Imagine you’re back to your college years. Times are hard. You’re poor. You’re insecure. You’re tired and you’re stressed.
Imagine you’ve got a tray of food you bought at the cafeteria, and you’re on your way to get a seat. Boom. Someone walks into you. Your food is not only on the ground, but also on your clothes.
You’re hungry. You’re embarrassed. You’re pissed off. The person who walks into you says “Sorry sorry!!”, and runs off.
I saw this happen 8 years ago. Shocked, but not surprised. I felt bad for the person who had their food dropped, but I also felt bad for the person who walked in to them.
See, I used to save every penny. A 19.95$ meal at the cafeteria was a once-a-week occurence I felt guilty buying, not a daily price. I would never want to be in a situation where my behavior caused someone to need to purchase another meal.
Every so often, I would revisit this memory, and debate myself. Would I help pay for them to get another meal, or would I walk away? It’s difficult but quick to walk away…
Now, I see it differently. The morally correct thing to do is buy the person another lunch. That is the right thing to do. Being a bystander doesn’t change anything. Anyone can say it’s not their fault, but I wish I was the solution. That could have been a moment to be proud of.