In times of crisis

I wasn't sure if I was going to post about this, or how, but it's been hanging over me all week, so I might as well. Over the weekend, a coworker lost her young adult son in a motorcycle accident. It's times like this that either bring out the best or the worst in people.

I work in a department of about 30 people and, like any other group of people who spend a lot of time together, we have our ups and downs. For the most part, it's like a big extended family. You like some of your cousins, you can't stand others, but when push comes to shove, they're yours. So, it was no surprise to me how quickly everyone rallied around to support this woman in such a horrible time.

It was a matter of minutes before a collection was taken up and a card passed around. Tuesday, almost everyone went to the viewing, even people who barely knew this woman.

Everyone, that is, except one guy. This particular gentleman always seems to have a complaint about everyone and is, in his mind, always the victim of some sort of discrimination. When he was approached about whether or not he needed to follow someone to the funeral home, he said, "I'm not going. She was never nice to me. She never liked me." Someone tried to explain to him that this wasn't about that. It was about the fact that this could happen to any of us. That, he himself, had kids and should understand.

Not only did he refuse to go. He lied and said he was going and used the situation to leave work early.

This week showed me the kindest, most sensitive side of 99% of my coworkers, but it's that last 1% that has left a bad taste in my mouth.