That's a shame

"That's a shame." Seinfeld used to say that whenever one of Kramer, George or Elaine's schemes went awry. I have decided that, like Seinfeld, I am not a nice person. It's not that I'm mean, so to speak, but I am just indifferent about other people's plights. I was pulling around a traffic circle the other day and a guy on a mountain bike came from the side street into the circle, and he was really flying. I had a fleeting thought of "He's going way too fast." Sure enough, he got to the opposite side of the circle and wiped out. He got up, looked at the scrapes on his elbows and knees, and pulled his bike out of traffic. Rather than stop and ask if he was OK, I just thought to myself "That's a shame," and kept on driving. It wasn't until later that I wondered if he was hurt.

Another example...while stopped in traffic, I noticed a guy gesticulating wildly at the lady in front of him. Normally I disregard this kind of stuff, but we were too far back from the light to make through on the next green light, so I figured this would be good entertainment for the next few minutes. He was still waving and pointing at the woman in front of him. She was driving a Jetta and had a bike on the rack on the roof. Also lying on the roof was her bike helmet., and that's what the guy was trying to her. My first thought was "Oh, that sucks for her." Again, I didn't think of helping her, or telling her (I could have as I was in the lane beside her), but I was merely content to observe.

So this guy was trying to get her attention, and she finally acknowledged him. She opened her sunroof and grabbed the helmet, lifted it up and it caught tight on the bike rack. She tugged on on it a few times to demonstrate that she had latched the straps of the helmet around the rack, then closed the sunroof. I have no clue why she would latch the helmet to the roof rack rather than tossing it in the back seat, but I think this is the crux of why I don't ever do things to be nice. First of all, people do so many stupid things that you could run out of daylight trying to help them all. In reality, you may think you're doing someone a favor, but whatever they've done, they've done on purpose. Or they're embarrassed by what they've done so they act like it was on purpose. Either way, you've got nothing for your trouble but a disdainful look from someone who was bothered by your intrusion.

Obviously, if someone was hurt badly or being attacked, I wouldn't hesitate to help. Otherwise, and maybe I'm just jaded, but unless someone actually asks for help I'm content to observe and if something goes badly, well, that a shame.