There are many things that occur in this day and age that sicken me. There are too many to mention and it is probably one of the main reasons that I choose not to watch the news on a regular basis. Day to day, we hear about senseless crimes that affect all walks of life. They annoy us, sadden us and then we carry on with our lives, only pausing to think about how these events rip lives apart and damage those directly involved.
None of us are immune to these crimes but I find these particularly disturbing
A vicious attack outside a SkyTrain station in East Vancouver early Tuesday morning left a 56-year-old Asian woman in hospital with serious head injuries.
After handing over $5 for five days straight, 79-year-old is shoved to the ground and robbed of his wallet.
Last week I received a phone call from my Mom. She is a cashier at a self serve gas station, loves her job and her customers. At 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the world as she knew it came to a grinding halt when a drug addicted loser thought it would be a good idea to rob her at knife point. Fortunately, she was not “hurt”, the thief took his loot (cash, lottery tickets and smokes) and then hopped in a car that his equally pathetic girlfriend was driving.
We tend to assess the severity of these situations based on whether or not the victims are physically hurt but do we ever consider the long term effects of what these assaults do to the poor victims that are just going about their daily business? Physically my Mom is “fine”. Emotionally she’s a wreck. She is in the process of quitting her job because she is terrified to go back. She is the one who must endure police interviews, sleepless nights and try and build her life back. She is 60; for her it will not be an easy task, but she is strong and will prevail.
I’m finding it harder and harder to be sympathetic to society’s less fortunate individuals who happen to fall into the life of addiction or find themselves living on the streets without a roof over their head. I have supported many of these people by donating cash, buying coffee and meals and I don’t want to group them all into one category for I believe that there are those that are trying to find their way. I am, however, tired of the homeless people & drugged up kids in my community that think it’s okay to steal and harass the rest of us in order for them to meet their needs. Bottom line, I am sick of no one taking accountability for their actions. Drugs are to blame, government is to blame, my childhood was bad, etc. There are a million different reasons but at the end of the day it is about choices. If you want to drag yourself to hell and back go ahead, but leave the rest of us alone.
5 Comments
August 20, 2007 at 9:50 am
She shouldn’t have to quit — it’s entirely reasonable for her to go on a disability leave.
August 20, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I know how violated I felt being robbed when I wasn’t even home. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to have to face the criminal. I will keep your mom in my thoughts and prayers and hopefully she will be able to find the strength to do what she needs to do to get through this difficult time.
Cj
August 20, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I am sorry to hear about your mom, that stuff sucks big time. My thought are with her.
August 21, 2007 at 3:26 pm
To all of you, thank you for your input and kindness. Much to my surprise she has managed to go back to work this week but is, understandably, very uneasy about being there. I told you she was tough