My brother lives in a very rural community deep in East Texas. He drives about 70 miles each day every day to and from his job. Yesterday, he was on the highway about halfway home when his car hydroplaned and went across five lanes of traffic(two oncoming) and onto an embankment on the far side of the road. He drives a compact SUV with no AWD/4WD. He was well and truly stuck, but miraculously unhurt.
He called my parents and waited, when unbidden, three people stopped to help him. The first was a man and his wife, who happened to have a tow rope handy. They hooked it to his frame and pulled him out of the muck. The second was a woman whose job, it seems, is to drive a large truck with flashing lights and “wide load” flags about. She stopped about 50 yards back in the far lane with her lights on to protect them while they got my brother’s car unstuck. Then, she piloted my brother into the correct lane.
My brother attempted to pay them, but they wouldn’t take any money. This, I believe, is the essence of working class solidarity. Folks just stopping in the middle of a thunderstorm to assist a fellow worker on his way home. It brought me a lot of joy yesterday, and a fair amount of peace. I hope this brings some to you as well comrades.
This is genuinely why I love Texas. We have a culture of helping each other, because it’s kind and right. I keep ropes and leverage tools handy as well as other helpful stuff, just in case I come across someone who needs help. Which, it seems, isn’t as common in other states.
You can pretty much bet on a Texan to at least stop and ask if you’re alright if you’re parked on the side of the road.
What about that very typical american problem of racism? Or has that been overblown and I’ve been misinformed for the most part?
Nope, that’s still a huge problem. I hope that in most instances it wouldn’t matter, but I know it would. If my brother had been a black man I don’t know what would have happened.
Hung on a tree while everybody assumes suicide?