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Editorial: Where is our compassion?

We all need to be better and show a lot more compassion for our fellow human beings.
hands-showing-compassion
Hands, love and care touching in support, trust or unity for community, compassion or understanding. People holding hands in respect for loss, affection or passion for listening, talk or time

Another deadly day on our roadways occurred last Wednesday, June 12.

Early morning, in the northbound lanes of Hwy. 99 near the George Massey Tunnel, a motorcyclist collided with a car, fell on to the roadway and was critically injured by the rear wheels of a semi-truck. Sadly, the man passed away.

Traffic in and leading up to the accident scene was impacted for well into the afternoon as several lanes of traffic were closed while police investigated.

It didn’t take long, however, for social media users on several of Delta’s community Facebook pages to start the debate around safety and why we haven’t built the new tunnel yet. A debate and questions to be asked for sure, but not the right time considering the tragedy.

However, the commentary didn’t stop there.

Correspondence sent that evening through our website came from a reader who was critical of the police investigation asking why it took so long and why did so many lanes of traffic have to be closed.

The resident went on to say that his wife was stuck in traffic for 3.5 hours and had to be re-routed to get into Vancouver – an inconvenience I’m sure, but under the unfortunate circumstances, was it really that inconvenient?

This person did make it home that night, unlike the other unfortunate soul who perished in the accident.

The most unbelievable part of the email was this line: “The person is dead, she/he should be moved to the side of the road and let thousands of commuters proceed to where they need to go.”

What a horrible, thoughtless and callous thing to say. 

These are just some examples of the society we have become – one of social media keyboard warriors and thoughtless individuals who think only of themselves.

I’m appalled by these thoughtless remarks. We all need to be better and show a lot more compassion for our fellow human beings.