Losing faith in humanity

My faith in humanity is dwindling ever so slowly each and every day. I am not one to judge because I prefer to live by the words, “Judge not, lest ye be judged” – Matthew 7-1. Instead I focus on trying to just be quick with a smile and to be kind. Yes, I fail and that simply makes me human. However; I never stop trying.

I went to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up a few items we needed. I found a parking space and walked inside. As I was walking to get a cart, there was a woman coming to get one as well, so I gave her the one I had and got another for myself. Not that she said thank you, but it was just a cart, so whatever. That should have been my first clue that I was not going to have a pleasant experience inside the store.

I proceed inside the store and make my way to the grocery aisles that contain the items I am there for. I managed to get through the dairy aisle without incident which is surprising because there always seem to be a lot of people there. I even get through the snack aisle unscathed. And then things start to fall apart.

I’m in the bread aisle and there is a woman with a younger child and then an older woman. As I wait for the mother to move down the aisle some so that I can get to the bread that we eat, I watch her child walk up to the older woman and hit her. I thought my jaw was going to hit the floor. The older woman turns to the mother and says to her, “Excuse me Miss but your child just hit me.” The response I heard was this, “Well, if YOU hadn’t been in their way, they wouldn’t have hit you.” I did a slow blink because I was almost sure that I didn’t hear that correctly. No, I did. I heard it exactly as she said it because she repeated it when the woman said, “I’m sorry? What did you say?” Episode 1 has ended because I left the aisle.

Next, I realize I forgot something so I have to back track a few aisles. Now, there has been an elderly woman in an electric cart that I have seen a few times. I watched her turn up the breakfast food aisle and as I am passing by I hear boxes hit the floor. Stopping to see if the woman was trying to reach something and couldn’t reach it or if something fell on her, what I saw made me go wide eyed. Another child with lack of supervision has placed their arm beside some box and then walked down the aisle knocking down no less than 30 boxes of cereal. They apparently found the one they were looking for, because they proceed to sit down in the floor, rip open the box, take out the bag containing the cereal, stand up and they stomp it to death. This is now the 2^nd episode I have witnessed so I decide to hurry up and get the rest of my items.

Walking rather hurriedly towards the produce section I see this beautiful little girl. I mean, just beautiful. She’s maybe 5 or 6, blonde haired, with brown eyes and she has Down Syndrome. She’s absolutely precious. I don’t know what it was that caught her attention, but in an effort to get the attention of the woman she was with, she walks over to her and tugs on her shirt. I don’t know if this person is her mother, but I so hope not. This woman yells at this child saying, “DON’T TUG ON MY SHIRT! YOU’LL RUIN IT!” Not to be ignored, this little girl then taps her on her leg a couple times, all while just pointing at whatever she wanted this woman to look at. Then I hear this, “DON’T TOUCH ME! I HATE WHEN YOU TOUCH ME! GOD, YOU ARE SO SO STUPID! UGH.”

I had to leave at that point. I was about to say something that child didn’t need to hear. Not that an employee didn’t hear it because I quickly see a manager walking in her direction with a scowl on their face. I’d like to think they said something to this woman or called someone with some authority to help the little girl. No child deserves that. I know I’ve made mistakes with my kids. We all do, but this little girl did absolutely nothing wrong.

The other children needed their hides tanned! And I think all the adults who brought those children into this world need a swift kick in the butt. Raising children who know their limits, right from wrong, and who have manners are the most basic lessons we can pass along. Today I was given a glimpse into the type of world we’ll be living in, in just a few short years. I am not happy.

Today, I lost even more faith in humanity. There are less and less people in the world that care. I am trying to hold onto hope that not all is lost. However; I’m also a realist, and today showed me so much that I truly never wanted to see.