In central North Carolina, we have a fast food establishment known as Cookout. It's delicious and cheap, and has the greasiest food on earth. Fortunately, I don't go there often, but when I do, it is often to get one of their 39 flavors of milkshakes. And one Friday, I was craving a chocolate milkshake after spending the afternoon at Carowinds, the local theme park.
I was with a group of friends as we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car to wait in line to order. As we stepped towards the line, we noticed the entire line staring behind us, watching two men run after each other. As we turn to look, we notice that one individual is beating the other man with a chain. We started to take in what was happening, and noticed that while the man being beaten had fallen down to the ground, the other man was still relentlessly beating him with the chain, into a state of unconsciousness.
My first reaction was disbelief. I couldn't even fathom something like this happening. It wasn't a bad part of town, nor was it extremely late or in a dimly lit parking lot. Instead, there were about 15 people standing in line in a well-lit area, and many more taking advantage of the drive-through, but yet failing to take action to help prevent this situation from occurring.
My second reaction was to ask if someone had called 911. Several of my friends with me also wondered the same question. As we tried asking around, no one seemed to respond. I had never called 911 before, but after the initial shock of actually dialing the infamous 9-1-1 number, I managed to make sure they had police and paramedics on the way to the location. It turns out, after talking with the dispatcher, someone else had called just about 1 minute ahead of me to alert the police to the situation. I felt relieved that I wasn't the first call to emergency services; at least someone else managed to think ahead as well.
The rest of the event isn't nearly as important as the phone calls placed to 911. I did nothing extraordinary. But what popped in my head, as I dialed 911, was that I didn't want to be a bystander. And clearly, someone else, about 1 minute ahead of me, felt the same way. My group of friends all decided that we needed someone to call to seek help, and I happened to have my phone out, so I did.
"Response Ability" isn't always about saving a life, or doing something to make the front page of the local newspaper. Instead, it is a movement designed to help us constantly think about how we can take action to prevent a situation from getting worse. And that is what happened Friday night. Someone else ahead of me didn't want to be like the rest of the people pulling through the drive-thru and more focused on watching the event unfold, than take action to intervene.
If we keep discussing the importance of removing barriers to becoming an agent for change, those around us will know how to act in situations similar to this. The first step others will do is to seek help, or intervene to help prevent a situation from deteriorating. As I told Mike, "it's crazy how after you hear of the RESPONSE ABILITY Project so much, it is what comes in your mind in a situation...it shows the impact it is having."
So keep talking about it, so we can keep having an impact!
