Are we losing our humanity?

If you ever question whether society as a whole is losing its humanity, I think the answer is yes and no. I was driving on one of the crazy busy highways that I warn my mother about for its’ short entrance ramps. I saw a car stopped on the side of the road, and my first thought is that they have probably broken down. My inhumanity was that I didn’t even tap my breaks or think about stopping. In any major metropolis, people have cell phones and AAA insurance, so more than likely they were fine. Also, there are scams and bad people out there, so you have to be alert. Then from my rear view mirror, I see a young man crawl out of his car, stumble to the median and fall down. I immediately circle back while dialing 911, and direct the agent to the location of the wrecked car. The guy had hit one of the barriers leading onto the highway. It hadn’t been visible to me at first, since I approached from the rear of the car, and I didn’t see the actual accident. Several civilians stopped to report the matter and assist until the EMS arrived on site.

Here is where my story changes. The EMS arrived but didn’t seem very urgent about attending the victim. The three mull around looking for the best way to get the stretcher close to the young man- my guess is he is eighteen. One of the EMS gives the victim a shake and says “Stop playing, we haven’t got time for this bullshit…It’s too hot out here, now stop playing.” I may be wrong in the order of those exact words, but he definitely said all of that to the victim. I was shocked, and I told the EMS that the young man had not opened his eyes, and could barely respond. I didn’t think he was playing. The EMS said to me that he had been doing his job for twenty years and that the guy was more drama than hurt. He referred to the victim’s eyes moving rapidly under the closed lids… Maybe this is accurate, or maybe it was a symptom of a seizure? I am not a nurse, so I will not presume I was right or wrong, but the lack of humanity or urgency the EMS seemed to show was shocking. Another civilian sided up to me and whispered he thought the victim was really hurt. We both agreed it seemed highly irregular behavior for the ambulance guy. The EMS continued to randomly put his hand in the middle of the guy’s chest and shake him, repeating for the victim to quit playing with them. I never saw him once take vitals.

When a police officer arrived on the scene, she told us we could all go home. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went home. It bothered me so much that I called the EMS headquarters in Houston and reported the matter, stating I didn’t want to report someone if the EMT’s were right in their assessment, but that it seemed odd and should at least be mentioned. I have firefighter and EMS friends. I know their job is hard. They see horrific things and probably have a lot of calls they feel are a waste of time. When my sister died a few weeks ago, the EMS came to the house, and tried to save her life. I have all the respect in the world for amazing people who do this very important job, but if it was me laying on the ground, after hitting a median head on, I would hope they wouldn’t have treated me that way. No matter what the circumstance, doesn’t everyone deserve help? The victim was just a kid.

To answer the earlier question of humanity…I think it is a matter of statistics. The larger a population grows, the more good and bad you will see. Six people stopped to help a stranger on the side of the highway. I still have hope.