My Support Forums - View Single Post - Is there fewer empathy, nowadays, among population in general?

eskielover · May 31, 2022, 03:43 PM

I have always hated being part of a crowd or big group for as long as I can ever remember I my my life. I always hated crowd mentality kinda like the Pied Piper.....people led off a bridge without ever thinking cause crowd mentality is usually about following a leader.

I have always been too dam independent. I have often times been the first at the scene of accidents & have to quickly assess the situation & call the 911 with detailed information so they know what is going on. My brain has always been analytical & is always assessing situations around me to figure out what needs to be done & I step in & do it even when there is a crowd around. That is actually what first responders are trained to do & it probably comes natural to them or they wouldn't choose a career like that.

People are many times divided into leaders or followers who basically seem to need to be guided or told what to do. Leaders usually have the anlytical mind that does the doing or the telling or guiding.

These days also so many who have tried to help end up getting sued for the good they tried to do.
I am not sure inaction is all about lack of empathy. There is so much more complexities that go into it than that.

I remember years ago , early 80's I was driving back to work after my lunch racquetball game with the guys. I was stopped at a busy intersection in one of the valley suburbs of Los Angeles. This elderly guy was crossing at the crosswalk with an arm full or groceries. He fell in the street & groceries went all over the place. I had to find a place to park my car & go back to help him. No one else had stopped to help & that was 30+ years ago. Got him up & his groceries gathered & got him to his apartment. Not knowing about wellness checks they have today, or I would have called social services to check on him. He wasn't injured in the fall so didn't call 911. May have been dementia or drinking who knows but got him home safely.

Sadly so many observe but don't have a clue what to do & may be afraid of making the situation worse instead of better ad people really
aren't trained well in critical thinking, problem solving or what to actually do in an emergency situation.....that is not about lack of empathy