Helping the Homeless (Week 11)

We recently watched a video in class about people collapsing on the street, and how others reacted. When the well dressed woman fell, it only took people 4 seconds on average to stop and help her. However, when a homeless man fell, it took 3 minutes on average. And when the actor had a beer can in his hand no one stopped to help him except for a partially paralyzed woman who was also homeless. People walked by her as she asked them to call 911.

We stereotype homeless people as drunks. We assume that when they ask us for money, they will use it to buy alcohol. And when the "homeless" man collapsed on the sidewalk with a beer can in his hand, it gave people a reason to keep on walking by. But what if that man was collecting cans for money? Or what if he had just picked it up to throw it away? Just because someone is homeless does not mean that they don't try. We should always stop to help someone who has collapsed on the street, whether they are rich or poor. And even if a man collapsed because he was drunk, we should still help him. What if that was you? You would want someone to help.