DON'T Let Him Die!

[nolabear]

I was so disturbed by the Tea Party audience's reaction to Wolf Blitzer's question about whether a young man should be allowed to die if he couldn't afford medical care that I haven't been able to get it out of my thoughts. Then this morning I saw this story on The Today Show. And I keep going back and forth between these two crowds; the angry, devil-take-the-hindmost crowd who would let a theoretical person die and the folks below, students and construction workers and generally working class people who, when called on clearly risked their lives to work together and pull a stranger out from under a burning car.

I guess I find myself wondering what this means. Are these two different populations? Are people actually more willing to empathize with another and act to save him when he's real and not a theory? Is it easier to hate in general than in specific? I don't know; I'm just throwing it out there. What makes one well fed, well dressed, elite crowd (elite by virtue of being invited to the debate, not necessarily by income or class) be so calloused and another everyday working stiff crowd act like, well, like people?

Motorcyclist: Life saved by heroes who lifted car

(AP) SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A Utah motorcyclist who was pinned under a burning car after a collision expressed his gratitude Tuesday for the help of strangers who lifted the vehicle to rescue him.

"I'm just very thankful for everyone that helped me out," Brandon Wright told The Associated Press by telephone from his hospital bed. "They saved my life."

Authorities said Wright was riding his motorcycle Monday on U.S. 89 near the Utah State University campus in Logan when the 21-year-old collided with a black BMW that was pulling out of a parking lot.

Tire and skid marks on the highway indicate that Wright laid the bike down and slid along the road before colliding with the car, Assistant Police Chief Jeff Curtis said.

The bike hit the car's hood and bounced to the ground, while Wright slid under the car and then both vehicles burst into flames, Curtis said. Wright was trapped beneath the burning car.

A group of about 10 men and women rushed to help, tilting the car up to free him and pull him to safety.

"Every one of those people put their lives in danger," Curtis said. "Those people are heroes. You can only speculate what the outcome would have been if they had lifted that car and waited for the emergency service personnel to get up there."

Construction workers from a campus building project also grabbed fire extinguishers to try and put out the flames.

Chris Garff, a media production specialist for the university, caught the rescue on video. The 31-year-old was on the 9th floor of a university building shooting a promotional video for the school when he looked out of the window and saw black smoke billowing from the road.

"I turned the camera toward it and started to record," said Garff, adding that Wright's motorcycle was engulfed in flames. "It was a remarkable thing to see 10 to 12 people lift that car and pull him out."

Wright was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Curtis said.

The driver of the BMW, whom Curtis said was among the group that helped lift the car, suffered only minor injuries. He's been identified as John Johnson, the head of USU's Department of Management Information Systems in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.

Johnson did not respond to email and phone messages from The AP on Tuesday.

Curtis said he didn't know whether any citations would be issued or charges filed.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Skoloff contributed to this report.

[FirstLight]

1. amazing dichotomy...

I was also thinking about that response from that crowd, and wondering if these were the same people who refused to let Teri Schiavo die...

very wrong.

however, the biker story reminds me when most humans are face to face with danger, true altruism reveals itself as a part of our inherent nature.

[themadstork]

5. I think this is true

Our gut instinct is almost always to not kill, or to avert the death of others--when the person is physically present to us, anyway. Generally frothing-at-the-mouth behavior like you see with the Blitzer question must be heavily socialized.

This also explains why we have so many remote-control warhawks. Most of these people would find themselves working to mitigate overall violence if tossed into a random warzone.

[hamsterjill]

2. Just an observation.

First, the audience response regarding the theoretical situation was just unbelievable in my mind. I would hazard a guess that any one of the people who applauded last night would feel very differently if it was one of THEIR family members being allowed to die. They seem to lack the ability to empathize, or else, they are just down right a bunch of mean bastards who don't care about their fellow man.

Secondly, since there was no audio on the video that I saw of the group lifting the car, we don't know if one person was compelling the others to help, but the video seems to appear that people figured it out all at once, all on their own and just came together to do what needed to be done to save the life of someone who was unable to save himself.

What I find interesting about the two situations is the fact that groups of people tend to act like the rest of the group that they are a part of. Heroes can make others heroes; assholes can make other assholes more vocal.

I'm from Texas and I'm convinced that half of the Republicans around here are Republicans only because other people that they know are Republicans. They have no independent grasp of the issues, no concern about figuring out their own set of beliefs and values, no interest in learning what's really going on. They are more afraid of being perceived as "different".

[barbtries]

7. excellent observations.

jeez i wish they'd start thinking for themselves!

[nolabear]

8. I think what you're saying has a lot of merit.

[uponit7771]

11. I'm from Texas too and feel the same way about republican voting. Most of the time it's a reflexive

...action that something thought through

[Warpy]

3. Death leaves a hole in the web of life

and what those stupid teabaggers don't realize is that the 30 year old poor person whose fate they so cavalierly decided was likely one of the cast of thousands who make their lives possible.

Marginal workers, the type who can't afford health insurance even when they can get it, are the people who keep this country going. They grow, pick, and process our food, fix our roads, make and deliver the goods and services we all use, make and sell our clothing. Without marginal workers, this country would grind to a halt overnight and people like those well dressed, fed and coiffed teabaggers (yes, I did check in long enough to get a look at the white bread they admitted to that debate) would be utterly incapable of getting through a single day.

They have no earthly idea this is the case because they are both unaware these people exist and completely devalue the work that they do.

They have no idea that if they clap and cheer over every hole in the web of life, that web will no longer support them.

[pacalo]

4. Beautifully said, nolabear.

[RebelOne]

6. The video was shown on Good Morning America today.

I think it has gone viral by now.

[global1]

9. I Liken The People That Reacted Yesterday At The Debate To People That Watch NASCAR or INDY Races ..

just to watch the crashes.

[nolabear]

10. Newt is now being interviewed by Blitzer and is dancing all around the idea.

Yes, cahrity, tax credit for charitable contributions, should get aid, shouldn't get the same as those who contribute, and so on and so forth. How does he DO that?