03.27.08
When to Interfere
I had a bad feeling in my gut this morning. I still feel guilty.
I was driving to work, taking the same route I do everyday, when I stopped at a crosswalk for two boys, who were watching something on the other side of the street. They seemed interested, so I looked too.
A man and woman were arguing, very intensly. It appeared she had gotten out the car and he followed. They were in a parking lot, and he was in her face. His arms flailing. I was sure he was about to attack her physically. The light turned green, and I had to go. I didn’t know what to do.
I got that sick gut feeling. The kind you get when you start wondering if you should do something. Should I call police? Should I turn around? What if something happens to her? What if it’s just a bad argument between a couple that just happens to be out in public? My mind was racing.
This has happened to me before. Where I see something and wonder if I should do anything. The last time it happened I was with my sister at an auto parts store. A man was beating on a window of a van, screaming at the woman inside and calling her names. We did call police that day.
Do we have a responsibility as people to call for help if something seems wrong? Should we interfere, even if we have no idea what is happening or if it warrants intrusion?
The problem is I don’t know that I would want someone to call police if that had been me. But, what if she did? What if I could have saved her?
I will never know. I hope she is safe.
dumdeedum said,
March 27, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I think it’s hard as a woman to know if you should interfere. If you were a man I’d say sure, interfere, you might help stop something escalating. But as a woman you don’t want to get caught in the crossfire (so to speak).
Although you can be glad their argument was out in the open, so it’s not likely it became violent in public.