Yesterday, Hartford, Conn. police department released a video of a 78-year-old man being run over and left to die in the middle of a busy street. Angel Arces Torres was crossing the street after purchasing milk at the local grocery store when two vehicles involved in a chase hit the man, the impact tossing him violently into the air. Angel Torres crumpled onto the middle of the street, motionless.
Rather than stopping to check on the man or call for help, the two cars ducked down a side street. Pedestrians, rather than calling 911, rushing out to check on the man and administer life-saving techniques, simply stared. One man on a motor scooter circled Angel Torres, then drove away. Other cars simply swerved to avoid hitting the man’s body, but drove on to their own destinations.
Angel Arces Torres, thankfully, survived the incident but is now in critical condition, but police in Hartford are worried about the lack of empathy on the part of the bystanders and the witnesses. For them, the tragedy is the lack of moral compass they find in the people they deal with everyday. Normal people. People like you and me. ”At the end of the day we’ve got to look at ourselves and understand that our moral values have now changed.” Police Chief Daryl Roberts said. “We have no regard for each other.”
As I read and pondered this story today, I wondered two things: One, how would I have responded had I been a witness to the event? I would like to think that of course, I would have the fortitude to immediately go out to assist this poor, elderly man. But would I? If I had been a pedestrian on the street, would I have been more worried about my own safety in crossing the busy street than I was the condition of Angel Torres? Would I stand there hoping, like everyone else probably did, that someone else would go out and help?
Second, why is it that we have so little concern for the well-being of others? Have we really lost our moral compass? If so, why? Has television and violent video games desensitized us to death and violence? Has access to information and tragedy around the world neutralized our capacity for empathy? What do you think?
