This morning everyone is talking about the horrific train incident that occurred in Melbourne on Monday evening. If you haven’t seen the rather disturbing footage of what happened after Roger Stapleford (the victim) asked one of two young girls to remove her feet from the chair apposite opposite him so he could sit, you can watch it here:
If you can’t watch right now or you don’t want to watch young kids abusing a grown man without even a skerrick of shame here’s what happened: The girls abused him verbally (even threatening to kill him) after assaulting him by throwing a can of drink at him resulting in a 5cm gash to his forehead.
It’s horrifying of course. Awful that it happened, that such hideous troubles teenagers are riding our trains and horrifying that nobody did a thing to come to Roger’s aid until the girls had left the carriage.
Just a few days ago we were up in arms that nobody said a thing when Charles Saatchi strangled his wife Nigella Lawson before tweaking her nose and pushing her face in public. We argued that the photographer shouldn’t have taken pictures (although I believe he did a valuable thing) and that nobody came to her assistance.
It’s just as outrageous that nobody said a thing to these girls on the train. Nobody came to help a man on the train covered in some young kid’s drink and sporting a giant gash on his forehead. Just a lone person who filmed it on their phone – bravo to them.
Is assault and intimidation becoming so common place that people no longer bat an eyelid when it happens in front of them? Is bad behaviour so easily accepted that we just laugh it off?
The cialis cheap fast medication becomes effective about 15 minutes after consumption. All you have to do is look out for a popular lowest price for cialis school and enroll the course. Old locks might viagra sale india develop mechanical snags anytime hence they are not reliable. Avoid smoking – Nicotine in cigarettes have been a major disaster pdxcommercial.com order cialis on line of veins and arteries which affects badly the blood circulation and energy levels. I hate to say I think I see it happening even in the tiny microcosm of society that is my Facebook feed.
I am not a confrontational person. Okay that’s not true. I am – but not usually in public. And hardly ever on Facebook. So my fingers hovered for more than a few seconds last night when I saw the Facebook status of one of the fathers of a child at Little Pencil’s school.
The kids are going to Canberra today and he had written some disparaging comment about arming his daughter with a sandwich lest she should meet Julia Gillard. Apparently, according to the people that cheered him on, it was a joke. Except that I don’t think it is. And I said as much.
I don’t give a flying toss what you think about the Prime Minister personally but I would like to believe that we are teaching our kids respect for all people and then some again for the highest office in the country. I want my son to know that violence and intimidation are never an answer and whether it occurred to the Prime Minister, the man delivering the newspaper or a casual bystander – it never becomes a joke.
When some really misguided kid threw a sandwich at the Prime Minister he wasn’t honestly protesting some political ideology – he was just being abusive and rude. There was no message in it. Just like there is nothing noble about hurling a drink at a man on a train because he has asked you to move your legs.
I’d like to think as a society we know right from wrong. I’d like to think that I would stand up for someone if they were in strife. I’d like to think that I have caused the people who were making ridiculous jokes on Facebook about their 11 and 12 year old kids throwing sandwiches at another human being some reason to think.
I agree with you on this Lana. People need to be more vocal about standing up for what is right. x
Amen, Lana. Amen.
I can’t watch this, it’s too appalling. Maybe I might have a chat with my 12 year old and show him the wide selection of incidents that have been filmed like this to show him our deplorable people can be, and how he cannot turn into one of these people, regardless of peers or pressure or cool and how he can never sit back and watch. And I hope the man who made that “joke” is reading this. Embarrassed, ashamed, remorseful – yes you should be all of those. Thank you for this Lana
Thank YOU Lisa xx
Oh well said Lana. I am so glad you said something in the school FB group. The behaviour we walk past is the behaviour we condone.
It’s so hard to stand up and say something in the face of everyone else thinking ‘ha ha, good joke’ … and it’s hard not to feel like ‘that person’ all the time. But if no-one was ‘that person’ then anarchy is what we’d have
Thank you Kelly – I love that you said “the behaviour we walk past is the behaviour we condone” because that’s what I am always going on about with my son when we talk about bullying…. and I think it stands true in every aspect of life
I like to think I would too Lana but would you have said something to those girls on that train?
It’s an interesting scenario Ang and I would like to think that I would but I know that in reality (especially if I had my son with me) I would be quite scared. But there’s a certain safety in numbers and I am sure if I DID stand up I would get the support of the people around me. Sometimes it just takes that one person to start the chain.
That said, the other day I saw a scuffle happening outside a bus stop. Two teenage girls were swearing and cursing and really laying into each other physically. There was only a few really old ladies gathered around and I was a little scared to say anything for fear of having them turn on me so I phoned the police and I videod their fight and stayed there till the police got there (about 2 minutes) gave them my footage and went home shaking.
Having your kids with you changes the situation. I don’t know that I would have said anything with my kids there but most probably would have if they weren’t. My mouth usually engages before my brain and I’m sure it will get me in trouble one day but it’s always for the right reason.
Kids present or not I would have asked the man if we was ok and offered him a tissue.
Teenagers today are scary. You’re lucky it only took the police 2 minutes to arrive. In my neighbourhood it would probably be 2 hours!
Just two days ago I posted on my Facebook status that the PM was visiting my little village to open our Avenue Of Honour. One of my friends told me to throw a sandwich at her and I said this:
“NO!! Regardless of my thoughts about her or her policies, she is the Prime Minister and I am the mother of three very impressionable Little People. Trying to teach them respect and that it’s ok to have different opinions without resorting to throwing sandwiches! Sheesh!
Would I have said anything to those brats on the train? Not if I had my kids with me, for fear of them doing something similar to me and my kids. It would have been nice if there was a group of people on the train who decided to open a collective can of whoopass on those girls. Strength in numbers and all that. And I guess the only good thing about bystanders filming it all is that there’s the chance those girls will be identified and arrested later.
Hear Hear Miss Ben Ben. I just don’t understand how one person throwing a sandwich gets interpreted as this “heroic” act which we all should follow. It’s time to turn the tide. We need more gentle, thoughtful people.
Many years ago my husband came to the defence of a stranger on a train who was being tormented by 2 young men who were trying to steal his wallet. For his troubles my husband got stabbed in the back twice, requiring stitches. No one came to his aide, though there were others on the train. This has not detered my husband as he has often since then stood up for others including myself. We now live in the country and don’t require public transport.
You live in the country AND you know your husband is a good and decent man. Double win! xx
I guess part of the problem when you see people being verbally abused (and physically too) is that it is hard to make yourself intervene when you can see that it will make you a target too. Self-preservation instinct.
I would like to think that I would have come to the man’s aid, but by helping him get away from the situation, not escalating the fight.
I think that the post about the sandwich was a joke and really unlikely to be encouraging any form of civil (or uncivil if you will) disobedience, but if you want to call it out, then so be it.
Thanks for your comment katyberry. The reason I wrote it is that I don’t think we should be making joked about the sandwich incident. Clearly it was a joke in my Facebook feed but in my opinion that’s a big error – we shouldn’t be joking about these things. It legitimises behaviours that are clearly wrong
And you are right self preservation is a touch and necessary instinct. So hard to imagine how we would really react in a situation like that on the train
I’ve hovered above Facebook too, wondering if I should enter into a shitfight. And I did, it was about the Adam Goodes incident and something someone said made me so mad, I couldn’t stop myself. And I’m glad I did. Didn’t make me very popular though and I was appalled and how many people agreed with the original post. Felt sick really.
I didn’t even know this had happened to that man in my hometown. Sometimes I feel like the world’s just going to crap.
Thanks Lana for making me think, and your commenters too. There is a ‘herd’ mentaility with some/many FB followers and I shudder when I see denigration and prejudice come up in the form of a picture or meme and then people I know “liking” it… I know that our world seems very well off and all that, but doesnt human behaviour often just go back to the ‘basics’ of survival. Not get hurt. Not get harmed. Stay safe.
As a now little old lady I do not like travelling on the trains and it used to be such a treat to take grandkids for their ‘train ride’. But there are far too many unwell/uneducated/non-socially aware people where I would travel from. I am stating it as I see it.
However, I also speak up more now if I see behaviour that’s not socially acceptable and so far, touch wood still OK.
Teacher voice/look works for me most times.
Denyse
Wow! After all I got a blog from where I can truly get
helpful data regarding my study and knowledge.