Blind guy on the sidewalk, would you help?

[Raggedeannie]

Most days I call my mom on my 10 minute walk from work to the metro, just like I did today.  Mom was upset about some medical issues happening with my grandma so she was talking my ear off.  I got to the metro entrance and just stood there near the top of the escalator listening to my mom rant (I couldn't go in or I would lose reception).

I noticed a gentlemen about 20 feet from me holding a white cane, in a suit, also standing still.  After a while he pulled out his iPhone and held it to his ear and started scrolling and scrolling and scrolling (maybe listening for something? a contact? a text message? I don't know.).  He put his iPhone away. He pulled it back out and scrolled and scrolled. Put it away.

Meanwhile Mom is jabbering and jabbering and jabbering and I kept thinking, I should help him, I should tell Mom to hold on, but what if he doesn't like to be helped? What if he doesn't need help?  I also kept thinking that if he DID need help he would ask since there were tons and tons of people walking by.

Dozens and dozens of people walked by over a 15 minute period and nobody seemed to notice him.

Finally he walked over to the stoplight, and a guy pretty quickly asked if he needed help. They exchanged a few words, and Guy escorted Blind Man across the crosswalk and into the restaurant straight across the street. Guy crossed the crosswalk back across to my side.

OMG I feel like a jerk.  He just needed help finding the restaurant that was straight across the street.

Do you offer to help blind or otherwise disabled people?  Do you think you would have in this case?  Because, nobody, repeat nobody, offered to help him until he went to the stoplight.  

[lindyanne]

I may have gone over. I have helped old and handicapped people get stuff at the grocery store before.

[mskitkat]

Apr 16, 2014 19:37:26 GMT -5 lindyanne said:

I may have gone over. I have helped old and handicapped people get stuff at the grocery store before.

PDQ this part but a dead friend *redacted*

I'm sorry, I really cracked up over this.

I probably would have asked if I could help him, but I tend to be overly anxious to help people.

[littlemisssunshine]

I'm hesitate to offer help because I don't want to offend them. I knew a blind girl in high school that become very belligerent if anyone offered help, even if it was obvious she needed it.

In this case maybe. It wouldn't hurt to say, Excuse me sir, do you need help?

[mollybrown]

I probably wouldn't have in that situation, unless asked. It wasn't clear whether he needed help or not. I would assume that a blind person that had the ability to use an iPhone is pretty capable, unless they were clearly in need of assistance. I scroll around on my iPhone all the time when I'm waiting for whatever reason. He could also have used his voice and asked for directions in the 15 minutes you saw him standing there.

[rubytue]

Apr 16, 2014 19:46:51 GMT -5 littlemisssunshine said:

I'm hesitate to offer help because I don't want to offend them. I knew a blind girl in high school that become very belligerent if anyone offered help, even if it was obvious she needed it.

In this case maybe. It wouldn't hurt to say, Excuse me sir, do you need help?

This, but I'd add "... Help you find something?" So you were implying that he needed help just for being blind.

I work with a couple of blind women. Granted, it in the office where they know where things are and such, but I know not to mess with their system. They only take certain elevators bc they know the routes, don't offer the one you are on if its not they one they want, etc.

[lindyanne]

Apr 16, 2014 19:42:09 GMT -5 mskitkat said:

Apr 16, 2014 19:37:26 GMT -5 lindyanne said:

I may have gone over. I have helped old and handicapped people get stuff at the grocery store before.

PDQ this part but a dead friend *redacted*

I'm sorry, I really cracked up over this.

I probably would have asked if I could help him, but I tend to be overly anxious to help people.

Haha oops.

[M]

It sounds like you couldn't tell if he needed help or not so I think I would have done the same as you...stood there and pondered until I was too late. I wouldn't want to offend but I wouldn't want to be a jerk that didn't help either. So I don't know what I would do.

[Raggedeannie]

Apr 16, 2014 19:58:02 GMT -5 mollybrown said:

I probably wouldn't have in that situation, unless asked. It wasn't clear whether he needed help or not. I would assume that a blind person that had the ability to use an iPhone is pretty capable, unless they were clearly in need of assistance. I scroll around on my iPhone all the time when I'm waiting for whatever reason. He could also have used his voice and asked for directions in the 15 minutes you saw him standing there.

Yeah. This is it.  If he was lost... this is what Siri was made for!

If he was still there when I got off the phone with my mom I would have gone over.