Where is our sense of community in Olympia?

Today, I purchased a treadmill as a surprise for my husband. While trying to unload it, I noticed there were three college types walking by, one gal and two guys. I asked, “Hey, I’m trying to get this treadmill into my garage. Can you spare 5 seconds and help?” The girl responded coldly, “Ummm, no. We know who Ted Bundy is.”

I then saw a neighbor a couple houses down in his yard. Introduced myself and asked the same question. He replied, “Talk to me one more time and I’m calling the cops,” as he ran in his house and locked the door.

I’m baffled by all of this. I’m not generally a frightening person. Why did these folks respond this way? Was it fear? Ignorance? Self-preservation at the cost of others? Maybe just plain self-serving apathy?

There’s much discussion in our country today about things like racial equality, classism, sexism, etc. People are expected to be incredibly informed, educated, and non-judgmental. All of this is important, but there’s seemingly no expectation to retain one’s humanity at the same time. Simple compulsion to help a neighbor has disappeared.

Maybe we need to talk about how to be decent human beings again. Only when we look closely within, putting ourselves in the place of others, especially in time of need, will we understand how to strengthen our community once more. Yes, acceptance is important, but more self-examination of our basic priorities, along with our ethical compass, is called for as well.