I witnessed a crime and did nothing
A couple of weeks ago I was walking around Mount Maunganui with my family and a young teenage boy rode past on a bike. I thought nothing of it until we caught up to this young boy being given a lecture by an older man. You are not allowed to bike around the Mount track and the scolding resulted in the boy turning around and walking back in the direction he came from.
I was a mere observer of this situation but I did think the old man was a little bit of a plonker and over reacting. That event happened about 2 weeks ago and I now see that old man in a different light. Today something happened where I should have spoken up and didn’t. I regret not doing anything and wish I had shown a little more courage. Like that old man on his walk, I wish I had the guts to act out my social responsibility.
Tonight I had just finished a run with a couple of mates and on the way home I needed to call into the supermarket to get some essentials: lollies and nappies. I was not the only person in the small local supermarket. To the isle on my left a couple were just finishing their shopping. The man had gone through the check out, paid for his goods and was waiting on the other side. The women remained on the other side, presumably looking for her final items, in the shelves just before the checkout.
I thought nothing of this and had just completed signing my docket and was handing the pen back to the lady when I saw the women lob an item to the waiting man. He expertly caught the article and placed it quickly into his bag of purchased goods. Now I only saw the very end of this transaction, but I am positive this is what happened.
I suppose that at this moment in time I had a choice. To tell on the offenders or just let it slide. On reflection I cant even remember me thinking about my options. So the reality was that in a moment of social weakness I let what I saw slide. I ignored the thieves, took my goods and walked out the door.
In the car on the way home I had plenty of good excuses for justifying my snap decision.
I was a little cold and needed to get home.
I was dressed in my Lycra tights so didn’t want to cause any trouble or have everyone look at me.
They were bigger than me.
He may have had a gun or sub machine gun under his jacket and me bringing his behaviour to light may have tipped him over the edge.
We all know these are lame excuses and they seem lamer once written on paper. I should have done something and for various reasons I did not. At the end of the day those people did something dishonest and it should have been my social responsibility to speak up. So I will learn from this experience and hopefully next time when a snap social decision is needed I will be like that old man and step up to the mark.
