When standard human behaviour is labelled as exceptional

Chirimoya

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From today's DR1 news:
Medical student cares for surviving suicide victim
A medical student at Unibe, Luis Carlos Jimenez Hernandez, is being commended for administering first aid to a young woman who attempted suicide at around 1:30pm on Wednesday, 26 August 2015. The young woman, UASD communications student Estefany Maria Baez, lived with her aunt in San Cristobal. She was five months pregnant and threw herself from the tunnel of 27 de Febrero with Maximo Gomez. She was carrying a letter to her parents, telling them that she had failed them. She miscarried and doctors had to perform a hysterectomy after her pelvis suffered major damage as a result of the fall, which means she will not be able to have children in the future. She was taken to the Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia Maternity Hospital and then transferred to the Ney Arias Lora Trauma Hospital where she is under observation for multiple injuries.
Hoy reports that Jimenez was an exception in a society that has become indifferent. He gave first aid to the young woman as he waiting for the arrival of the 911 Emergency service, in contrast to other passers-by who just videoed the scene or took photos.
http://hoy.com.do/el-joven-que-se-convirtio-en-heroe-tras-ayudar-chica-que-se-lanzo-del-puente/
http://hoy.com.do/sigue-grave-joven-embarazada-intenta-suicidarse/
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...a-tunel-en-la-avenida-27-de-febrero-ED1041644
http://acento.com.do/2015/actualidad/8278962-joven-que-intento-suicidarse-se-encuentra-estable/

I've seen several comments praising this young man's behaviour, which although commendable, does not strike me as at all exceptional. Some have gone as far as describing him as an angel sent by God... FFS.

Isn't that what anyone, especially someone with medical knowledge and vocation would do in these circumstances? My reaction when faced with a comparable situation has been to help if I can be useful in any way - by making the victim comfortable, giving them a glass of water, calling an ambulance - and if there is nothing helpful I can add, to get out of the way to prevent crowding the injured person and getting in the way of the emergency services.

The point made about all the gawkers/rubberneckers are valid too. Maybe it's time for a public education campaign to shame people into stopping this ghoulish practice.
 

sayanora

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It's not what anyone would do.. that's why it's considered exceptional. An exception to the rule. I don't think it's just in the DR either, the majority of people would rather just not get involved and go along their merry way. There is a TV show called "What would you do" that tests what people do in different situations and humans in general are pretty damn mean to each other.

If calling him an angel sent by God will motivate one other person to do the same as he did, then I don't think there is any harm in praising him.
 

dv8

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The point made about all the gawkers/rubberneckers are valid too. Maybe it's time for a public education campaign to shame people into stopping this ghoulish practice.

i always read about how laymen should not attempt to move trauma victim for the fear of causing further damage. and there are only as many passersby who can make the victim comfortable, as many glasses of water to be passed around and as many ambulance callers. one may just as well watch how events unravel and snap pictures. the crowd is all about panem et circenses ater all.
 

Conchman

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Many people probably thought she was laying on the road due to a car accident. With the history of this country, where good samaritans get stuck with lawsuits, police shakedowns, false crime allegations, and hospital bills, it is actually a surprise that somebody stopped and helped.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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i always read about how laymen should not attempt to move trauma victim for the fear of causing further damage. and there are only as many passersby who can make the victim comfortable, as many glasses of water to be passed around and as many ambulance callers. one may just as well watch how events unravel and snap pictures. the crowd is all about panem et circenses ater all.

I was told by a trauma doctor in Higuey ... if you or your family are in the accident, better get them to hospital than to wait for ambulance which may or may not appear. I have myself called an ambulance to a moto crash, which appeared about 20 or 25 minutes after my call. The victims were at a clinic at that time already. On other occasion (moto crashes are quite frequent in Higuey and they somehow happen more frequently on a stretch of road close to my house than other places) I called the ambulance to be told none is available... neither Bomberos nor Salud Publica has any working ambulance at that moment.
 
May 5, 2007
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I don't know if the DR has anything like the Good Samaritan Law to protect people that attempt to assist accident victims or not Some people feel they
may do more harm than good but as an EMT instructor I once had said in question about "What if I break her ribs doing CPR"

He replied "So what?"

You may harm someone by moving them but that is generally not an issue, breathing and circulation are the most common
immediate issues and if they are not doing one or both of the two it's pretty hard to further harm them
 

Chirimoya

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i always read about how laymen should not attempt to move trauma victim for the fear of causing further damage. and there are only as many passersby who can make the victim comfortable, as many glasses of water to be passed around and as many ambulance callers. one may just as well watch how events unravel and snap pictures. the crowd is all about panem et circenses ater all.
As I said, if I cannot help in any way because someone is already doing so, I don't stick around to gawp or get in the way.

It's not what anyone would do.. that's why it's considered exceptional. An exception to the rule. I don't think it's just in the DR either, the majority of people would rather just not get involved and go along their merry way. There is a TV show called "What would you do" that tests what people do in different situations and humans in general are pretty damn mean to each other.
Really? In Europe and the Middle East, in my experience, although praiseworthy, it is standard, unremarkable behaviour. The fear of malpractice suits in a US thing only.
 

Kipling333

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When you see a person lying on the road in the DR and you stop to render assistance , as indeed any kind person would be inclined to do , and you take them to hospital , there is a strong possibility that you will spend the night in the cells while the police invesigate . That is why many Dominicans do not assist . I have often wondered what I would do, and I think I would take the person to emergency and then quickly disappear.
I agree that we used to be taught the dangers of moving a person ,but I think hospital is the best option . Maybe others would call the new emergency number .
 

Chirimoya

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dv8 said:
why does it bother you that people look?

Because if it were me, I, like most people, would not like to be surrounded by a crowd of strangers snapping photos of me and/or my family as we lie injured and in pain.

Here is some commentary by someone who shares my reaction:

http://www.40limon.es/2015/08/de-heroes-marcas-oportunistas-y-el-olvido-de-la-victima/

?No merece aplauso Luis Carlos?
Merece todo el aplauso posible, que sea reconocido y exaltado su acto, pero no como algo extraordinario, sino como lo que fue, un acto de civismo ordinario que sorprende a una sociedad incapaz de ayudar sin hacer un maldito selfie. Tengo entendido que Luis Carlos no ha buscado ni desea la fama inesperada que le hemos dado. Eso habla muy bien de ?l y me hace aplaudirlo m?s. Ni siquiera necesitaba el espaldarazo disfrazado de oportunismo de su universidad y su gimnasio. Solo hizo lo correcto, y eso no tiene m?s m?rito que la gratitud del deber cumplido. Pero estamos tan absortos en hacer la foto y reportar el hecho que cuando alguien hace lo necesario y oportuno, hasta h?roe lo llamamos.
 

Chirimoya

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On that, we agree :) I still like to think it has not changed so drastically everywhere.
 

dv8

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for centuries death used to be wholesome family entertainment. an execution was a public event, open for all to see. maybe this is a tradition difficult to change. even those who do not stare at real like accidents see (fake) images of pain and suffering on tv all the time. i put it down to human nature, which is not particularly pleasant.
 

Chirimoya

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Yes. Some have evolved beyond that, some are still stuck there and others have come full circle.
 

Kipling333

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Chirimoya..your reaction is mine also ..I remember when I snapped my achiles tendon in a tennis match many many years ago and people left other courts simply to look at me lying on the court..Did not like that at all
 

melphis

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As I said, if I cannot help in any way because someone is already doing so, I don't stick around to gawp or get in the way.


Really? In Europe and the Middle East, in my experience, although praiseworthy, it is standard, unremarkable behaviour. The fear of malpractice suits in a US thing only.

I totally agree with you. I have never seen the ghouls taking pictures of injured people till I came to the DR. I find it absolutely disgusting. Where I live in Canada if someone did that they would be lying in street hoping no one was taking pictures of there sorry butts.

As far as helping people in need I have given first aid to several accident victims I have come across on remote roads in Canada. With the laws in the DR I just can't risk my livelihood by being the " good samaritan.
 

Chirimoya

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Other comments on social media:

...el chico hizo no deber?a ser noticia porque eso es lo que se debe hacer. S?, unj?. Es lo que se DEBIERA hacer y talvez si estuvi?semos viviendo bajo otras condiciones, fuera la norma; pero como t? e’ta vaina aqu? que cualquiera te atraca o te mata en plena calle a cualquier hora, hay que tener los cojones de Adamantium pa desmontarse de un veh?culo a ayudar a alguien en plena v?a. Por eso, y esta es mi opini?n, lo que ?ste chamaco hizo S? lo hace especial.

and

A decir verdad, es muy probable que yo tampoco hubiese dejado a la pr?jima ah? tirada en medio de la calle, para que la pisaran los carros, pero quiz? me habr?a desmayado a su lado. Conocido es que a mi ver sangre me pone mal. En mi status anterior no estoy sobreestimando a Lu?s Carlos Jim?nez, ni llam?ndole "h?roe" sino reconociendo su gentileza. Her?ico hubiese sido que de alguna manera evitara que la joven se lanzara del puente y no fue as?, ?habr?a sido imposible! Simplemente, cuando la joven cay?, a pocos metros de su auto en movimiento se detuvo, se baj? y la acompa?? mientras ven?an los param?dicos. Quiz? hasta fue ?l quien los llam? y muy probablemente esto fue lo que le dio a la joven una nueva oportunidad de vivir. Yo ser?a una c?nica de mi*erda si menospreciara eso; me da igual que sea lo que se supone que debe hacer un m?dico. Para mi fue muy lindo y me recuerda una de las cualidades dominicanas que se han ido perdiendo y que m?s debemos rescatar: la solidaridad con el desconocido.