Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

JML42691

JML42691

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 24, 2007
2,082
2
This article was just sent to me by somebody I know, it is about a year and a half old, but it is a pretty good read:

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."
Click to expand...

Article Link
 
That's good story. Thx for posting it.

AngryApple Although in regards to the "movie rights" I vote that we change a name or two (well, okay just change Diaz to Goldman or something), throw in Catherine Zeta Jones, flesh out a rough screenplay and sell it to Miramax. We can split the profits among the posters in this thread.
 
Nice to see someone without the "id kill the SOB" mentality in regards to muggings.
 
Melrose said:
That's good story. Thx for posting it.

AngryApple Although in regards to the "movie rights" I vote that we change a name or two (well, okay just change Diaz to Goldman or something), throw in Catherine Zeta Jones, flesh out a rough screenplay and sell it to Miramax. We can split the profits among the posters in this thread.
Click to expand...

Who knows, if we make billions of dollars, we might be able to buy Apple! :eek:
 
Heart-warming to hear that cynicism isn't dead. :D

(Said VERY tongue-in-cheek!)

Well, ya never know... and on a planet with over 6 billion people standing on it, there's bound to be some really good folks standing on it. Reminds me of the blue collar guy in NYC, on way to work, who jumped into the tracks area to hold down a person with a health issue from being pancaked by the oncoming subway train. Both walked away unscathed.
 
I was waiting for the victim to pull out a gun when he was offering the jacket and put a couple of nice tight groupings in the chest of the suspect followed by a head shot. But that didn't happen....

Nice read..
 
Cool story. I've heard of similar situations, but I'm in a helping profession and we like to talk and hear about stuff like this because it keeps us motivated. It's true that you never know how it will affect others when you show genuine kindness and compassion. Some people have never really experienced it. Good for Mr. Diaz, he truly could have saved a life. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back