I saw this story climbing the most recommended feed on DailyKos this morning and was simply so touched I had to blog it. All too often black men and young black adults in general only get noticed when they do wrong.
The reality is when any group is continuously put in a bad light, at times the psyche justifies wrongdoing telling one, ‘If they will always think I do wrong, when advantageous to me, why not do wrong?’ I applaud the officer who recorded the video. And thank you DailyKos’ Tevye for bringing this to our attention.
Three black men help elderly couple
From the YouTube post,
Officer Kenesha Carnegie of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office in Bronson, Fla., was in Williston on Monday when she saw the friends helping Rose Griest, 89, get into her car, which her 100-year-old husband, David, had parked at a gas station. The couple of 20 years stopped to use the restroom on their way home from Perry to Orlando, where Rose had a medical appointment.
“I look over and three men were assisting the couple — it was a beautiful thing to see,” says Carnegie, who recognized the men, Joc Koe Stoe, Marty Freddy G. She walked over to supervise but hung back, asking for permission to film. “I know these men from the neighborhood, and I wanted them to have that moment to show who they really are,” Carnegie tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
In Carnegie’s video, two of the men steady Rose as she struggles to stand, while David holds her hand. They maneuver Rose into the passenger’s seat and a third man helps David with his walker. “Thank you so fellas,” David can be heard saying. “I’m 100 years old.”
“Take it easy,” said one of the men, as David gets into the driver’s seat.
Marty tells Yahoo Lifestyle that the friends, who are all rappers, were grabbing chips and soda at the gas station when they saw David and Rose through a window. “We didn’t even ask if they needed help — we felt comfortable giving them a hand right away,” says the 30-year-old. “I kept thinking, ‘She could have been my grandmother.’ 100 years old is a beautiful life.”Stoe, 26, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that Rose was exhausted from using the store’s bathroom: “She was so tired, she could barely walk.”
This is a feel good story we can take a break to enjoy. It made my morning.