Art, ================ "A very good friend of mine is currently in hospital because he tried to prevent a purse snatch in a shopping centre. The young lady victim had been knocked to the ground. My friend intervened and was attacked by the snatcher and his mate. The attack lasted about two minutes and at least a hundred people walked by and did nothing." ================= That is very sad. I can understand to some extent that so many people do not want to become involved. Like you said, the dopey way that the law operates allows the perpetrators and their ugly-mug lawyers to sue the defenders. If I had been there you can rest assured that I would not have allowed such a thing. There are still some people who will come to the aid of a victim. However, we must understand that probably 99% of people - even if they were revolted by the actions of these scumbags - do not have the capacity to do much about it, other than to get themselves bashed. Gary

Hi, Gary, I'm sure you would have waded in - some of us do care - but on this occasion 100+ people DIDN'T. My friend is 69 years old and walks with a limp because of a club foot. His capacity was not up to the task but his will and concern were. OK. He got himself beaten up but, as he himself says, they did not diminish his self respect and he did save the young lady's purse. Mission acomplished! But what if he had not been there? 100+ citizens would have ignored the distress of a young lady. I don't care how much PMA you claim to have, there is no positive way of looking at this incident. The rose coloured glasses must have been opaque. Reality is not difficult to find but it does seem very easy to hide from.

Hi Arthur; ============= I don't care how much PMA you claim to have, there is no positive way of looking at this incident. ============= I'm sure the young lady wouldn't agree. She will probably remember your friend for the rest of her life. A 69 year old man put honor, decency and chivalry before age or infirmity to do the right thing by her. I'm sure it will live in her mind for the rest of her days, long after your friend has gone on to a better place. In my life, there have been many people that stepped forward to do a kind thing for me. People much like your friend. Those are the people that shaped who I am. : ) Linda

Hi, Linda, I love the way a positive 'spin' can be put onto everything. Yes - the young lady will remember my friend for the rest of her life because she is so guilt ridden that 'she' caused him to suffer. She visits him twice a day and nothing will console her. I understand she is also being offered couselling to help her over-come her trauma. Yes - a 69 year old man put honour and decency before age or infirmity but 100+ people could not be bothered to aid a lady in distress or an old man being kicked and punched insensible. Who shaped those 100+ people? Probably another 100+ similar people. And that is what is so frightening about society today. People see only what they want to see. They excuse anything on any grounds as long as it does not affect them, personally. This story should have been about 100+ people coming to the aid of a young lady victim of an attempted purse snatch and the citizens' arrest of the villains. Instead it is yet another condemnation of the world we have allowed to develop around us. I may be an old coot but my sight and sensibility is still very good - I will not hide from myself the facts of life as it exists today. We all form society and from what I see around me we all FAIL society. That is not being negative - THAT IS AS POSITIVE AS IT GETS.

Hi Art; I don't know how old you are. My mother is almost 80... -- She volunteers at 2 church daycares. -- She cooks meals (volunteer) for 2 'meals on wheels' type programs. -- She has several seniors that she checks in on daily... some of them younger than her. -- She works - for free- at a local flowershop because the owner is the daughter of a friend of hers that passed on. She just wants to help her friend's daughter make the business work. -- She volunteers for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, for MS and for the Salvation Army. (probably more, for all I know) -- Last year, she was the oldest person to complete the MS walk-a-thon. This year she plans to beat her own record. (lol) Mom is diabetic and has heart problems. Often, she's wearing a heart monitor hidden under her clothes. She says it fascinates the heck out of the kids at daycare. Her heart medication and emergency numbers are always in her pocket just in case. She says God gave her 8 healthy children and the least she can do is help His children as much as she can for as long as she can. Art, you say "I will not hide from myself the facts of life as it exists today." The fact of life is that - yes, there is bad stuff out there. But there is good, too - whether you see it or not. I'm sorry I can not share your dour outlook. I am, and always will be, my mother's daughter. : ) Linda