With all these things going on around the world and even small stuff that annoy us on a daily basis, what are some things that have restored your faith in humanity?

Here's my story:

Today a (completely) handicapped veteran was trying to get on the bus but was having a hard time aligning his wheelchair to the ramp. He gave up, backed up and went to wait for the next bus. Perhaps he got frustrated, perhaps he felt embarrassed, I don't know but it made me feel bad for him. The bus driver pulled up the ramp and let the remainder of the passengers on board. Then he got off, spoke to the handicapped man patiently, convinced him to try again and helped him get on the bus appropriately even though it made him run a few minutes late. I have never seen a bus driver be so patient and kind that he would go of his way to help this man onto the bus. He even apologized to the rest of the passengers and thanked them for their patience; saying that this man was a hero and we needed to help him out. When I got off, I thanked the bus driver and told him I appreciated him and his effort. He really restored my faith in humanity.

 

All afternoon friends keep telling me Merry Christmas and buying me drinks....

 

I saw a Mom slap her kid in Wal-Mart who was having a hissy fit because she had said "No" to the little bastard's demand for some toy. :excited:

There's hope that parents will stop letting their little demons run things in the home and start being parents again.

 

It's been a rough year. Tonight at the restaurant we usually go to on Friday nights, my husband and I were talking about some things to make it better, and I started crying. Not loud and not long. But our waitress saw me, and after our dinner, she brought out a to-go bag for us to take with us -- inside were three chocolate chip cookies, and she wrote on the bag "Feel better soon."

Made me cry all over again.

Just small kindnesses like that.

 

For me its simple just people being honest and reaching out to help one another no matter the time of day

 

So I get the bus/trolley/whatever at a transportation station in a somewhat gritty but not necessarily ghetto area where you need to mind your business and keep to yourself. One day I was waiting on the bus while the driver was on break and I noticed this 19-21 year old dude on the platform through the window because he looked like somebody who might be a thug or just a typical out of control youth or whatever. Anyway, I mention this because later on when the bus was on its route, some old lady was getting on the bus and there weren't any seats nor would anybody get up for her, except this kid who just a half hour earlier at most, I wrongly thought was probably a thug or some other threat to me. In reality, he and I got to talking about how so many people our general age and even older have forgotten their manners or to have common decency towards their fellow man, and he even helped the old lady get off the bus and carried her stuff afterward.

This was sometime in 2011 but it's stuck with me ever since.

 

Good thread, Ms. dalia. You're the age of my eldest daughter. I've been fortunate to see her marry a young man who was man enough to ask for her hand in private with me. Then damned if it didn't happen again with my youngest. I was proud to give my blessing to both. There's still a spark of hope when a young man can go eye-to-eye with me. I deal with the public, so when I still hear "maa'm", and "sir" here in the South, it ain't over yet.

 

That's always nice :excited:

haha! I actually agree with you very much! I was never allowed to throw a tantrum (especially in public) and neither will my kids (if I ever have them). I hate spoiled brats!

Oh that's so sweet! I love it when people are so kind that they don't even have to do it "publicly." They just quietly do something significant, even if you don't have the chance to thank them.

Amen!

Oh this definitely gives me hope for humanity, when young people give up their seats for older adults or people with disabilities on public transportation. I ride the bus all the time and I see less and less young men giving up their seats for people. Sometimes it actually makes me want to yell at them! I give up my seat for people why shouldn't they? I honestly think they're uneducated (idk if that term applies, but in Spanish you say wrongly educated, implying that they weren't brought up right at home). As ironic as this sounds, it's usually the kids you'd EXPECT to get up that don't and some random thugged out guy that does. I sure hope that I can bring my kids up with good manners towards their elders.

I think a chivalrous, respectful man is always very sexy. I used to work in the Animal Sciences Dept. By animals I mean livestock, so we had a lot of old country cowboy guys getting their degrees and stuff and if I walked into a room, they would stand up and remove their hats. They also used "ma'am" and "sir" and were just overall very respectful. So sexy. :excited: And it seems your daughter found herself a respectful man, so good for her!

 

Yeah, I hear you. I don't know if they haven't ridden public transportation much or if they're just that entitled.

Pretty much. See the problem with judging whether or not somebody is a thug these days is thugs tend to dress normal unless you're in the inner-city/a ghetto neighborhood. They look like typical high school/college kids, and maybe they are... who knows? The point is that for better or worse, when I see a kid who looks a certain way and is dressed like a typical high school/college kid but whose face makes him look like a thug/asshole/dickhead, I assume he is one. In my defense, this is so that I know who to avoid or pay attention to when in an area where it's possible to be mugged or worse, but still.

I think it's because people who don't grow up with as much but are raised right tend to be a lot less entitled and a lot more the way a person should be.

 

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To toot my own horn....

On Thursday I was going through a toll and paid for the car behind me. The toll collector said " Are you sure that's the car you want to pay for, because sometimes.... " I cut her off saying I didn't know or care who it was. I was paying for both of us no matter what.

She looked at me with a strange look, but said OK.

I believe in people "paying it forward". I literally did it, but Baller's story did it both figuratively and literally.

If more people had the mantra of pay it forward, this would be a better world!



Note: there is a movie called "Pay it Forward". For those of you who haven't seen it, go do so. For those of you who have, watch it again to refresh the message. It's a tear jerker, so everyone should keep tissues nearby.

 

This does!

 

This was his obituary in May of this year. The Angel of the Gap.

 

I grew up in the "bad side of town," I've learned there's more to these "thugs" than people think. If you respect them, they'll respect you.

SHUT UP. I saw this thing on Reddit where people paid for the person behind them at the drive-thru and it actually created a chain, where the car would pay for the person behind them. The first time I went to the drive-thru after that, I didn't have a lot of money, so I couldn't do it. But just YESTERDAY (after Christmas shopping and filled with the Christmas spirit) I did it! The guy at the drive-thru was so confused. haha I told him to tell the people behind me Merry Christmas. My brother didn't get it either. Oh well. I just wanted to do it. I don't know if they were good people or not but I hope it just made their day a little better :excited::excited::excited:
(I'm actually tooting my own horn, I hope to do this more often if I have money, it's actually kinda fun haha)

I've heard of this! It makes me wanna cry that he passed away I wonder if a lot of the people he saved went to his funeral.

 

When people stand up for what's right, even when it's unpopular.

 

My faith in humanity hasn't been restored yet but I'll let you know when it happens.

 

I've done the same thing. A couple of years ago, we drove through a take-out coffee place to find the car in front of me paid for our coffees. In turn, I told the clerk I wanted to pay for the car behind me. She said, "Uh, they ordered food. It came to over $15.00." It was a small price for making someone smile.

Don't think that one small act of kindness goes unseen. It affects more than you know.

 

Today I made the mistake of going to the biggest store in town for the last minute groceries my mom absolutely couldn't make Christmas dinner without. The people were packing the store as if they were preparing for four-month-long lock down. The lines at the tills were so long it stretched into the isles.

There was one old man with a crane, dressed in a greyish brown suit, wearing a hat. He was buying one item only - a baby doll in a box.

The lady in the back of the isle he was in took pity on him and mentioned he should go before her, as her trolley was heaped high. The old man smiled and shuffled forward, and the man in front of him saw what happened, and waved the man on. The old man was ushered to the front of the line, which was pretty sweet to see.

 

لو انتي ضفتيني

 

The moderator's efficiency.