plus, my mom bought coffee today and it smelled too good not to have so i have caffeine running through my veins at the moment and will not be able to sleep right away.
it starts with this story
yesterday, i got to spend part of the day with some lovelies. while we were waiting for people to get into the city, 3 of us decided to wait at a starbucks in chinatown. i sat down with my friend while my sister went and ordered her drink. it wasn't long until this guy came around and asked me what kind of service my phone used and saw that it had AT&T plastered at the top of it so he moved on to ask other people in search for a verizon phone. he glanced at the floor right by me and he noticed that a wallet had fallen out of this girl's pocket. i didnt notice until he bent down to pick up and look through it. the girl's friend noticed and tapped her on her shoulder and nodded towards the direction of the guy. she turned and realized that it was her wallet that he was pulling cash out of. she reached and tried to take it back saying that it was hers and would like to have it back. he wouldn't let go of the cash so she tugged harder until he would. he demanded that he be rewarded for returning her wallet b/c he could have just taken everything and left.. which was what he was going to do if she hadn't turned around at the moment she did. but she told him she was grateful for his returning her wallet and asked him to leave. he kept badgering her for a looong time saying that a $20 reward is the least she could do because he was kind enough to give everything back to her. she was obviously really scared and didn't want to make a big scene so she decided to give him what he asked for. the guy hung around for a little while longer, bragging to everyone in the store about his kind heart and her not-so-grateful response.
the point of the story isn't for me to judge the behavior of this guy. what's bugging me is the general response to the whole thing. or lack thereof. people around starbucks saw what was going on. none of us responded. we just simply watched it happen and made disgusted faces towards the guy. i've been kinda beating myself over it last night and all of today. why couldnt i have stood up for that lady? i'm trying to justify my not getting involved by telling myself that he probably would have turned my friends and i into his next targets and he wouldnt let us leave that area very easily. [he was overall a very shady character]. also i'm not very good with words so even if i did speak up, i wouldnt know what to say after "HEY!". but this scenario has been so pressed onto my mind and i really regret not speaking up for her when nobody else would/could.
i feel like this happens to me pretty often. im detail-oriented so i notice little things that people usually dont. i see a lot of people hurting and sinning against other people. and i usually just kinda .. turn away and not get involved. it's been ingrained into my chinese nature to "keep the harmony" and to keep to myself as much as possible. but that's not what Jesus says to do. i keep replaying those situations in my mind after they happen. it's heartbreaking seeing people hurt one another.
i imagine that i'm the girl who accidentally dropped my wallet. i think of how i would be feeling or what i'd be thinking... how i'd be feeling hurt and defenseless.. and how i'd wish someone would help me or stand up for/with me.. and finally how everyone is just kinda watching and pretending that nothing was happening.
ouch.
i guess i failed at loving my neighbor yesterday :(
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