Civility in Society

When given a task to write an essay on civility and manners in society, the only topics that come to mind are negative examples. I could sit here and write a paper on how I helped that old woman with one leg cross the street, or the article in the newspaper about some hero who saved all the children from the burning orphanage. These are good heartfelt stories that anyone would love to hear, but unfortunately this is not reality. To write something like this would be looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, and I can't force myself to write a fluff piece. Instead I will focus on an incident that happened to me, that could have changed my view on people but did not.

I work in the town of Paterson, which isn't exactly known for its civility. I have worked here for two years and have never felt unsafe here, even though it seems as if this town is only getting worse. Everyday there is a story of someone getting beat up and robbed in the streets but I never thought it would happen to me. I met up with a friend after work at a local restaurant/bar and had dinner and a few beers. I've been to this establishment many times in the past and have never felt unsafe leaving here. While walking out later that night to our car, we were violently attacked from behind and robbed. I was actually knocked out cold when the police came and did not remember where I was. Luckily no weapons were used and the only injuries I suffered were a broken nose, bruised ribs and my head was swollen to the size of a watermelon. This was an extremely scary and violent encounter, which I really did not think another human being was capable of. Turns out I was obviously wrong.

When the police got us up, the first thing they asked me was, why we were in the neighborhood. This question was asked with a hint of suspicion. At this point I was literally still in shock and covered in blood, and I did not think about it at the time, but has our society gotten this bad that this is the first question you ask in this situation. This officer was probably under the assumption we were there to buy drugs because of the color of my skin. This was probably the only time in my life that I have ever felt like a victim and these officers now made me feel like a suspect. I think we have really lost touch with what it means to be a human, and have compassion for one another. At this point I hadn't even considered the people who had done this to me, but that would come a few days later.

I don't remember ever getting a good look at them, and probably because of the concussion I don't remember much of how it happened either. It reminded me of being attacked by wolves because it was very fast. They screamed at us a lot and called us "motherfucker!" a lot also. I tried to keep my wallet but there were too many of them and they were determined. I remember thinking this must be a dream, because no one would do this to another person for no reason. It wasn't a dream. They did not care who I was, and they obviously held no value on human life. It was the most helpless I've ever felt in my life, and I've heard that an event like this can give a person fits of rage after it's over and done with. It can cause great anger and cause a person to lash out at others. Neither of these things happened to me, but I do have a more pessimistic view on human behavior.

The irony of this whole event is that the only person who seemed to be the most civil to me was a homeless woman at the hospital that night. As I stood outside waiting for my wife to come and pick me up, this woman asked me what happened. I explained it to her and I could tell she felt true compassion. She said she was homeless and that Paterson had really changed for the worse. She also said it shouldn't matter if someone is white, blue or black. A person should be able to walk on the streets and feel safe. I never checked into the hospital, instead I refused treatment and just wanted to go home. This whole event seemed like just another day at the office for the police and paramedics. It's a shame because most police officers that work in towns like this probably live in a faraway suburb, and don't really care for these neighborhoods. When they punch the clock it's not their problem what's left behind.

In the animal world, there is no such thing as revenge or crimes of passion. It always makes me laugh when I hear someone say," they're acting like animals" when referring to some unwanted behavior. If humans acted more like animals we would probably be better off as a society. We are envious, deceitful creatures and these are the flaws that make us do horrible things to one another. After this happened, I made a decision about my schooling. I decided I want to go on to become a teacher or some type of youth counselor. Sitting around complaining about the youth and how bad things are these days like most talking heads and politicians do, will solve nothing. A government cannot fix how we act towards one another; only we as a people can fix this, and the first step towards reaching true civility is to understand one another and breed knowledge instead of ignorance.