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Vent Sesh: Car Accidents

One thing that I will just never understand is how some people can still be so selfish when other people are obviously struggling right in front of them -- how some people completely lack the capacity to empathize with someone who gets in the way of their agenda, if they can even empathize with anyone at all.

Yesterday,  I was on my way home around 8pm and the sun was finally down. I was less than 3 minutes away when I saw a car accident up ahead. I slowed down, pulled over to the side, and automatically did my best to get out of the way. The car was in the middle of the road and a man was standing about 50 yards away directing cars to turn away and not drive past the car that was ON FIRE.

I pulled into the parking lot so I could call 911 (because of the bystander effect that Dr. Bailey taught us about in psychology and I just had to be sure). While I was in the parking lot, I was watching the man direct traffic when this red SUV drives up and almost hits him. He then proceeds to get out of his car and advance on the guy, obviously verbally assaulting the guy and lunging towards him. While he's trying to fight the guy, 2 trucks fly past him and speed past the car ON FIRE - which consequently added oxygen to the fire and increased the flames (because that's what happens when there is A FIRE).

And this made me immediately flashback to the first time I ever stopped for an accident. In the middle of downtown Austin, on I35, I was the second car to come up behind a 65-year-old man who had crashed his motorcycle in the middle of a 5 lane highway. After telling someone to call 911, I got on the ground and held the man's head still while finding anything and everything to talk about. I learned about his wife, his time in the military, his grand-daughter, the bullet in his knee, etc. until the ambulance got there. Meanwhile, I have cars driving by with their windows down yelling at us "F*** you!," "Get out of the f***ing road!," "Move b****," etc.

Nevermind that some poor man probably just went through a traumatic experience as his car caught ON FIRE in the middle of the road. Nevermind that this old man who served our country and is probably the same age as your own grandparents or parents just fell off his motorcycle in the middle of I35, broke several bones, and can't even remember where he was going. You being delayed 15 minutes is SO MUCH WORSE than what they are going through, right?

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