Guy gets mugged...gives the kid his wallet, jacket, and takes him to dinner

[NYC Liberal]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89164759

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

With all of the depressing news nowadays, it's nice to have some good stories, too.

[Nutmegger]

1. R&K [n\t]

[babylonsister]

2. Rec'd. We need more Julio Diaz's. Thanks! nt

[Systematic Chaos]

3. K&R

Wow. Just. Wow.

I hope that kid will be able to find an alternative to robbing people. I get the feeling from the story that he just might.

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. A social worker would know how to do this. Don't try this at home.

[sandnsea]

6. Not most social workers

I wouldn't recommend anybody do this unless they genuinely care. Authenticity is everything when you're dealing with troubled teens.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. Did I say most?

[Forkboy]

5. Reminds me of the movie Slacker and the old anarchist.

[FatDave]

16. Hey yeah!

That was my favorite part of the movie. Didn't he even say "don't forget your gun"?

But yeah, that's exactly what this is like.

[Blue_Tires]

8. i heard that this morning on the way to work

that story just put me in such a good mood throughout the entire day...

[susu369]

22. Me too!

Listened on the way to work (teared up because the story was so touching) and thought about it all day.

Kindness and genuine concern have great power.

[southerncrone]

44. Me, three!!! Helped get my mind right for another day of dealing with teens.

We've gotta help these kids!

[Taxmyth]

9. Julio Diaz seems like a normal responsible person

and as such had he been carrying a concealed weapon with a permit then this story might have had a different ending. Better or worse?

[Bosso 63]

21. I work with kids like this and I own hand guns.

But I would never carry because I think it would change "me", and in a weird way, make me more vulnerable. Others my feel different, and I'm not going to question that.

[varkam]

10. K&R

[orleans]

11. what a nice story. thanks for putting this up. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Hang on a sec. This dude was threatening people with a fucking knife. While I respect Mr. Diaz's

turn-the-other-cheek mentality, you'll excuse me if I don't get the warm and fuzzies over this story.

Yes, in the course of the meal, Mr. Diaz asked the mugger for his knife, and got it. Hopefully, he had a positive effect on this kid. Maybe if I lived in NYC, I would view mugging as just another economic transaction, robbing people at knifepoint merely another dangerous and exploitative low-paying employment situation.

But let's be real fuckin' honest, here: the kid wasn't out 'doing some difficult job', he was fucking MUGGING PEOPLE. He was risking more than his own freedom- he was directly threatening others with being sliced open with a knife; for their money.

There's a difference between being compassionate and being a total fucking idiot, or a chump.

I don't have a ton of sympathy for violent criminals- I guess I must be some kind of heartless asshole. Did Mr. Diaz do 'the right thing'? Maybe. Maybe this will cause this kid to turn his life around. I would certainly hope so. Or maybe, he'll use the 20 bucks to get a better knife, go on mugging people, and the next time he'll actually stab someone.

[orleans]

13. okay, you've got a point. but let's hope the kid has a change of heart

and maybe this act of kindness will help to turn his life around.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. I would absolutely agree with that. nt

[Itchinjim]

17. Amen bro.

n/t

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

31. Mr. Diaz did the right thing for himself. He followed his personal morals.

That is all we can ever do is to follow our own 'heart' so to speak. Even if the kid does continue what he's doing, Mr. Diaz has done what he has to do, and there is a chance that he helped this kid.

[Warren DeMontague]

33. I guess the line that kind of bugged me was "if you're going to be out here risking YOUR freedom"

Mr. Diaz said that to the mugger;

but the fact of the matter is, the mugger wasn't only risking his own freedom- he was endangering, threatening, the lives of other people.

Like I said- I don't have a ton of sympathy for violent criminals. Non-violent criminals, like the pot smokers we are filling up our prison space with? Absolutely. I don't think people should go to jail for what they choose to do with their own bodies. But I think people who engage in violence against others or threaten other people with violence belong in jail. That's what jails are FOR. I had a friend in Chicago who was mugged by a guy who came up behind him in an alley and hit him over the head with a brick. Sorry if my cup don't runneth over with understanding for the poor, misunderstood muggers of the world.

But as I noted above, I get what Mr. Diaz was trying to do. Hopefully, due to this incident, this kid will choose a different "career" path.

[LanternWaste]

35. Sounds to me as though the line he used...

Sounds to me as though the line he used and the line you take exception to was part and parcel of the Mr. Diaz's gentle conduct of the situation. Seems to me that if he said, "well, if you're going to be out raping, looting and acting like a thug..", things may have taken a dramatic turn for the worse...


But, then seeing as how my father was in prison from my infancy to the time I was in HS, I've learned empathy for the "poor, misunderstood muggers of the word".

[Peace Patriot]

15. That is beautiful! And, you know, I don't want to take anything away from

Juan Diaz, an obviously beautiful guy, but I think kindness, generosity and the desire to do good are much more typical of most Americans that the fascist media reflects.

[Itchinjim]

18. And then called the the cops on the little bastard?

That's how the story should have ended.

[dawgman]

26. Why?

So the court system could exact revenge on "the little bastard" while at the same time hardening him and removing any remaining opportunity to turn his life around, get an education or become otherwise a useful system?

Punitive measures do not work. Our judicial/ penal system is fucked and the more people we can keep out of it the better off we are as a society.

Do a little reading on restorative justice and it may open your eyes a little.

[Itchinjim]

28. Because the little bastard committed a crime, thats why.

And now thanks to Mr. Diaz he's free to victimize other people. Ever been robbed? Well I have and it was an experience I could have gladly done without. So until you get robbed/mugged/jumped or whatever, please don't lecture me on the effectiveness of our judicial/penal system. Brainless little bastards threatening innocent people with knives? That's what's fucked up.

[superduperfarleft]

42. I've been robbed.

I was assaulted, had a gun stuck in my stomach, and ordered (as I said, at gunpoint) to suck on the crackhead's finger.

Am I now worthy to lecture you on how punitive measures don't work and this guy did the right thing by not feeding another young man to the monster that is our "correctional" system, and that your reaction is part of the problem?

[dawgman]

47. lol

I actually HAVE been robbed. I have also been assaulted for no reason. I actually had someone break a bottle over my head and try to take my wallet. So...what is your point? If the system doesn't prevent the crimes or reform the criminals what does it do?....oh that's right it makes people money off the tax payers...

[dawgman]

50. are you here?

I would love to engage in a discussion about this.

[book_worm]

19. Nice story--at least nobody was killed.

It's good to see a social worker who hasn't yet become embittered and burnt out.

[Bosso 63]

20. Mr. Diaz demonstrated that he had options.

If you work with kids like this, you never want to allow them to think that they have complete control of the situation. The kid was taking more than money, he was taking power. Mr. Diaz took some of that power back, and changed the dynamics of the relationship. My guess is, that kid is now thinking that he got the money, but at some level, he also knows he didn't "win". No doubt, the kid is still a thug, but his world just became a little more complicated.

[Ellen Forradalom]

49. That's the crux of it, I think.

The encounter did not go according to script. The kid did not gain the upper hand.

[malaise]

23. This is a lovely story

of a man who was not afraid of a troubled kid. No doubt his training helped, but Julio is clearly a people person. I'm betting that kid learned a lesson.

[knitter4democracy]

24. After dinner, the kid gave him the knife.

We need more of this guy, someone who can connect with people in trouble and find out how best to help them.

[ismnotwasm]

25. How cool

And you're right, it is nice to have good stories. Thank you!

[mdmc]

27. story time!

I heard that story on NPR.

I once got mugged by two young black kids (one was about 12, the other perhaps 15). They got about 14 dollars from me.
I went to the police station and the cops drove me around to see if I could identify the perps.
I saw two thuggy looking kids near where I got mugged. It wasn't the perps, but they looked like they were up to no good.
I almost told the cops that these two thugs were my muggers. I knew that they were not, but I wanted someone to pay for what happened to me. These little thugs fit the bill.
I didn't bring them down.
A year later I told my story to a bunch of juvenile delinquents. I told them that I almost accused two innocent kids cause I was so mad. I cursed during my presentation and used the word niggers.

I often sit back and watch the Hudson river flow by my house. I often think about those two innocent kids, and the two kids that mugged me. I pray for us all.

[lame54]

29. That kid worked hard for that money - it was wrong for Diaz to scam a free meal out of him

Am I reading this wrong?

[Dorian Gray]

30. He's very lucky

Both Julio Diaz AND the kid. It's not every day that you have an encounter like that.

[pacalo]

32. I agree. But looking beyond the face value of the story, Diaz's attitude is admirable.

Turning the other cheek in life does make a person happier, along with maintaining a positive outlook on life.

[LanternWaste]

34. An absolute good was done and no one was hurt

An absolute good was done and no one was hurt. I wish there were more stories like this. One illustrative point I took from the story was that violence is not neccesarily the appropriate (or even safest in many cases) recourse. Alowing a cool head to prevail won in this case. And that's a good thing.

I suppose if I called the police on every crime I witnessed, there'd be a LOT of speeders payng a LOT of fines. Sometimes justice can be left out...

[il_lilac]

36. thanks- I needed that

K&R for a story that exemplifies how I would hope I could act. He took a dangerous situation and turned it into a teachable moment. I believe they both will benefit from the transaction.

[Uncle Joe]

37. I hope this changes that boy's life for the better.

A most heart warming story to make my day.:)

Thanks for the thread, NYC Liberal.:thumbsup:

[slackmaster]

38. Touching story with a possible good outcome, but Mr. Diaz is very lucky

He could have gotten himself killed. The strategy he used worked this time, but it won't always.

[Thickasabrick]

43. Mr. Diaz probably can read people pretty well, and he sensed this

boy just needed help. He obviously didn't feel very threatened by the kid. I'm glad he used his social skills to reach out to the kid - very rare individual there.

Great story!

[dysfunctional press]

39. obama/diaz 2008.

nt

[LisaL]

40. The guy is lucky he isn't dead.

[eilen]

45. dumb luck

He was very brave. This isn't like he talked the kid off a ledge, he was threatened and robbed at knifepoint. The kid was actually threatening his freedom and the freedom of everyone he victimized.

I hope mugger didn't leave with social worker's address.

I don't feel sorry for violent criminals.

[Fox Mulder]

53. I was thinking the same thing.

[Yael]

41. Wow -- this made my day

Julio Diaz is a true hero of the people.

[Jack Rabbit]

46. !!

El Greco, St. Martin and the Beggar (c. 1598)
from Olga's Gallery

[RFKHumphreyObama]

48. I have a relative in the UK who does exactly the same thing

My mother always used to tell a story about how he was coming to meet her at the station as she was arriving by train and how he was mugged by a couple of thugs. He befriended them and invited them over to his house for coffee. He's managed to change a lot of criminals that way and has developed some lifelong friendships in the process

[Laelth]

51. Les Miserables.

It's a great story.

-Laelth

[garybeck]

52. this is exactly taken from the book and movie "Peaceful Warrior" n/t

[NuttyFluffers]

54. yay, happy endings! love this story.

i especially like this part:

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

------------------------------------------------

that is one of the most important parts of the story to me. when seeing the workers at the diner be kind to Julio, the kid immediately assumed the power dynamic as the reason why 'pleasantries' are exchanged.

when informed that, no, there was no 'overlord power' demanding kindness the kid sort of gets it... but then gets confused. being nice to waiters or managers may make sense, because they have some sort of power over you and your food -- but a dishwasher is essentially powerless in this customer-server dynamic. why bother with kindness to even the powerless?

then comes the moral of kindness for its own sake; kindness being its own revolution. the kid heard it but didn't truly believed it existed.

all the child has seen before is 'might makes right'. he's even seen 'mutually beneficial selfishness'. but he has not seen genuine kindness, nor has he experienced the true transformative depths of its simple 'magic,' until that night.

suddenly 'might makes right' becomes a waste of energy. suddenly hypocritical veneers of courtesy seem tiresome. there is something better -- and this better thing isn't part of the fairy tales of childhood, but can be a very real part of reality today.

this can be a landmark moment in a person's education: the pleasures of life do not have to be taken forcefully; they do not have to be coerced cynically; they can be given -- and received -- freely. that is magic.

what better way to change the path of someone than an open-armed, welcome invitation. what more permanent way to stop animosity than to embrace friendship. what more frightening a revolution to the politics of hate than the peace of kindness...