Misc. Ramblings

The posts for today will have something in common - they will all be obvious to everyone except, it seems, to those involved.

First Saddam, then France. The morning papers says the European Union (EU) is giving Saddam Hussein al-Majd al-Tikriti "one last chance." Until, of course, the next time. Then they'll really, really mean it.

As British Prime Minister Tony Blair put it:

If Iraq is not cooperating fully and everyone accepts they are not cooperating, why is Iraq not then in material breach?

Almost anything, taken to extremes is not a Good Thing. For example, some people refuse to think of themselves as being part of a community because it may imply taking responsibility for more than just yourself ("Am I my brother's keeper?").

So it should not be surprising that the Catherine "Kitty" Genovese syndrome (see one account here) should be repeated, over and over again.

The most recent incident made the headlines over the weekend. A man was shot at a Washington, D.C, area gas station. Sadly, this is not the part that has thoughtful people in a rage. There's more (see the story here).

After the shooting, one witness -- who was just feet away from the gunman -- looked for a moment at Price's body and then turned away. Not only did he finish pumping his kerosene, but the man paid for the purchase and drove off...

For the next few minutes, the [video security] camera records a series of cars pulling away from the station, with at least one new car pulling up to the kerosene pump where Price lay. But it is not until about 9:13, more than three minutes after the shooting, that the gas station's manager is seen approaching the body.

It seem obvious that when someone is shot, and you are in a position to at least notify the police or call an ambulance, that you would do so. But I guess that's not obvious to the people there.

Small things are important. Sometimes they're critical - especially if you are getting an organ transplant. Ask the teenager from Mexico who came to Duke University Hospital to be healed through a heart and lung transplant. Only, people weren't paying attention to the small things - like matching the blood type from the donor to the teenager. After waiting three years for the life saving operation, she is now is near death due to the obvious error. Obvious, that is, except to everyone there.

If we've learned nothing else over the years, know this: Just because something is obvious does not mean people will perceive it, acknowledge it, and then appropriately attend to it. If anything, they will do just the opposite. So it's up to us to point out the obvious, get people to acknowledge it, and then act on it. Because if we don't, it is obvious that no one will.

Aloha!