SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge Does most of society really go out of their way to avoid interacting with someone who clearly needs a little assistance?
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| Member |
I grew up in a large city and you did not help anyone in that predicament for fear of robbery or worse. Later in life, I worked in rural Appalachia, think Deliverance days, and was helped numerous times when my car broke down on some of those mountain roads. When I lived in rural Wisconsin you always stopped to help unless they had Illinois tags. {ha ha} Psychological studies generally suggest you are more likely to get help from a stranger when there is no one else around. In a crowd the thinking is that someone else will take care of it. | |||
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| Member |
Last summer my nephew and and were driving through a parking lot after a big event and noticed a car with a hood up and an older lady inside. We asked her if she needed help and she said yes. We got her car started and she started crying. She said her phone was dead and she was been trying to get someone to help for 2 hours with no luck till we came. I have no way to verify that she was there that long but also have no reason not to believe her story. | |||
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His Royal Hiney |
I remember stopping twice by the freeway to help a stranded motorist. One was an older gentleman trying to fix a flat tire. The other was someone trying to secure a wheelchair in the back of their trunk. A highway patrol shooed me away after he came up on us. I say this to point out I don't mind helping people. But I'm not going to help someone who says they need a jump in the parking lot of a mall. Just too many things that can go sideways for me in my mind. it's one of those cost/benefit things. "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946. | |||
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| Member |
Ha Ha.  . | |||
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| Member |
From where I sit, that makes eminent good sense! -------------------------- Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H L Mencken I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is. -- JALLEN 10/18/18 | |||
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Honky Lips |
I won't hand someone cash, but I'll do my best to help people out. last time was a few months ago guy with a pregnant wife and 2 kids needed gas to get home to St George, he didn't want cash he wanted fuel so I filled his tank. seemed like a lot of effort to scam 30 bucks. | |||
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| Ammoholic |
The first thought that came to my mind in the situation as described was folks leaving that spot open for the roadside assistance who are often on their way. Most folks don't carry jumper cables and wouldn't know how to hook them up correctly if they had them. If they can't help, perhaps they are helping by staying out of the way. I'll generally stop and ask if folks need help. When I was younger and drove the kind of junk I could afford then I got stuck once or twice and quite appreciated the help strangers gave. It only seems right to pay it forward. I do pay attention to the hairs on the back of my neck though, and there are times when it just doesn't feel prudent. As far as new cars not responding well to jumping or being jumped, many of them are rolling computers these days. Depending on how well they are designed, condition of the wiring, and how carefully and correctly the cables are hooked up and removed, bad things can happen to expensive electronic parts. | |||
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| Member |
Last time I gave somebody a jump was a few years ago in the commute train parking lot. A young 20 something lady had left her lights on her mid 80s FJ65 landcruiser all day. Probly her folks' hand me down. Anyway I had seen this same FJ in the lot daily for weeks so I know she's a commuter. I was parked a few stalls away and asked her if she needs a jump.... duh. Well it was a conversation starter. Got her fired up and recommended she run up and down the freeway a few miles and charge that battery and then test it again when she gets home and change it if necessary and if not taking a charge to have a pro check the alternator... she looked at me like I had 3 eyes. But said thanks and drove off. I'm not especially nervous about helping folks out like that. | |||
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Waiting for Hachiko |
One of them X9's? 美しい犬 | |||
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| Member |
Excellent Sir! I suspect it was only the US version of the manual that stated this. | |||
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| Member |
My answer to your title question is that 80% of the people have no clue on how to respond because they have no moral base to stand on, read above; "the manual says", "BMW says", etc. | |||
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| Member |
Nope. 124TC Sedan. Mine was red. A friend shot some Super 8 of a Pinto trying to follow me through Turn 5 at Road America in a Showroom Stock race, and sliding straight into the runoff area. Not only did it handle, it was so tall that I could always find it in a parking lot!  -------------------------- Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H L Mencken I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is. -- JALLEN 10/18/18 | |||
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| Member |
I had a broken leg in a cast so my wife was driving me to work one morning. We were heading down I5 to Portland OR which is a busy commute. She is driving and I see a car swerve, then start to roll and eventually flip into a ditch. "Holy shit" I tell my wife to pull over and by the time we stop we are 300 yards up the road. I waited for what felt like forever (probably 1 minute or less) and no one else pulled over! I couldn't beleive it! So I go into a full sprint on crutches 300 yards, drop the crutches and headed into the ditch to see if the guy was ok. He seamed like he was going to live and was trying to get out of the car so I helped as best I could. My wife stayed in the car calling 911. When help arrived I explained no one else stopped to help so I went in the ditch with a cast on. The firemans reply " almost no one stops for stuff like this. Most of the time we are the first to arrive". | |||
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| Member |
I would have avoided parking next to the vehicle also. Not because im unwilling to help but simply to be out of the way. If a tow truck would show or a few buddies with tools, I dont want my vehicle anywhere close. | |||
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Member |
You know, I read this and agreed, and then thought of something. I'm middle aged now, but crime rates were much worse when I was younger. All crime rates have fallen significantly since the 70's and 80's. So why are people reluctant to help each other? Back then (before cell phones), you could go to someones door and ask to use the phone to call for help if your vehicle broke down. Property Crime:  Violent Crime:  Murders:  Loyalty Above All Else, Except Honor ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ | |||
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Member |
Depends on the situation - anyone who looks like a law abiding citizen and needs the assistance, sure, it could have been you who needed the jump. If it's in a dicey part of town, probably not, unless it was someone else like me, old white man, or anyone else not welcome is the neighborhood, then I would be thinking of getting them the hell out of there asap just like I would be thinking if I was the person broken down. If it was really too dicey, I'd call the police and ask them for their presence while I did the work, but I doubt they would come. In the past when I've called, police don't respond unless crime is in progress or about to break out. Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster | |||
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| The Ice Cream Man |
I don't even now where the battery is on my current car | |||
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| Member |
Crime rate statistics have been politically massaged to look like they have been going down. Perception is otherwise | |||
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| Member |
This. SO many people are afraid of strangers. Yet, they're the first people to bitch and moan when they're in that situation and nobody will jump them for 30 minutes. | |||
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| Go ahead punk, make my day |
See, those extra batteries to run the horn and hydraulic lift kit came in handy.  | |||
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