? Yes. I was rear ended by someone who then drove off a few years ago and didn't have a cell phone... another motorist stopped and called the police for me and a second driver wrote down the bit of the license number they remembered for me. I was very glad they did.
Personally, I can't 4emember the last time I DIDN'T lock up the house upon immediate entry. Cell signals are frequent here in the 'plex. And we, too, still have plenty of good people. It's just that we are all pretty anonymous.
Good for you Merry, for not stopping with your kids. I'll have to see what I do next time. My guess right now is that I would stay in my car but call 911 and try to wait till help arrives. Stopping far enough back, hopefully, that soome drunk doesn't run into me.
There's probably still some bunch of college kids out there wondering about the weird guy with a Napoleon complex (shoulder holster that night) and his quiet wife (rear guard with pistol and shotgun) who stopped to help them in the middle of the night on a deserted highway.
Yes, I stop, and I do it carefully. Five on two could have been ugly, but leaving them there goes against my upbringing; both because they needed help, and because if they had been up to anything, I probably know the potential victims.
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