Curious Onlookers

This Blog Post was originally published on the platform "writelier" (formerly "co-writers" and "200wordsaday"). Sadly the blogging platform was discontinued. I downloaded all my blog posts and prepared them to be republish them here.

Today I was in paramedic duty again. From seven o clock in the morning until about half past eight in the evening.

Because of the heat, there was much to do. The Hospital nearby was flooded with patients.

I have got a few new stories to tell, but they need to sit a little bit in my brain, to evolve and time needs to pass, so the privacy of patients isn't violated.

Today I want to talk about curious onlookers. I think they where there since ever, people pointing at other people with injuries, people pointing at disabled once, the list goes on and on.

But the last years changed everything, nowadays everybody got a mobile phone with a camera, everybody is connected via the internet, everything is shared immediately.

I think I wrote about that before, we had a case here, where somebody stopped on the fast lane on the highway to take a picture of an accident on the other side of the highway. People crashed into him. In Austria, we have got a speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour on our highways. I don't think I have to say that there were now two accidents.

I don't think people changed that "oh look", with smartphones, people were always so, but now, they can tell anybody about it and feel somewhat "fame".

How fame would it be if you were the injured and someone would take a selfie with your feet broken in half or cut off????

People always think when they see something bad happening (like an accident), that something like that will never happen to them.

Reality knocking. It can happen anytime anywhere. You could be gone from today to tomorrow, don't think you've got unlimited time on this planet! Drive home and feel safe with your family, don't take pictures and send them around the globe. They aren't helping anyone.

Firefighters in Germany made a really good video about "looking", it is in German, but I think it should be understandable, as they aren't talking much. Also, be sure to watch it till the end! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRmuaVPiodI