by Cassius K
During difficult times, you’ll notice an emergence of conscience and courage in a lot of people. You might see people being willing to help others even when they are at risk themselves, acting courageously in conscience.
The coronavirus pandemic is no different. While you might see more coverage in the mainstream media about people fighting over toilet paper, here are 5 recent instances of kindness coming into play during the outbreak.
1. NJ Resident does grocery runs
Going from store to store collecting groceries for people in need, Bloomfield, New Jersey resident Abraham Dickerson is doing his part.
“Why did I start? Because I care,” the good Samaritan said. “I didn’t want to see anyone go hungry or possibly risk their life going to get food.”
Dickerson’s gesture means a lot to the people he is assisting.
An elderly woman named Barbara Brooks explained how Abraham helped her get groceries. Her residence is a tower where seniors live, and she has to deal with asthma. She was advised to be distant from others as much as possible.
“It means that someone cares,” she said. “I’m almost out of breath.”
A resident named Adeleri Onisegun noted “He’s not asking for anything, he’s not expecting anything, he’s not taking anything.”
2. Civilian prevents a shooting outside the grocery store
Even though many are warm and helpful, it must be expected that crime may rise.
When people battle over food or whatever it is outside the grocery store for example, and somebody pulls out a weapon and tries to strike the innocent, it might inspire a courageous reaction from bystanders.
It was a situation like this that recently transpired in Omaha, Nebraska.
A man entered an Omaha, Nebraska Hy-Vee store and started firing shots, when bystander Tom Wenzl tackled him and disabled the threat to everybody in the vicinity.
Customers were running out of the store, but he stayed and ducked down out of sight behind a counter. “I hunkered down – he was in five or six – I crouched and waited. When he came through, that’s when I tackled him,” Wenzl explained.
He actually prevented a cop from having to take lethal action, because Omaha Police Deputy Police Chief Scott Gray said he was a “fraction of a second from shooting the guy,” as he also jumped into the altercation. That was after Wenzyl initially started trying to wrestle the gun away, with the first move.
3. “Take this.” $1000 handed to grocery store staff
At Darrell’s Market & Hardware in Aurelius Township, Michigan, employee Julie Huguelet was walking out the door after a long shift when a stranger handed her an envelope.
“Take this. Give $10 a day to each of your employees” he said, without giving his name or any more information.
Without opening the envelope, she took it to the owner of the store, Jared Browers. “There’s a thousand dollars cash in here,” Browers noted after opening it.
They explained the pace of business had “doubled” at the store and that traffic is like not like anything they’ve ever seen before, in the midst of this situation surrounding the pandemic. “A lot of us are getting to the point where we’re just exhausted,” said Huguelet. “We crash and go home and sleep, then come back.”
Store owner Jamie Robinson said the gift meant a lot.
Robinson said after a long week, many employees were in disbelief when they heard about the anonymous $1,000 donation.
“Is this for real?,” some asked her. “Did this really happen?”
“It was a pretty amazing thing,” Robinson said. “It really boosted the staff.”
“It’s just really going to be a nice reaffirmation of the work we do every day,” Browers said.
4. At the location of a fight, woman gifts toilet paper
A more negative story received publicity recently about people allegedly attacking each other with wine bottles at a Sam’s Club in Hiram, Georgia, in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.
At this same store, WSBTV Atlanta explained: “A Paulding County woman shared a sweet story of strangers helping strangers during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Carol Burton Largent said that she went to Sam’s Club to get some toilet paper, something notoriously out of stock these days.
Largent asked a woman next to her when she pulled up at the store if there was any toilet paper left.
“I asked her if they had any toilet paper left and she said no, it was all gone. Then she proceeded to open her pack of toilet paper and gave me 24 rolls without even thinking about it,” she said.
Largent said she told the woman she didn’t have any cash.
“I don’t need your cash, God put you here for a reason,” Largent said the woman said.
5. Pandemic Partners do grocery runs
A Facebook group is emphasizing community power while maintaining respect for the need to be cautious of spreading illness.
A post in a group called Pandemic Partners Southern Oregon offered to visit the store for people who are over 60 years old, or suffer from a weakened immune system. Members of the community offering to visit stores for people in need, that’s surely a practice that we can look forward to continuing.
Another post in the group offered help to those suffering from illness by giving them bone broth, considered highly nutritious.
People in the group are offering handmade face masks to health care workers, posting job listings, food pantry availability, meals for kids and first responders, and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to help their neighbors through a difficult time.
It’s a wonderful example of community spirit.
Bad times can also bring out the good in people.
In conclusion, you can rest assured that the result of everybody being in need, all at once, is not always universally this greedy, self-centered reaction. This reaction is something that the media may over-emphasize in the coming months, turning people against each other if they let it.
Reality can be quite the opposite: some people experience a surge of courage, associated with their conscience essentially, during a time like this. We have some survival instincts latent in us, that some people may have never even experienced an awakening of, ever in their lives.
It’s also important to remember that we, the citizens and people who live wherever we live, have the ultimate power to shape and determine our future. We can all help others in our communities, rather than make their lives more difficult or ignore their problems.
We’d all be well advised to shape our future with intent, rather than letting some other people or entity shape it for us. People can build their own culture, or the system can build it for them.
About Cassius
Cassius K. is a writer from North Highlands, California.
The MSM will NEVER report on these types of incidences, Why?
1. The MSM is using the crisis to try to take down the President by causing panic.
2. More than likely, most (if not all) of the people in this story are MAGA and therefore the MSM would
never report anything positive about us.
3. We still support the President, the Country, the 2nd, and trust in God.
4. Can you say “landside” in Nov. ?
The MSM is reporting a lot of stories about people helping other people. Karma is a bitch with impeccable timing so those who aren’t trying to be part of the solution consider yourselves warned.
I’ve seen plenty of acts of kindness during this event. I’m all for it and have tried to do what I can within limits. We’ve got a long ways to go
Here in So Orange/Maplewood/Newark it has just been nonstop neighborly unity. Hundreds of people signed up to shop for the elderly and ill, most of the shelters are empty if of dogs- so many fosters and adoptions! Neighbors raised $50k to feed the hospital workers from local restaurants. It’s scary and difficult, but also pretty heartwarming.
That is so wonderful to hear!
Do what you can! My sister sews and has made several dozen facemasks for family and friends in Minnesota. She is making more for the local hospital. She has inspired a local quilting group to do the same.
I had extra seedlings and a few large container tubs that I’m passing along to family, friends, neighbors, classmates from Sunday School, so they can have access to fresh veggies.
I’m passing along helpful email newsletters to folks that don’t know where to start on preparing. If someone asks for more info, I’m sharing whatever information or online resources I can.
I check on family and friends, offering to pickup supplies every trip I make to town to go to work. We are all in the over 60 group…. so far I’ve been able to find grocery supplies for one elderly friend and the ever elusive toilet paper for my son’s family….
We will get through this!
The MSM paints such an ugly big picture to demoralize Americans. I am so grateful that many are not buying into it!
Some are saying that this thing is bringing out people’s true colors. For better or for worse, I agree with that!
Maybe this is the thing that will bring genuine virtue back into style. We must take care of our elders who have all the common sense wisdom. To lose them would be our real doom.
Thank you for warming our hearts today!
A proposition worth considering… Open Letter to Our President and Other Leaders, March 24, 2020
Hopefully, the focused and comprehensive actions your administration is taking to combat the CV progression are successful and we, as a society, will soon be engaged in the critical task of restarting the economy and global supply chains after the CV storm passes. However, I think we as a country need to consider the scenario where the recovery to normalcy is slower than hoped, and with this, the risk that the food supply chain is severely impacted.
As was the case for urgency in shutting down the global economy to slow the spread of CV, in the more adverse scenarios there is a related urgency. Namely, the remaining days in the growing season in the northern hemisphere are limited. Also, this is spiritual issue, in that society is in the grip of fear and feeling helpless in the face of an enemy that cannot see and worried about the related consequences they don’t control (e.g. layoffs, medical issues, financial losses, relationship distancing, etc.).
To help alleviate both of these factors, I propose that the country revisit the idea of planting victory gardens and the country’s leadership add this idea to list of initiatives being considered and supported. I propose a “modest goal” to create a million backyard or community gardens early in this growing season throughout the country. Modest by
comparison… https://www.history.com/news/americas-patriotic-victory-gardens
Elements of this plan might include:
Keep it simple.. For example, raised beds are easy to create and manage. All we are talking about are thingslike lumber, screws, brackets, seeds and soil/compost. Other existing and available approaches would apply this principle as well and can be outlined later.
Recruit the best… The world is full of intelligent and experienced permaculture and regenerative agriculture practitioners (amongst others) who know how to plan and successfully grow in a variety of locations and weather conditions.
Open source it.. We can ask our tech industry to support an internet-based community focal point where “old hands” contribute skills and expertise and where the newly minted victory gardeners can connect and share ideas and experiences.
Get the materials where they are needed quickly.. Ask Amazon/Home Depot/etc.. to help get the materials where they are needed (delivered to peoples’ homes) on an expedited basis. In parallel with engaging these large corporate resources, we can activate and collaborate with the many entrepreneurs that own nurseries, landscaping business and such, to provide locally-available materials (e.g. soil/compost) and assist in the “last mile” activities (making and filling raised beds).
Get the funds flowing ASAP.. While we spend trillions stabilizing the banking system and providing emergency funds to struggling businesses, a mere fraction of those funds, applied to this proposal, could move mountains on the food security front in this growing season. It also could create a variety of truly “shovel-ready” jobs (pardon the pun) to those who are idled by the reduction of economic activity.
As I contemplate and propose this idea, I can’t think of any downside. In the more adverse potential outcomes, we could make a meaningful contribution to reduce food insecurity this year. If this turns out to be an overreaction (the CV problem wanes and society returns to normal quickly), the downside is that we will have created gardens that are on their way to producing healthy food and, hopefully, reintroducing to society the skills and joy involved in growing and eating healthy food.
Respectfully submitted for consideration,
If you think this makes sense, please pass this idea along.. Peace.
Our local FB and Nextdoor groups have many offering to shop for the elderly/infirm. Local neighborhoods have ‘organized’ Bear Hunts for the kiddos, folks putting teddy bears/stuffed animals in their windows or on their porches for kids to find while out walking. Same with kids ‘chalking’ the sidewalks/streets with words of encouragement for neighbors and folks passing thru. A local family paid for pizzas to be delivered (from a local, not chain, store) to the grocery store workers the other day. You might not hear about this on MSM, but our local news channels are highlighting stories like this every day.
On a personal level, a customer gave up her package of TP to my coworker the other night, because we can’t shop while we are working, and the TP was gone by the time we got off work. She is a regular customer, and we already love her, but this was over the top! My neighbor, who also works with the public in another field, mentioned he didn’t have any hand sanitizer. I don’t have but a few small bottles, but gave him a small bottle to get him thru til the stores get more in stock. Since DH isn’t working, he doesn’t need it; but my gardening buddy did.
I have had customers thank me for being there and doing my job. Many have ‘blessed’ me with their prayers. Many end our transactions with ‘stay safe’.
I live in a relatively small town. The ppl ‘panic buying’ were from outside our semi rural community, ‘pillaging’ our stores. Making it worse for all of us. And I know this to be a fact, not conjecture. Many admitted they were from neighboring towns (which have their own, and often more varied grocery and other store options than available in our little town). I know that sounds ‘us vs. them’, and it’s not meant to be, But where they might have 3 major grocery chains, we only have one. Same with pharmacy and hardware stores. So you can kinda see why I have an attitude.
But our local community is strong and resilient. We’ve weathered many ‘storms’ over the years. We will get thru this together/’apart’.
One thing I’ve seen that makes me happy is watching the parents go outside and play with their children, take walks etc.
I see “quarantine visits” including myself where I go see my mom but at a distance just so I can lay eyes on her and get that interaction. We’ve always done visits but instead of nothing this is something.
The teachers of our local school did a car parade in front of the kids houses.
The schools are feeding lunches to ANY child that drives thru and lemme tell ya it’s quality and bountiful.
I put Skype on my moms phone and am doing FaceTime with the kids n grandkids.
Playgrounds are closed but PaPas swing set and other equipment ain’t. I weed eated and cleaned it all up so they can come by. I don’t go out cause I’m still working as a LEO but it’ll warm the heart.
I’ve witnessed more quality time events than ever imagined.
Along with the typical whining and griping and textual nitpicking, there are a lot of acts of kindness happening on my neighborhood website. (Nextdoor.com.) Many people have offered to go get groceries for the elderly or immune compromised, and quite a few people are checking in on each other to make sure they are okay. Others, such as myself (though I didn’t start it) are sharing info on where different things are in stock and when.
I see people encouraging other and supporting each other on my weight loss support site as well, and my company is being incredible to its employees. Like a great man’s mother once said “in times of trouble, look for the helpers.” Now, I don’t advertise the fact that I’m a prepper but I’m very quick to offer information or encouragement.
In our community, a local high school football team has offered to go grocery shopping for the elderly and disabled in our town. Also, a guy from another local town is playing his accordion in the afternoon to cheer the local folks.
It’s little things that make the difference.