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I have never watched the TV show What Would You Do? but I have seen enough clips from it on other shows to think that it is a show that I would not want to watch. They create scenes of people committing some kind of outrageous misbehavior or treating another person with some kind of horrible injustice and they film the reactions of the people that witness these scenes. I'm sure it is a good thing to see when people step in to try to stop whatever is happening but there is something about the scenes they create that kind of makes my stomach clinch and makes me so uncomfortable that I would not be entertained by the show.
I don't know why the show makes me so uncomfortable. Maybe because there is enough bad stuff that goes on that I don't see the point of artificially creating a bad situation for people to witness. Maybe I just don't like to see bad behavior.
It does make me think of a time when I did step in when I saw something that made me very uncomfortable. A lady was coming out of the bank across the hall from where I work with her two small children, maybe 2 and 4 years old or so. She was screaming at them as she drug one out by the arm and shoved the other one along with her knee. I watched her as she went to her car and continued screaming at them and shoving them. I got up and went out to the car and asked her if she was okay and if there was anything I could do to help. I told her she seemed extremely upset and could maybe use a little break. She stopped screaming and said she was fine and finished getting the kids in the car and left.
A couple of hours later my office phone rang and it was the woman with the kids. She had made the effort to find the number for my office and said she just wanted to call and say thank you. She said that I had made her realize how badly she was behaving and that she appreciated that I had come out and spoken to her. She apologized to me and said she had apologized to her children.
I think I got lucky with that one.....I could have just as easily gotten run over.
Are you likely to step in and say something if you see someone
behaving horribly toward another person?
Yes. I think the whole premise of that TV show is repulsive. I think you know why it bothers you, because it is wrong. We have been brain washed into being unsure about calling a spade a spade. Why intentionally hurt people to film their reactions, really?
ReplyDeleteTV has become so gross and it gets more and more lousy programming. The other day in the mall I saw a young woman wearing a T shirt that said "vampires are just dumb". Ditto. I got news for the folks who think that's cool blood STINKS.
I haven't seen this program, but I wouldn't like it either. I don't mind conflict in movies, but it is upsetting in reality shows even if they make believe and see what people will do. I quit watching Survivor because I couldn't take the unkindness of people.
ReplyDeleteWould I step in to help someone - yes. I did call social services about a neighbor of mine once. She would leave her 4 and 6 year old alone and not come home till midnight. I would take them in my house and feed them. They were afraid and hungry. They were taken away for a month and then the parents had to do better or lose their kids.
I called the police once when I heard my neighbor yelling and screaming at someone, probably her husband. Blood curdling screams. Since then, she doesn't scream anymore.
ReplyDeleteI don't like that show...and it upsets me too. There is way to much of that kind of thing going on in this world. I search for peace and tranquility...not chaos! (:>)
ReplyDeleteBut since you did witness the woman who was not treating her children well...I say...Good for you for approaching the lady and asking if she was ok and if she needed help. You made her come back to reality, and to realize what she was doing.
That is amazing that she called to thank you. You made a difference in her day! I wish we could all make a difference...and look for ways to help people. Random acts of kindness is a good thing!
Have a blessed day!
I seen clips too but haven't watched the program.
ReplyDeleteI've spent so many years in the classroom and activity teachin' SS and Kid's Church that I probably often overstep my boundaries. Seems most of the time I get by with it.
I once saw a baby cryin' uncontrollably left in a car alone on a hot August day. I walked over to the car and the little fella was hot...really hot. I opened the door and took the baby out.
Held him right there in the middle of the Wally World parkin' lot coolin' and calming him down.
The irritate mother snatched him bucklin' him back in the heated vehicle screaming at me at the top of her lungs.
I tried to explain how hot he was ans the situation was dangerous but she just kept screamin'.
I walked away knowing what could of happened. {{{SIGH}}}
Have a fantastic day sweetie filled with blessings from above!
OOps...my bad...sorry I rambled! :o(
ReplyDeleteJeanie, you did exactly what the experts say you're supposed to do if you see someone out of control with their child(ren). Being calm and sympathetic as you were (the first impulse many of us have may be to jump in and rescue the child) diffuses the parent's anger, which is really the most helpful thing for the child. Bless you for doing what was best for someone else. I pray she went somewhere and got some help for her anger issues.
ReplyDeleteBack when I was a young mother, I witnessed a lady pull off her high heal shoe and beat her children with it. We were parked next to her in the grocery store parking lot. I didn't intervene because my children were with me and the lady was big and scary. It really scared my girls. We still talk about the incident every once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteWe have a show called that around us, but it's to help people (particularly young people) know what to do when they get into a challenging situation...a friend falls through the ice or is being chased by a dog...I've seen it a few times and think it seems to give good information...
ReplyDeleteYou seemed to handle that situation very well...Glad it went as you planned...
What scares me most is that when people are cruel to children in public they are probably more so in the privacy of their own homes. I think the caring manner you used to approached the mother was just right - she sounds like a person who has a conscience and just needed a wakeup to how she was behaving. I hardly watch TV anymore - I don't find violence or others peoples' sad reality entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered what I would do in certain situations. I think I would tend to "hang back" in some cases - I'd like to think I would try to "right the wrong" but if would depend...The other night there was a child at the movie theater who had gotten separated from his Mom - he was wandering the hallway, calling her name, and crying hysterically. I did step up in that instance. So it just depends.
ReplyDeleteI have not watched TV for over 7 years and when I hear something like this it confirms I made a wise choice.
ReplyDeleteYes, I step in to diffuse a situation or remove someone from something bad for them. I could never stand by and watch someone being hurt. You were brave but you followed your gut instinct when you intervened on behalf of the children. I hope you made a lasting impression on that mother.
I *have* watched that show several times, mostly by accident. But I stay tuned, despite ending up in tears many a time, because I want to think I'd be strong and do the right thing in such situations. You're my hero for doing what you did in a sticky spot...and you clearly were for that stressed out mommy, too. ♥
ReplyDeleteOh, I do hate programs like that!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I would step in if I see someone behaving badly.
If she really learned something from that - and hopefully she did - then it was a two way blessing. Sandie
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was exactly what Marie said. Instead of attacking her and which would have made her angry and defensive, worsening the situation, you diffused it by being kind and sympathetic. It enabled her to quiet down and see how she was behaving. Wonderfully, expertly done, Jeanie!
ReplyDeleteThis show make me uncomfortable, too, and I'm not sure why. I try to do the right thing, but sometimes it doesn't feel as easy or safe. Well, good for you, my friend. You so have my admiration!
ReplyDeleteI've seen parts of this show a few times and it's an interesting question, although, like you, I dod not enjoy watching it.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the "jump in" category and have on numerous occasions in the past whether I put myself directly in (potential) harms way or called 911 and waited for the police to arrive. I tend to act before I think and each time I know I've been lucky that things worked out. (Once I got between 2 guys and a baseball- yikes).
I'm so glad you helped that woman and even happier that she realized the err of her ways and actually called you. That's impressive on so many levels.
xoxo jj
I have both stepped in -- and stepped aside. It's so hard to know what is likely to help and what could get you a punch in the nose.
ReplyDeleteAs I get older, this sort of thing gets easier to decide, as I have a much better grip over my emotions than I used to and am more likely to say something thoughtful rather than hurtful...
Pearl
I don't like that show either...
ReplyDeleteI think I watched it all the way through once though.
It is against my grain to step in when something is going on...but I will and have. I remember years ago in a park... with my little children...being surrounded by teenagers. we moved towards the car. Then I realized they were coming and coming( at least 100) and... there was a fight in the middle. This was before cell phones... so I went back (leaving my kids safely in the car. I yelled at the teenagers to stop and go home...I heard a voice coming from me that was very surprising. I said I was going to call the police. 'LEAVE NOW". They did. I got back in my car and started shaking.
I'm with you on the intervention. Although I'm also with you on the second-guessing. I've butted into strangers' business a few times in my life, but have considered it and ignored the impulse dozens of times. It's the latter I often regret.
ReplyDeleteThis show bothers me, too. I do intervene to the dismay of my kids and/or husband if something seems extreme or if someone truly needs help.
ReplyDeleteBut I always feel like a cheap voyeur whenever I watch that show.
And like I might need a shower.
Sigh.