Unrealistic

I disagree with what some are saying here. The film is unrealistic. Let’s start with the beginning:
The thief jumped on the bus BEFORE “donut man” had even paid. The bus wasn’t even moving yet. “Donut man” had an opportunity to make a scene long before the bus even started moving. Instead, “Donut man” idly watched as the the thief jump on the bus and began rifling thru the woman’s purse. A split second decision would’ve prevented the thief from getting the woman’s address, phone number and other personal information, but he chose to passively sit back and watch while that poor woman was victimized and most likely would be raped later by this thug. There were plenty of people on the bus to back him up and prevent this man from getting away. “Donut man” could’ve grabbed the thief by the jacket, but chose to do nothing. His behavior was just as reckless and dangerous as the thief and I don’t believe this is normal behavior for someone watching a crime being committed. The author of this film didn’t think this thru. The problem I have with this film is that there are people who would view the message being sent as it is better to not take action than to put yourself in harms way. People are impressionable and this film could be easily construed as just that. My opinion is that this is a perfect example of the media being responsible for the actions, or inaction in this case, of others.

S. Wade | 1 year, 12 months ago
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Guilt

Have you ever missed the opportunity to do the “right thing,” and regretted it for the next hour, day, week, year?

Cup cake guy knows the right thing is to get the lady’s purse back, and I think you can see his guilt and remorse playing on him as he sits there, probably thinking:
“Why didn’t I do something? Why am I not doing something now? What should I have done? What if he has a gun? Does she really need her purse? Are those her kids in the pictures? Why didn’t I do something already? …”

We don’t often get to go back and retry the opportunities we missed. How different would we feel about the Cup Cake Guy if he sat indecisive while the film ended with the thief walking off the bus?

Daniel Bembower | 1 year, 11 months ago
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Fear alters choices...

Although I don’t think it was right for the man in the video to wait long cause he did have the robber enclosed so the capture would have been easier, but sometimes people react out of fear and hesitation when they think of their personal consequences based on their actions. Let’s face it, most robbers aren’t doing this because they are nice, kind people so there are risks involved with confronting a criminal. I know cause just last week I was presented with a similar situation. I saw a man being mugged by 3 thugs and when I finally got my phone out to call 911, the robbers already ran down into the train with no place to be found. Since it was 11pm and no-one else around, I did not yell or scream because there would be no one to help and I would have possibly put myself in danger just to save the old man’s wallet. Unfortunately, it’s times like this when you wished the cops would be around and not standing around in group gatherings watching pot holes being repaired.

Lara | 1 year, 11 months ago
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in his shoes

A lot of you have mentioned that this guy should have done something right away. Easy to say. I have personally found myself in situations like that. It’s not an easy decision know that you’re putting yourself in possible harm’s way for a someone else, and in his case a complete stranger. But the point here is that his did. Sure he waited and thought about it. But he did it before it was too late.

Is he a hero? No.
Did he do the right thing? Yes.
And he just put a nice big donation in his karma collection basket that will be used when he needs it most.

Jeff Payne | 1 year, 11 months ago
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If I had been in his shoes.

I believe I would have done something. There was a lot of times that the thief was not paying attention enough that with my past training in the Marines I would have taken him down and held him till the police was called and picked him up. But you have to be sure of yourself and ability to be able to handle him before you do something. If you’re not sure, then wait for a safe time to call and try to keep the guy in sight so you can lead the police to them.

Dennis Buskirk | 1 year, 10 months ago
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Donut man, being unprepared, chose the worst possi

Being a student of humans and criminal actors, I agree with the former policeman who commented previously.

Sparking what is actually very likely to quickly become a violent confrontation in an enclosed space containing innocent parties while completely unprepared for a fight is hardly responsible.

Now, I certainly appreciate artistic license and the thought provoking nature of this film, but the course of action portrayed is likely to be disastrous.

———————

Others on this have commented on the impact that fear has on people’s decisions and behavior.

There’s a lot of truth to it. People shouldn’t live in fear.

Fear is normally a symptom of a lack of power. Power is the other side of the responsibility coin.

Responsibility cannot exist in the absence of power to impact the outcome.

Power comes with responsibility, and responsibility demands power.

Which brings us to preparation. Is it responsible of us to embrace responsibility without power? Is it just to claim powerlessness, and let it all slide?

Many of us have decided that the responsibility to protect ourselves, our families, and even strangers cannot be avoided, and therefore the power to do so must be embraced.

I, like millions of my fellow countrymen, am a responsibly armed citizen. On my way out the door every day, I put my carry permit into my wallet, my wallet into my pocket, and my sidearm into its concealed holster, right across from my phone.

This simple fact, coupled with the proficiency I have achieved in that sidearm’s use, very much changes my view of the events of this film.

The correct solution is

A) Be prepared, which means, be responsibly armed.

This puts you in the position such that you CAN attend to the next step, which is to

B)Observe, and surreptitiously inform the police. Because of this, I would have certainly selected the rearmost seat, for maximum privacy, to thoroughly minimize the chances of the thief taking notice.

C) I would most certainly NOT directly confront this criminal, unless he were to place someone’s life into jeopardy. In that contingency, I am as well prepared as anyone could be.

Confronting criminals is for well trained teams of professionals.

Having a gun doesn’t make you brave.

What makes you a brave person is to try to clearly see the world for what it is, and to determine that nonetheless, one has a right to an autonomous place in it.

geekWithA45 | 1 year, 10 months ago
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Yell and scream

If you see something wrong, yell and scream and give chase. The biggest thing with being caught off guard is you are caught off guard. There is a tendency to freeze. If you can snap your brain into action you can quickly amass a group effort that is extremely effective. More than 20 years ago, before cell phones, I could’ve stuck out my foot and tripped a guy who I had just watched take a woman’s purse. Unfortunately, I was trapped in the fog of disbelief that comes when the unbelievable happens right in front of your eyes. Once my brain processed the event, I turned and ran, screaming as I went. A few guys also joined chase, and we followed him for almost a half mile before he threw the purse down. The woman recovered everything. Hard to go through a purse when you’ve got people sprinting after you. Never underestimate the power of screaming and direct, immediate action. Even on a not very crowded bus, people generally rally to help one another, once they realize a wrong has been committed. No one was hurt and we all got some exercise. After that experience I will always walk in the city in shoes I can run in…….

Margo Pellegrino | 1 year, 10 months ago
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Pures snatcher

The man with the cell phone’s next move is the wrong one.

Confronting the boy who stole the purse should have been his first move.

He knew the boy had stolen the purse, he towers over him and has many pounds on him.

The boy is unarmed and clearly scared.

By confronting him and telling that he knows that the boy has stolen the purse, the man has the opportunity to tell the boy to do the right thing, return the purse, no questions asked.

The police force will not respond even if they are called, and the courts will either bury the boy or let him go- either way the criminal justice system will make this situation worse.

People acquire their moral beliefs through empathy with others, the man with the cake has the opportunity to reach this boy establish contact with him and to help him realize the importance of the woman’s being able to move freely about the streets without fear of robbery or personal injury.

Robert Chapman | 1 year, 10 months ago
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