Would You Walk By?

"Be the change you want to see in the world.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

“

Last night while the kidlets were with their Dad I made a quick shopping trip to get some stuff to plant some herbs I had bought at the farmers market on the weekend. It was right around dinner and I was hungry and thought I would kill two birds with one stone and get the kids some banana's as well. So I headed to the nearby Sobey's. As I walked across the parking lot towards the store my attention was immediately grabbed by a young native man very badly verbally abusing his partner even daring her to go to the nearby police station and cry to them. She was very quiet obviously fighting tears and had such a sad look in her eyes. As I walked by I thought well what do I do? Do I ignore it? It became very apparent as I tried to shop that I was not going to accomplish anything knowing I had witnessed that and done nothing.

So I went back outside where the man was still abusing his partner. I walked up to her and ask if she was OK, she looked at me with those sad eyes and said nothing. He looked at me and said what and I repeated to her "are are you OK?" Still no answer. He than starts swearing and yelling at me to mind my own business. I told her "it was not OK for him to talk to her like that and that she did not have to take it". He than tells me I don't know him and I don't know how badly she treats him, and that she's lucky he puts up with it. I replied "I don't have to know all I have to do is see how you are behaving right now, it is not OK for you to speak to her like that or to speak to anyone like that for that matter". More cussing and swearing telling me to mind my own business and walk away. I tell him "no not until I make sure she is OK". More dialogue and now he is trying to intimidate me by coming towards me. At that point I look at him and say "do you think your going to intimidate me the way you are intimidating her, I am not frightened by you", he continues coming at me and cussing me out.

At that point a native couple and child come out of the store. The woman asks me "what's going on?". I tell her about what I witnessed. She says "we'll take it from here", and approaches them. Clearly they know each other. She than says to him "Jeez leave her alone she's in labour". At that point I am just angry for this girl who as much as she is choosing to remain in that situation is going to look back on the day her child was born and remember her partner abusing her. Angry that another child will likely grow up thinking abuse is OK. I am also angry at the numerous people that came in and out of the store before I talked and during the altercation, and did nothing. This is why family violence continues because no one wants to involve themselves. What happened to being the change we want to see in the world? Perhaps it is easier to live life as a victim rather than a victor. Complain about the world these days and how people just don't care. That is no way to live life.

I am not sure what impact my actions last night may have made. All I can do is hope eventually that woman might remember the words of a stranger and that someone cared enough to ask if she was OK. Perhaps she will ask herself if she is OK and take her power back. I realize I put myself in a potentially dangerous situation and I fully believe this man would have hit or shoved me had the other couple not came out, but if I was confronted with the same situation again I know I would do the exact same thing. Ballsy or stupid who knows... but I could not have lived with myself if I did nothing and something happened to that woman.