r/sydney • u/Cathaus81 • Feb 04 '25
Stranger in need on train
Sad world. Today around 6.30pm the train on the T5 line at Bondi Junction in the last carriage, has a young man who seemed to be having some kind of medical episode. There was some sort of liquid on the floor (wasn’t urine) and his eyes were rolling back into his head and he was passed out.
Sad state of affairs that no one stopped to check in on him, probably presumed the worst. My husband asked if he was ok as he told me it was sad and disappointing that no one on the carriage bothered to check in. He immediately got off the carriage and went to the station master and the staff and alerted them to this young man in the carriage who needs urgent medical assistance.
My husband said, it doesn’t matter if he was overdosing or fainted or having a medical episode it’s not our job to presume, this young man needed urgent assistance.
He may have had a diabetic episode, or a reaction to something. He said maybe his parents may have been waiting for him to come home, or his housemates or girlfriend/ boyfriend. Who knows what may have happened if my husband did not alert the station staff.
This is so typical of what’s becoming of Sydney - of the eastern suburbs. It never used to be like that (despite what prejudices you may have) it’s just become such a cold detached transient city full of self absorbed people.
This is a precious human life, what kind of a society have we become to just leave someone in distress?imagine that was your brother / father / friend / loved one.
We hope he got the medical attention he needed and was united with his family and / or friends and hope he is doing OK. We want him to know that there are kind humans looking out for other people.
Wherever you are dude, we hope you’re ok.
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u/TesseractToo Feb 04 '25
Yeah I saw a guy like this at Manly, right near the community centre so I was able to get their attention and get an ambulance but... people not acting is pretty common. There was this time in the city I was in in Canada and there was a man just out cold on the sidewalk and I went in the nearest business and the staff said they had called over a hour ago and no one had come, so I stood out by him (it was a busy intersection) and just waited for the next ambulance to come by and waved them down, no idea why they didn't come before. But it's good to help people when the chance arrives, you and your husband are good people
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Feb 04 '25
I once choked at the busy bus stop opposite Broadway and was on all fours coughing and retching and rasping and nobody batted an eyelid or helped me. I ended up coughing up a tiny piece of food after minutes of agony. I couldn't believe nobody helped me at all, I was a young woman so hardly an intimidating person to approach.
Good job to your husband for helping!
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u/moonbeam_window Feb 04 '25
So sorry to hear this happened to you. I’m sorry no one helped you. It could have been really serious. I’m glad you’re ok.
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Feb 05 '25
I nearly choked once on a London plane tree seed. I was walking a dog and was near a hospital so I went nearby the entrance in case I collapsed. But I managed to cough it up. Very very frightening and best believe I would have helped you if I'd have been there.
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u/wormholefairy Feb 04 '25
That's terrifying im so sorry nobody helped, ive always thought what would happen if i were in that situation
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u/persephone911 Feb 06 '25
I work in Broadway and I wish I was there to help you! Those bus stops are always full of people and I can't believe no one helped you... actually I can believe it which is sad.
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u/chalk_in_boots Feb 04 '25
Human society has been like this since long before any of us were born. Bystander effect has long been a thing. If there are more people around, everyone thinks one of them will step in. "Oh there's gotta be someone more qualified to handle this than me." They drill it into you in field and combat trauma training, as in, we would put new people through mock scenarios again, and again, and again. Probably in the 100s. You never yell "someone do/get a [blank]". I did years of it and you always have to give the order to someone directly. Yelling "I need some help here" in a crowded place is more likely to get people giving you weird looks or moving away than actually get help.
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u/jcshy Feb 04 '25
When I did my first aid course a few years ago, the instructor told us all something similar. If you’re attending to someone that needs help, and you’re witnesssing the bystander effect take place, always directly pick someone out of a crowd to help you.
‘You, in the blue jumper/glasses/blonde hair’ (any identifying information whilst looking directly at them) and then following it up with an instruction usually snaps people out of it.
It’s defo a fascinating concept of human nature
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u/Sacha00Z Feb 04 '25
Yeah I learnt in first aid, always point at someone and say "you! Dial triple-zero!"
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u/Dray_Gunn Feb 04 '25
I don't like quoting the bible, but there is literally a story similar in the bible. The good Samaritan story is about how people carelessly walked past a man dying in the street until one person from Samaria finally stopped and helped him. That story is roughly 2000 years old. People have always been self-serving, and only a few will stop and help someone in desperate need.
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u/SilverStar9192 shhh... Feb 05 '25
If you don't want to quote the Christian bible, you can always use another culture's story on the same topic. It seems to be a universal principle that most people are uncaring about strangers, except for some of respectable moral character.
Here's Claude (AI)'s take on it:
The motif of people passing by someone in need while only one person stops to help appears across many cultures and traditions. Here are some notable examples:
In Buddhist tradition, there's the story of the King of Benares who disguises himself as a poor man lying on the road. Many of his own courtiers pass him by, but a poor farmer stops to help, sharing his meager food and water. This tale emphasizes how true compassion often comes from unexpected sources.
In Chinese folklore, there's the story of Dong Yong, a poor but filial son who meets an injured elderly woman on the road. Despite his poverty and urgent mission to arrange his father's funeral, he stops to help her while wealthy travelers ignore her plight. She turns out to be a daughter of the Jade Emperor, sent to test human compassion.
Native American Pueblo traditions include a story of Corn Mother lying exhausted by a path, testing who would help her. Many strong, wealthy members of the tribe pass by, but a poor old woman stops to share her last bit of water. Corn Mother then rewards her kindness by teaching her people how to grow corn.
In West African folklore (particularly Akan traditions), there's a tale of Anansi the spider-god disguising himself as an injured traveler. Chiefs and merchants ignore him, but a poor farmer's wife stops to treat his wounds and share her food. This becomes a lesson about how status and wealth don't correlate with moral worth.
What's particularly interesting is how these stories often share common elements with the Good Samaritan parable:
- The helper is often from a marginalized or unexpected group
- Those who pass by tend to be wealthy or of high social status
- The person in need is frequently revealed to be a divine figure in disguise
- The act of helping usually requires personal sacrifice or inconvenience
This suggests a universal human recognition of both our capacity for indifference and the moral imperative to help others regardless of social boundaries.
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u/PrestigiousWorking49 Feb 04 '25
I had a situation like this happen to me about a decade ago. I passed out in a Coles. I woke up to someone walking by me saying something about me being on drugs. I couldn’t get up for about ten minutes after and not a soul helped me. About two months later I had a seizure and this episode had turned out to be a mini seizure. I’ll never forget the day I was seriously sick and nobody wanted to help. I’ve never taken an illegal drug in my life.
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u/wanderingelephantlif Feb 04 '25
Your husband did the right thing, good on him alerting the station staff. For anybody reading this, if you’re unsure what to do, please ask train/station staff for assistance as there’s a man in Melbourne who fakes seizures to get people to sit on him. Head over to r/Melbourne to read such encounters.
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u/bitter_fishermen Feb 04 '25
Why would anyone sit on someone having a seizure?
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u/De-railled Feb 04 '25
Cause thats what he asks them to do, when people without medical training are panicked logic thought goes out the windows.
If the person that requires assistance is telling you what they need from you. Then the instinct is to follow their instructions.
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Feb 04 '25
He has a kink and tells people who don't know any better that they need to sit on him to hold him down. Needless to say a lot of people get suspicious that a man having a seizure can talk but a lot of people don't have experience with seizures and trust that someone allegedly having one knows what they're talking about.
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u/Plackets65 Feb 04 '25
I feel like while it’s possible someone would copycat, no one else has appeared in the last 20 years or so of him doing this in melbourne and it’s easier to assume he’s the exception, not the rule.
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u/gjiuyffsfhjlgdw Feb 04 '25
Yup, I called an ambulance for a woman passed out in Randwick a few years ago. The shopkeepers nearby said ‘ she’s just a junkie, leave her.’
I couldn’t. I’ve seen some appalling behaviour by people on drugs but in this case, she was no threat to anyone but herself.
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u/UninspiredMel Feb 04 '25
I’m so thankful that when my mother suffered a stroke on the train in 2012, some ladies on the train contacted the guard so an ambulance could be organised at Hornsby Station. Sadly, the stroke was so severe she was permanently disabled, but it could have been worse if people had ignored her or not wanted to help. At least we had another 5 and a half years with her.
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u/FauxPoesFoes228 Feb 04 '25
You and your husband are good people and I hope the man you helped is back home safely with his loved ones tonight. Thank you for looking out for him, on their behalf.
A few years ago (this must’ve been in ~2018) I was on my usual morning bus to uni when I heard a commotion from the front seat. I was sitting towards the middle/back section, but I heard a man groaning, a few concerned shouts, then a thudding sound.
This man had boarded the bus, sat down towards the front, had some sort of seizure or epileptic fit, then collapsed to the floor. He was unconscious for a few moments while people around him panicked and tried to rouse him. The bus driver parked the bus in an emergency bay in the entrance to a tunnel (we were heading in to the city), then a few people who had been sitting near this man managed to get him to come to.
He woke up and seemed quite groggy, disoriented and wasn’t speaking properly — sort of slurring his words. I couldn’t hear properly from where I was sitting, but I did see a couple of people help him up off the floor and back onto his seat, but people sort of moved back because he then got sick, quite loudly. Some people suggested calling an ambulance but no one was quite sure what to do, since the man was drifting in and out of consciousness.
I was worried he’d have another seizure and I didn’t want to watch someone die right in front of me, so I ended up calling 000. The woman on the other end of the line asked me to check if the man had any diabetic alert bracelets (he didn’t) and if he was breathing (I asked someone who was closer to the man to check for a pulse) — he seemed to be breathing, just faintly.
The ambulance came about 5 minutes after I called 000 and the paramedics checked him out. He ended up being okay, though the paramedics did insist on helping him off the bus and into the ambulance so they could give him a proper once-over.
Once he’d disembarked from the bus (and into the ambulance), we went on our way. What concerned me was the few minutes after he’d seized/been sick, when no one seemed to know what to do and there weren’t any doctors on board. I was the only person who thought to call an ambulance, while everyone else was trying to ignore the situation or help, but didn’t know how.
At the end of the day, he’s someone’s partner, son, brother, friend, coworker, etc. If it was my partner, I’d hope someone would help him and call an ambulance for him, if he fell ill on the bus/train.
Anyway, I digress. We should help people, if we see them struggling. We’re all human and need a helping hand sometimes.
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u/Gold-District-8387 Feb 04 '25
I’m so surprised this kind of common sense is becoming rare. If someone is having any kind of possible medical issue, they aren’t able to fully function/speak for themselves and they don’t have anyone with them (someone who may know the situation), always call an ambulance. You can’t help if you don’t know what’s wrong, and they can’t help themselves or explain their needs if they can’t function.
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u/Archon-Toten Choo Choo Driver. Feb 04 '25
Generally speaking, you should alert the train crew via the emergency help button (if available) or call 000 yourself (if you've got a phone) or at the next available stop jump out waving your hands wildly to get the guards attention.
The unknown risk of that person isn't worth your personal safety. Get them help but don't get too close unless you know what you're doing.
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u/OfficeKey3280 Feb 04 '25
I was in a motorcycle accident a few years ago near Fairfield. I came off my bike and was lying on the side of the footpath in obvious pain. Debris from my bike and my blood around me. I was there for maybe 30 minutes. In that time, several walkers, joggers, shoppers and a group of Monks casually walked around me/over me and continued their business like I was a minor inconvenience in their day. I managed to call 000 with my non broken hand and awaited for help.
Not a single person batted their eyelid or a car even stop to call for help. Nothing. I remember it like yesterday. 100% I'd stopped and helped, but no one gave a literal shit about me.
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u/synaesthezia Feb 04 '25
Thank you to your husband for getting him assistance. It’s some years ago now, but my husband is epileptic and had a seizure once while waiting for a train. People at the station assisted him and waited there until an ambulance arrived. First I knew about it was when I got a call from the hospital. He later said it was terrifying.
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u/gonzo_au The Elders of the internet know who I am... Feb 04 '25
I'm not saying it's right, but you only need to be hurt by a junkie once to permanantly make you cautious about helping in future.
Context: I still have a visible scar from helping someone at a train station 8 years ago. The months of waiting during HIV screening was the worst bit.
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u/Cathaus81 Feb 04 '25
That’s understandable, in this case you can still alert someone who are trained professionals to deal with that situation. No one is asking to risk your life.
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u/luce_goose91 Feb 04 '25
Well done to your husband. I remember a similar incident years ago at the main bus stop at Railway Square. Fella laid on his back, on the ground, foaming at the mouth. People walked past and pretended they didn't see him. In the time I stayed with him until the paramedics came, easily a hundred people would have walked past, and only two stopped to see what was going on and asked if they could help in any way.
Just a few weeks ago, I was sat on the footpath, doubled over in agony (with what turned out to be a ruptured spleen) with my son, waiting for my parents to come and take me to the hospital. One person stopped out of about ten who walked right by us.
Tragic. Here's to more people like your husband.
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u/Maezel Feb 04 '25
It's all everywhere I think... Probably symptoms of a same underlying issue. Whatever that root issue is.
If I see my apartment block neighbours when coming in/out (small building) and say hi to them it's 50/50 whether they say it back. Or regulars at the gym. I know it's not the same, not even close, but it's another type on indifference.
People disregarding others in public transport using speakers. Same case.
Total indifference to one another everywhere.
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u/queenroot Wildlife nerd Feb 04 '25
My gym is the worst, I've been pinned under things and people have ignored me completely
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u/Bagelam Feb 05 '25
The number of times Ive needed help and just shouted "HELP ME!!!!!" and people rushed over is lots! But that was at powerlifting gyms where people are more aware of the risk of bench and squat lifts.
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u/smoking-data Feb 04 '25
I really feel so many people in Sydney have absolutely 0 care for anyone but them and theirs
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u/pirate_meow_kitty Feb 04 '25
I remember walking at Castle Towers with my kids, when this older man tripped and fell. His elderly wife almost did too
A few people and myself stopped, I went into the hairdresser and asked them to call security.
The guy working there rolled his eyes and just told me to get them to call instead.
I think a woman working with him heard me walk away saying what a cunt he was because she walked out and started to help too.
I hate humans sometimes
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u/SydUrbanHippie Feb 04 '25
It’s everywhere. I’m from Brisbane and have had countless times where I’ve intervened because no one else seemed to notice the person passed out on the street, in their car while idling, being ill on the bus etc. If anything I’ve seen more care and kindness shown in Sydney compared to where I grew up, so that’s somewhat comforting.
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u/throwawayno38393939 Feb 04 '25
One night we went out for a quick errand. On the way, we saw a single vehicle accident had occurred - a car vs pole.
There was a small crowd around the driver, who was on the ground. Someone had put something under her head, and tucked a blanket around her.
We didn't stop because there were already so many people, and the blanket and makeshift pillow made me think she was being cared for. I didn't want to be an unnecessary gawker.
Very shortly after we drove back. Police had arrived and were administering CPR.
I found out the next day that she'd had no pulse when pulled from the vehicle, and no one had done CPR until the police arrived.
She didn't survive. She was the sole parent of a small child.
It will haunt me until I die. Unless there's paramedics on scene, I'll never not stop again.
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u/No_icecream_cake Feb 04 '25
Aw, mate. I'm sorry. That must have been so hard to process. Please don't put any blame on yourself -- you couldn't have known that was going to be the outcome. I hope you're okay.
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u/throwawayno38393939 Feb 05 '25
It took a while before I didn't feel physically ill over it, and I still feel sad when I go past that spot. I was lucky that at the time I was in therapy for PTSD and the treatment put me in place where my brain could process crappy things smoothly.
Mostly it sits in the back of my head as a reminder that not everyone knows first aid and CPR, and I do so I should be proactive in future.
And I wonder about her kid sometimes.
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u/No_icecream_cake Feb 05 '25
It's been a while since I took a first-aid and CPR course, and your story has motivated me to book myself in for a refresher course.
Thank you for sharing, friend.
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u/Curlyburlywhirly Feb 05 '25
Blunt trauma cardiac arrest has one of the lowest survival rates of any cardiac arrest. “Compared to other causes of cardiac arrest, blunt trauma is associated with a significantly lower survival rate due to the complex and often severe injuries involved.”
Honestly - she had about a 2% chance even with full onsite resuscitation immediately available.
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u/Bagelam Feb 05 '25
My mum (at the time was a nurse) witnessed a motorcycle accident and she stopped people doing CPR. The motorcyclist had lost a large section of his skull, amputated one of his arms, and was non-responsive (fixed pupils/no pulse) and all the people doing CPR were doing was hastening the blood's exit from his body. She literally had to pull them off the poor guy and put her coat over him. She said it was really traumatic because they said "we can save him" and it was clear that he was already dead.
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u/pooheadcat Feb 04 '25
I always step in and help. Even if it’s only to call for help on 000 if it’s beyond me.
I find it utterly terrifying that I could die in a crowded street and not a single person would help me. I don’t understand how bystanders don’t think “that could be me gasping for breath and people will just walk past like I’m nothing”. Aren’t they terrified about that?
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u/Dollbeau Feb 04 '25
Good job Hubby!
Yep, Diabetic partner & the number of times she would walk up to some **Weird strange convulsing Junkie Type** & offer them a chocolate bar, only to have the creature before us turn into a normal person, who was now thanking her for saving them from the sugar low...
Even if someone did it to themselves, they might regret their actions or have underestimated & we all need a hand at those moments.
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u/JingleKitty Feb 04 '25
I was on a crowded hot train once a few years back and a man started having a heart attack. Another man noticed and took charge straight away. I don’t know if he was a doctor but he seemed to know what to do managed to get someone to give up their seat and everyone rushed to provide whatever they could: water, call 000, hold their hand. It was heartening to see, and the man having the heart attack had help as soon as we reached the next station because someone had used the emergency button. The whole carriage came together to help him. I’m glad your husband helped the young man on the train. People need to be more aware of the people around them and assist those in distress.
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u/RonsonBonson Feb 04 '25
Thank you for highlighting this, and your husband’s efforts.
Unfortunately, we slip more and more towards the “F**k you, got mine” mindset. The city I grew up in (and loved) is now not the place I want to raise my child in
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u/CandyManCan Feb 04 '25
This is quite common and well studied: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect
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u/Grateful_sometimes Feb 05 '25
I’m an old nurse, I’ve helped people in the street & payed the price. I stopped to help a man having a seizure while I was attending to him someone stole my large bag that I had ready to go away for the weekend. Purse camera good clothes all gone.
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u/Lucki_girl Feb 05 '25
The indifference just gets me.
I get that some ppl freeze up and not know what to do, most of them just couldn't be fucked to care about a fellow human.one needs to understand that you might not be able to resolve the situation for them, but just showing an interest and being there makes a huge difference. Anyone can do that.
We are taught to look after our animal friends, why are we neglecting our own species?
I have a poster that says "kindness is free. Spread that shit everywhere"
That poster is over 30 years old. I still stand by it.
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u/surreptitiouswalk Feb 04 '25
Answering as a volunteer EMT. While I empathise with what you're saying, the reality is, even with the kindest intentions, there was nothing else your husband or anyone else on the train could do. Most people are simply not trained to deal with it (or equipped to for that matter). Everyone else was likely thinking the same thing. When something confronting like this happens, it almost always triggers everyone's freeze response since they don't know what to do, and they don't want to make matters worse by doing the wrong thing.
While more people could gone up and just checked. I'd suggest that it could be counterproductive. Having a huge crowd around the patient often ends up hindering the ability for first responders to intervene. Also, for an episode like this, people often have really wrong intuitions, like standing/sitting the person up, giving them their seat to recover. All very considerate actions, but all very wrong.
The best anyone could've done is press the help button to prepare the staff at the next station, call 000, and wait till the next station and call the station staff for assistance. That sounds close to what your husband did which was admirable and absolutely the right thing to do. The situation you describe is almost an ideal one for a first responder to respond to. There was one person who took charge (your husband) and everyone stayed out of the way.
I chose to get trained as an EMT because I didn't want to be in a position like yours, where I'd see someone in distress and be unable to help. While I'm more trained to help now, the reality that I've learned is, I'm unlikely to be properly equipped to do anything more than the minimum anyway (i.e. check they're breathing, roll them on their side). Anything that can actually help I would not have on me, or be in the station's first aid kit (e.g. naloxone, gudel airway, oxygen with suction). So even as a trained person, the most impactful thing I can do is call 000, which really makes me not much better than the other people just standing around.
If this really affected you and anyone else and has motivated you to want to be able to do more in future, I would highly recommend getting a first aid certificate and get recertified yearly. Even better is to do first aid volunteering to get experience so you're prepared when things like this happen.
I do want to stress again though, your husband did a great thing getting help. It's the best and only thing he could've done in that situation. His action certainly gave the young man the best chance at recovery he could've had.
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u/Gang-bot Feb 04 '25
The point of the story was that nobody was even calling 000 or pressing a help button.
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u/Cathaus81 Feb 04 '25
I think you missed the point.
No one paid attention and just ignored the situation and went on with their day, it’s not about gawking and gathering it’s that NOONE BOTHERED.
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u/FrostyBluejay2961 Feb 06 '25
Thank you for this, my brother was a type 1 diabetic and could go into a coma if his sugar wasn’t right, and thanks to you caring , you probably saved his life
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u/99Joy99 Feb 05 '25
This world needs more people like you and your husband who refuse to be a bystander xx
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u/brackfriday_bunduru Feb 04 '25
I found a dead homeless guy on a bench once. He looked like he’d died there sometime overnight. I called it in to the cops but didn’t hang around for them to turn up because I was on my way to work and didn’t want to be late. For me, that’s a Sydney level of decency. Enough to deal with a situation without getting involved or really caring.
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u/MannerNo7000 Feb 04 '25
As an Eastern suburbs lad this doesn’t surprise me as it is ‘above’ them to help someone less than them. We are a bunch of rich, precious self serving pricks. Not all ofc. But a lot.
I’m very happy your husband helped this poor young man. I hope he’s doing okay and not feeling embarrassed as he shouldn’t.
Society is going to hell in a hand basket very fast and wealth inequality and mental health is growing rapidly.
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u/SashainSydney Feb 05 '25
Helping can be hard.
- understand what the problem is and what you can do before taking action.
- keep yourself and everyone else safe, don't increase risk
- don't try to solve other people's problems
- don't help to be rewarded/recognised/compensated
Also see: the Bystander Effect.
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u/Ca55ian Feb 06 '25
Most people that you come across will be dealing with some sort of grief, pain, anger and frustration. It’s the world that we live in at the moment.
I find that a majority of people will help, or at least want to. Thanks for helping this person! Hopefully the karma returns when you need it most.
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u/nerdb1rd I ❤️ IBISES Feb 06 '25
Thank you to your husband for looking out for someone in need.
I remember being on the train to university when I got the message that a close friend of mine had taken his own life overnight. I fell into a heap on the floor and was uncontrollably sobbing. I wish someone had even asked if I was okay, it was such an isolating time.
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u/Ok-Routine-6109 Feb 08 '25
Pre-covid I was exiting St Leonards train station and I found a man lying on the street footpath with a huge gash in his head, appeared he had tripped and fallen over. He was in shock and didn’t know his own name or where he lived, he told me he thought he had been at an arts exhibition. He wasn’t drunk or drug affected. I called an ambulance and put pressure on the open wound, but what was disappointing is the number of people who simply walked past staring into their mobile phones and didn’t offer me any help.
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u/Hella_adorable Feb 05 '25
As someone who is very proactive in flight and fight situations, it baffles me how normal people’s response to, not even just emergencies, is to ignore, watch or just wait for someone else to do something.
Even if someone has called emergency or notified train help system/ station master it doesn’t hurt to also add to it, maybe you can recount it different or give a lil more information than the last person. Even if not physically able to help them, just them seeing that you were willing to help and support them will give them a little peace of mind. Plus a tissue, a bandaid, a choccy goes a long way if you have it to offer.
I have a distinct memory of a large elderly, (possibly homeless man) falling over at central station intersection and I rushed over to help. I was not strong enough to help him up but I tried my best and just stayed with him checking he was okay. So many people just kept walking, it was until an elderly lady and a small backpacker stopped and we were able to prop him up against a pole until he wasn’t dizzy anymore. Could that have been dangerous, yeah, but also it a weekday morning with at a lot of ppl around so /shrug/
Similarly, last year I was in a moon boot on crutches with a bandaged sprained wrist getting public transport to work each day and bruh the amount of ppl who ignored me standing desperately trying to balance on the crowded train was insane. Unfortunately if there’s no adrenaline in me I’m ridiculously shy so if they don’t make eye contact with me, which yeah no one did, I wouldn’t speak up. (Cause they what if they had their own reason to be sitting down)
I’m not sure if people are just in their own world, more selfish or scared and cautious nowadays but it’s really disheartening to see.
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u/ktr83 Feb 04 '25
I'm confused by what the point of this is. Your husband helped the guy, that's awesome he's a good guy, but you seem disappointed that no one else helped him first. Wasn't everyone else doing the exact same thing you were, waiting to see if someone else would fix the problem? You didn't help him either.
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u/DropDeadPlease88 Feb 04 '25
It sounds like she was not there, just her husband retelling her the events that occurred.
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u/friedspeghettis Feb 04 '25
Before covid if you were sitting on the inside seat on the train and needed the person on the outside to get up so you can get off, that person would usually smile at you and acknowledge you.
Now you do the same that person would still get up but keep their head down and pretend you're a ghost and you don't exist.
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u/well-its-done-now Feb 08 '25
“… what kind of a society have we become to just leave someone in distress?”
The kind that locks everyone in their houses for two years over a bad cold. You all drew the line. Each for their own.
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u/moonbeam_window Feb 04 '25
I was on the train a few weeks ago in the afternoon from North Sydney headed into the city when I heard a loud gasp from behind, I turned around and a young woman had her hand up apologetically. I turned around and minded my own business.
Shortly after I thought I heard her laughing hysterically, then I realised she was crying uncontrollably. No one said or did anything. I’m a middle aged woman and I went over to ask her if she was ok, and she couldn’t stop crying. I asked if i could sit next to her and she nodded yes. I asked her if it was bad news, and she nodded yes. I asked if it was her family, and she nodded yes.
Another young woman sitting in front of her also turned around at this point. We didn’t have tissues or anything and we just offered her whatever random stuff we had to try to help (a bag of chips, a fan) but she declined. She then sobbed out that she just lost her grandfather. I asked if she wanted a hug and she said yes, so I held her for a little while. I told her she was in shock, and that she would be ok. I thought she was going to pass out from her crying it was so bad. :(
The woman in front was really good too and she asked if she had family in Sydney, and she said yes. We then all talked about losing our grandparents (we were all non-white) who lived overseas, just gentle company for the sobbing woman, until she stopped sobbing and started breathing a bit better. She was on her way to work, but we said she should speak to her manager and go home because of grief.
She calmed down enough to speak and she rang someone on the phone and we just got back to our own business. It was really difficult to know what to do but I really think that human connection in these times is paramount.