27 December 2008

A Friend Is Down

Updated: Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008, 8:37 am -- News coverage says Mo "hesitated" and that is why he was shot. No, I doubt very seriously that he hesitated. I know the man all too well. He was not about to give this pathetic excuse for a human being his livelihood. This morning he is holding his own. Still in rough condition. But stabilizing.

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A man I have come to know quite well, an immigrant to this nation many years ago and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, was shot in his neighborhood market tonight. He is in critical condition in a nearby hospital. The police have not yet caught the scumbag who robbed him.


He always has believed in self defense, has kept a gun for protection in his home, and perhaps in his market. One of the things he always asked me . . . something that he could never understand . . . was why so many Americans will not rush to the aid of another. "Why do people here not stop a thief if I am yelling 'stop that thief?' " In the country he left, he has said, people think nothing of stopping a thief. For a thief affects everyone in the community.


Simply saying that so many people here are afraid to help another human being always has bothered me. Is it fear of "getting involved?" I don't know. This man would walk to mile to help another less fortunate person. A merchant with a heart.


His family waits and watches tonight. As do I. Please send good thoughts to this man tonight. I have come to know him as a friend. For he is good people.



3 comments:

Jean said...

Good thoughts going to him from here... I hope he continues to improve and heal.

Brent Greer said...

Thank you. Mo is now in "fair" condition. The doctors say he has turned the corner.

BobG said...

"Why do people here not stop a thief if I am yelling 'stop that thief?' "

Probably because of the fear of outrageous litigation; one sad fact in this country is that we have too many legal predators and scavengers. There are plenty of unethical lawyers who are happy to start ridiculous lawsuits on behalf of some scumbag.
Just my opinion.