Who Are We?

Who am I? What type of person am I? Would I have bothered to help? God, I hope so.

The picture is unrelated to the article but it is of someone that I have walked by for the last 7 years.

Callous Calgarians walked right on by

Calgary Herald
Monday, November 14, 2005


Street scene - One recent morning, I came across a man on my walk into work. He was an older man, native, probably in his 50s although he had obviously had a hard life that would have added years to his appearance.

He was lying face down at the corner of 5th Avenue and 8th Street.

He was lying to one side of a wheelchair access ramp, face pressed against the concrete.

A stream of drool, snot and a hint of blood, was coming from his face. The bottom of this stream was frozen, indicating he had been there quite some time.

I saw people step over him on the ramp.

One lady walked by twice, changing her path down the ramp so as not to get close to him. Some looked, some shook their heads and kept going.

I called for an ambulance. It took them less than five minutes to arrive.

In that time, I counted more than 30 people walk by. Only three women stopped to inquire about him. It took the paramedics two to three minutes to even get him to move. He was barely breathing and needed a trip to the hospital.

At that moment, I was sad for my city.

I can't think of a good enough excuse for any of the people who walked by and decided this person's welfare was not their concern.

We are a success as a city in so many categories, but I am left to question our humanity.

Keith Driver,
Calgary