Something has been bugging me all day. I can’t get it off my mind. So true to form I will write it out and then decide whether to hit the publish button.
I make it a habit to watch The Today Show most days. I think I do it because I remember my Daddy always watching it. I have my little morning routine—-wake up, feed the cats, get coffee, lounge in bed with laptop and tv tuned to The Today Show and catch up on what I missed overnight. This morning was the normal morning. Not exciting but it is what I do.
If you have watched the news lately you have probably seen the reports of the horrible incident that happened in the New York subway — two men got into some kind of altercation and then one pushed the other onto the tracks and in the path of the oncoming train. He did not survive. It was pretty horrible. No one helped him. A photographer saw what was happening and started to take pictures. He was on The Today Show this morning ( I give him credit for doing that as I don’t think “I” would have) and the two interviewers, Matt and Savannah, tore into him. At least I thought they did. The man is taking a lot of heat for his actions or as some see it his inaction. He stated that he was running, taking pictures so his flash would go off to try to alert the conductor of the train to the situation that was unfolding. There were others around. No one else helped. The time from when the guy landed on the tracks to when the train took his life was something like 20-22 seconds. Not a lot of time but also an eternity. Think about it. What can you accomplish in 20 seconds?
I keep trying to figure out what upset me the most when I watched that interview this morning. Was it the probing questions that they asked relentlessly accusing this man of not doing enough? Was it the tone? Was it that they were trying to insinuate that the photographer was taking these pictures in anticipation of a big payoff? Was it because later on in the show they did a ridiculous “report” on a supposed inappropriate action by one of the newer co hosts, Willie? Was it that I have been mad at them ever since they got rid of Ann Curry??? I don’t know. But it has rankled me today. I am doubting my allegiance to watching The Today Show.
I think everyone who saw this story wishes that there had been a hero. They wished that the photographer, Mr.R. Umar Abbasi would have been that hero. There were no heroes on that platform that day. Who knows what any one of us would have done given that situation? Would we have stayed rooted to our spots unable to move to offer assistance? Would we have taken videos of that poor man as CPR was performed? Would we have been scared? Would we have run to assist? I honestly don’t think that anyone of us would ever be able to predict how we would respond in that situation.
Today I offer a prayer up for Mr.Ki-Suk Han’s family and friends. I hope and pray if I had been there during that 20-22 seconds I would have been able to have helped in some way. Here is a link to the article from The Today Show—I would love to hear your feedback on this.