There is an unfortunate close-minded mentality in Crown Heights. Frum people in general seem to have this 'closed group' attitude. Which is fine, I'm Jewish, you're Jewish, let's stick together. We try our best to keep outer influences to a minimum.
But what of Racism? It is prevalent in New York, and it makes me uncomfortable.
I was at the laundromat, and some guy came over to tell me that a lady wasn't feeling well. I went over to check. She was sitting on a chair with her head down, not moving. I thought maybe she was tired. I asked her if she was okay. She shook her head no. I asked her if she wanted water. She shook her head no. I asked her if she wanted an ambulance. She didn't really respond. Another lady was a nurse and tried asking her what her symptoms were.
I decided someone should do something, so I called 911. It is a weird feeling to have to call. I have only called them once before, thank G-d. They go through a whole process. What is the emergency? Address? Who is the patient? How old is she? They dispatched me to ambulance services. They asked me more questions. Then told me an ambulance was on the way.
20 minutes later it still wasn't there. The lady was laying on two chairs, moaning, complaining of stomach pains. I didn't know what to do, and I was getting nervous. So I decided to call Hatzalah (the Jewish ambulance service.) They came within 5 minutes.
The first guy attended to the lady, he seemed nice. The thing about Hatzala is they come in droves. About 3 more guys showed up, and an ambulance, even before the 911 emergency service came.
Here's where it gets a little uncomfortable. One of the guys was looking around. He saw me. I was obviously the only frum person there. The lady who was in pain is African American. I did the right thing by calling Hatzala. A person is a person no matter what, and I should do what I can to help.
The guy came over to me and said in a sort of whisper, "We try that Hatzalah should only be used for yidden." So I said, taken aback, 'The ambulance didn't come and I didn't know what to do.' He said, okay you should know for the future....
They took her in an ambulance to the hospital. The Hatzalah guys were great. In and out in like 7 minutes. I left the laundromat about 30 minutes after I called 911 and I still did not hear approaching sirens.
But that comment- it is so primitive. So uncalled for. Who cares if she is a 'yid' or not. She is a person. We as Jews are 'gomlei chassadim'. We help people. I was really bothered that he said that. Why do frum Jews feel the need to be racist?
Maybe I am taking this to an extreme, and I can understand in a sense where the guy was coming from. But if he called the police, would they tell him, sorry bro', we only help Mexicans?
Regardless, I hope she will be okay, and I am definitely learning how to stay calm in stressful situations, something I have a big problem with.
POST SCRIPT: I saw the lady again today, she is okay, and she thanked me profusely for helping her out.
He was wrong, Hatzalah is for everyone. You should've got his Call # and reported that in.
ReplyDeleteIf he doesn't want to take everyone, then he doesn't belong there.
THIS^
Delete(and while we're at it, why are there no women in Hatzalah? So it's ok for men to touch women to save lives but not the other way around?)
Yes. I hope that wasn't a serious question.
Deleteand they have females for childbirth (and other appropriate situations), as well as dispatchers.
Hm. I was unaware of that.
DeleteI disagree. Hatzalah is a private organization staffed by volunteers and raises its money from private donors in the Jewish community. Its goal is to fill a void that the city leaves. Were Hatzalah to be called for every emergency in NY, their resources would be stretched thin and their response time would be just as bad as the cities.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, Hatazlah is to be called for emergencies "featuring" Jews. Had the guy showed up, seen it was a non-jew and left it would be a whole other story. THAT would be horrible. To inform you, however, that in the sake of everyone's best interest to use Hatalah only as intended is 1000% right.
I'd say 50% right. Hatzalah only advertises to Jews, and does not wish their resources to be stretched thin. Yet they still will help anyone. I heard this from a Hatzalah member who spoke in our shul. It would've been a lot better had that Hatzalah fellow who whispered to you instead invited you to a talk where you could've heard what I heard in shul.
ReplyDeletePS: Wondering Minds answered "Yes" to a question, but the question she was answering had two parts. I think Wondering Minds meant "yes" to only the first part.