Let me start by saying that violence is in existence all over the world and no culture or country is immune to brutal physical violence. Having said this, an event happened while I was in Mexico City Mexico that was an example of raw human emotion. The incident was not so traumatic because of the violent action that I witnessed, but the reason behind the act that to this day I try to rationalize as a human being.
Walking thru the inner city subway area on the way to catch a train, I passed by a group of venders selling miscellaneous items such as fruit, soda, candy , clothes , dvd’s, cd’s etc. The mood was peaceful and the venders were assisting customers and trying to encourage other commuters to stop to purchase products that they had to sell.
Suddenly, a middle aged man shabbily dressed bumped into me while snatching a piece of fruit from one of the venders and jumped on the train. A few seconds later, several sellers also jumped onto the train and tackled the thief to the ground of the train carriage. Like a pack of wolves, the group viciously started to beat the man who had taken the piece of fruit. They held the man down and called him various obscenities, while repeatedly punching and kicking the man.
The incident happed so fast there was nothing that could be done to help the man. The venders said to everyone on the train watching the episode that they were making an example to other thieves and that they were tired of being robbed. Then acting like it was just another day on the job, the sellers walked off while one grabbed the piece of fruit that the thief had taken. The man lay on the ground with his clothes torn and his face mangled and bloody. The train started to move and left the station. The police were immediately called to the compartment and attended to the man and took him off at the next stop.
The sellers work long hard hours every day to support their families. They are constantly harassed and items stolen from them on a regular basis. However, no human deserves to be attacked and beaten so ruthlessly. The man may have just been hungry and needed a bite to eat. Extreme vigilantly justice occurs all over the world! Who am I to have an opinion on what happened? I was nothing more than a bystander that day in Mexico City witnessing human nature.
Copyright© Edge of Humanity LLC 2014
