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the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 6:46:30 AM

angelikaJ

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89164759

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 6:49:28 AM

tarnishdhaylo

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Wow, a very interesting story. Hopefully the teen learns from that and changes his life.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 7:07:24 AM

sub4hire

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How many of us would do the same for the kid if in the situation?

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 7:14:35 AM

angelikaJ

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That is one of the things I am curious about...
and of course, with a different kid it could have had a very different outcome.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 7:23:04 AM

sub4hire

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Exactly, over the years I have been a director of this and that dealing with kids.

Yet, I don't know if I could have done what he did. When I caught a kid ripping off the YWCA (one of the places I was a volunteer director at one time) before a party we were holding I couldn't wait to get him into sheriff's custody.

So, I don't feel I'm capable of doing what that man did.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 7:27:33 AM

subtee

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I heard this on NPR this morning. At the heart of every religion I'm aware of, this is the tenet. Would that we could all shed our fear and walk the world in this way.

Thank you for posting this, angelika

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 7:46:06 AM

angelikaJ

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quote:

ORIGINAL: subtee

I heard this on NPR this morning. At the heart of every religion I'm aware of, this is the tenet. Would that we could all shed our fear and walk the world in this way.

Thank you for posting this, angelika

It was pretty moving...
I would like to think it could be more like this...however, sadly if I was faced with violence...I don't know.
I have gone into a store and bought lunch for a homeless woman...handed out a few blankets to people in the cold on streetcorners and once gave my mittens to someone...but there was no risk.
I don't know that I could/would do that...but I am very glad he did.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 7:57:39 AM

RCdc

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This is Darcy

It's a heartwarming story, for sure, but I'm afraid my instinct would be to be less Good Samaritan and more Bernhard Goetz.

The response of the kid was, sadly, one that I believe would be extremely atypical, but for every rule and exception, so I hope he made the most of this second chance.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 8:05:17 AM

lauren0221

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Thanks for sharing this, angelika. I hope the kid's life truly gets turned around.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 8:06:47 AM

urtoy

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Nice story for feeling warm and fuzzy but highly atypical. My experience has been that if you give a thief a second chance, he'll justcome back to rob you again, perhaps to cause physical harm the second time. Which is why I own a gun and know how to use it (and am willing, should the need arise).

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 9:07:12 AM

angelikaJ

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I don't know how typical it is/isn't...since most of us are afraid.

He was given not only a second chance but a glimpse into a world that was different from "his"... .

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 9:09:22 AM

Leatherist

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A nice object lesson about someone not too deeply addicted to drugs or evil.

I do feel there are points of no return-but we all have SOME chance of making a turn about.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 9:41:13 AM

cjan

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Thanks for the link/post, angelika. You've made my day.

Wow, compassion, what a concept. But, as long as one let's it remain a concept, rather than cultivate and live it, nothing changes. I agree with the OP that, at the heart of matters such as this reported incident, lies fear, on both sides. I think when someone has the courage to , despite the fear, show compassion, "things" open up and a force beyond our reckoning comes to our aid.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 11:11:28 AM

angelikaJ

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I read something in a book by Andrew Vachss:
What is the difference between an alligator and an elephant?

The essential difference is a baby alligator comes out of it's shell a perfectly formed predator.
It will only grow larger.. .
It will increase skill and power as a predator but it will always be what it was born to be.

The baby elephant can not survive on it's own. it needs nuturing, protection and without love it will die.
It can grow up to be a peaceful beast living in harmony with the heard, a work animal or a rogue, dangerous to man...
all depending upon how it is raised.

And so, the question to ask: "are the children of man alligators: doomed to what they will be from the moment of their birth
...or are they elephants, fated to be nothing specific ...and capable of being anything?"

< Message edited by angelikaJ -- 3/28/2008 11:12:24 AM >

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 11:59:42 AM

DomMeinCT

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quote:

ORIGINAL: angelikaJ

I don't know how typical it is/isn't...since most of us are afraid.

He was given not only a second chance but a glimpse into a world that was different from "his"... .

In a way, they both got a second chance.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 12:22:30 PM

angelikaJ

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very true.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 12:27:11 PM

SeeksOnlyOne

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wow thanks for sharing this. its just fukn awesome!

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 1:20:48 PM

celticlord2112

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quote:

ORIGINAL: urtoy

Nice story for feeling warm and fuzzy but highly atypical. My experience has been that if you give a thief a second chance, he'll justcome back to rob you again, perhaps to cause physical harm the second time. Which is why I own a gun and know how to use it (and am willing, should the need arise).

Mark 4:3-9

quote:

"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

The lesson I take from the news item in the OP is that we should be mindful to what others have ears to hear. A message of compassion for those ready to receive compassion, a message of retribution for those who receive compassion with contempt.

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 1:36:27 PM

angelikaJ

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I see it in a very similar way...

but the truth is a different kid...might have been a very different outcome... .

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RE: the relevance of compassion - 3/28/2008 2:38:35 PM

Aneirin

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Compassion, we are all capable of it, perhaps we should show more of it, for a better world.

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