Walk on By; Leave a Man to Die

By Mark David Blum, Esq.

Yesterday morning, May 25, 2006, I was aghast and appalled when I read in the news that a man with two prosthetic legs from New Zealand had made it to the top of Mount Everest. You would think I would join in the rest of the world and applaud his achievement. Unfortunately, count me as being among those who think he should have been left to die when he lost his own legs.

This kiwi wanker has been working the news circuit and milking his 15 minutes of fame as being the first person with two prosthetic legs to successfully reach the Summit of Mt. Everest. Huzzah and congratulations.

Hidden behind his self absorbing bravado is the tale of the British hiker passed along the way. It seems our ‘hero’ with his entourage of nearly 40 people happened upon a man laying on the side of the trail. The man was dying. He was dying from lack of oxygen. Instead of abandoning the quest for the top and reaching out to help and save the dying man, the gaggle of hikers continued forward and left the man to die. The man was left to die alone, in the cold, slowly suffocating, while others reached out for glory.

So offensive was this self absorbed act, that none other than Sir Edmund Hillary rose up in outrage. (Yes, I too was surprised to hear he was still alive). I stake my heart with Hillary when I say that to just walk on by and leave the dying hiker to slowly die alone is an act of utmost human disgrace. Had it been a puppy or baby seal, I bet Herculean efforts would have been made. Instead, it was just a British hiker … a human being … and nobody made the effort to save his life. Doing so would have made their ultimate greedy quest impossible.

Ironic is it not that the kiwi hero himself lost his legs due to a climbing mishap. He fell and apparently trapped in an ice cave and required a very public and expensive rescue. His legs were lost due to frostbite. I can only imagine how he would feel today had his rescuers been saddled with the same *yawn* attitude toward their fellow man.

Many are rushing to defend the action. They use the “you weren’t there so you don’t know” claim. What I do know from the horse’s own mouth is that the British climber was found 300 meters below the summit and instead of using their entire team and its resources to save him, the team chose to attack the peak. ‘Glory over Humanity’ is the new anthem.

Can you think of anything more horrific than being that British climber being your loved one? What would your reaction today be to know that help meandered on by?

Walk on By

Who the Hell do You think You are?

Explain Yourself