STANDING TOGETHER (1)

Val’s sister Verna shared this story with us recently. Verna was a resident of a rural service town called Pukekohe on the southern edge of the Auckland region. Verna and a few of her jogging/walking club friends were treating themselves after a brisk walk at a local cafe. They noted a customer complaining to a young wait staff member about the heating of their meal. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but the customer kept on complaining and wouldn’t allow the staff member to speak to the situation. Now the poor staff member was being unfairly harangued. What was happening to her was awful and she was so upset.
Verna said, “C’mon” to her friends. The three of them walked past the rude customer and around the counter to silently stand beside the staff member, with arms linking. It would have been too easy to say something and possibly making the situation worse.                                               The customer then stopped talking, turned around and walked out and the staff member was profoundly thankful for their timely intervention. She was still upset, so another staff member took over her job. 
On reflection, Verna said she would do it all again. Yuss to all who helped.

POINTS to PONDER
Call out bullying. Take appropriate action. Get support.
Being an observer in a situation like this is not the right option. In that moment, do the right thing.
Do you have a similar story like this that you could share with your family and friends? There is enormous affirming power in sharing your story with others. They need to know that kindness works.