How much compassion should one have?
Compassion does not come with an instruction book that tells us when and how much of a good Samaritan we should be. Which is pretty scary judging from today's world where crime is aplenty. As much as you want to help someone (which is what we should do), a little voice in your mind keeps telling you "What if he's just pretending to be in need?", "What if he's really out to get you?", "What if you are the one who ends up getting hurt?". But another voice also reminds you to do the right thing.
Once, Karen, Joyce and I got tricked by a man pretending to be a Singaporean whose passport and belongings were stolen. We bought him an LRT ticket to the Singapore Embassy but luckily, did not give him any money despite him constantly telling us how hungry he was. A few weeks later, Karen saw the same man, with the same 'uniform' in the same place again. Fucking liar.
Recently, if you've read the papers, a man suffered a fatal shot while trying to rescue an aged woman from a snatch thief. He should be honored for what he did because frankly speaking, most of us (including myself), will think twice about helping strangers for fear of injuring ourselves.
I've spoken to mum a few times about this: If you witnessed a murder and are asked to testify in court to help prosecute the murderer, would you do it? While our morals would immediately lead us to say 'yes', you cannot help but to also consider the repercussions of your decision. What if you've testified and now, the murderer is after you? Is it fair to put your family and friends at risk just to do one act of kindness to a stranger? Wouldn't it be safer to just pretend you didn't see anything?
My answer for that question is always 'yes'. Because what rights do we have to complain about the shitty condition of today's world when we are taking the coward's way out by choosing to not help the authorities rid the bad guys. However, my 'yes' is not a solid one. I cannot help but wonder about the potential dangers that may come after.
I guess one will never know what one will do until one is in that situation.
And i hope none of us will ever be caught in such predicaments.
Compassion does not come with an instruction book that tells us when and how much of a good Samaritan we should be. Which is pretty scary judging from today's world where crime is aplenty. As much as you want to help someone (which is what we should do), a little voice in your mind keeps telling you "What if he's just pretending to be in need?", "What if he's really out to get you?", "What if you are the one who ends up getting hurt?". But another voice also reminds you to do the right thing.
Once, Karen, Joyce and I got tricked by a man pretending to be a Singaporean whose passport and belongings were stolen. We bought him an LRT ticket to the Singapore Embassy but luckily, did not give him any money despite him constantly telling us how hungry he was. A few weeks later, Karen saw the same man, with the same 'uniform' in the same place again. Fucking liar.
Recently, if you've read the papers, a man suffered a fatal shot while trying to rescue an aged woman from a snatch thief. He should be honored for what he did because frankly speaking, most of us (including myself), will think twice about helping strangers for fear of injuring ourselves.
I've spoken to mum a few times about this: If you witnessed a murder and are asked to testify in court to help prosecute the murderer, would you do it? While our morals would immediately lead us to say 'yes', you cannot help but to also consider the repercussions of your decision. What if you've testified and now, the murderer is after you? Is it fair to put your family and friends at risk just to do one act of kindness to a stranger? Wouldn't it be safer to just pretend you didn't see anything?
My answer for that question is always 'yes'. Because what rights do we have to complain about the shitty condition of today's world when we are taking the coward's way out by choosing to not help the authorities rid the bad guys. However, my 'yes' is not a solid one. I cannot help but wonder about the potential dangers that may come after.
I guess one will never know what one will do until one is in that situation.
And i hope none of us will ever be caught in such predicaments.
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