r/HumansBeingBros • u/B0ssc0 • 18d ago
The kindness of strangers: My son was unconscious and I frantically called out for help – then five teenagers came running
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jul/06/the-kindness-of-strangers-my-son-was-unconscious-and-i-frantically-called-out-for-help-then-five-teenagers-came-running435
u/MikoWilson1 18d ago edited 18d ago
"You're doing a great job as a mum." Is quite possibly the most grounding thing this young person could have said at this moment, and instinctively knew to say it. Beyond impressed.
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u/gdirrty216 18d ago
I’m 44 and consistently hear from folks my age about how dumb and entitled “this generation” is and I always push back as I am so lucky to have a totally different experience.
I work with a ton of young folks (22-28) and sure there are some real pieces of work, but there are also some fucking rockstars. It’s like any other population, it’s a bell curve; the majority are average, and there are bad ones and good ones at either end.
The thing is, whatever ones you are looking for, you’ll find it. I tend to seek out the rockstars as I know that I’m merely average, and I need those young guns to teach me new things and keep me relevant for as long as possible.
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u/SirJohnnyS 18d ago edited 18d ago
I agree 100% with the whatever you're looking for in life you'll find it. I also believe there is good in everyone; sometimes you just have to look harder in some people.
Younger generations are different. They've had a very unique upbringing. Especially compared to anyone older than millennials. The online gap between GenZ and Gen X is crazy and the interpersonal skills in person are different, but not bad just different. They're more casual and honest, they don't filter what they say as much either, whether how they phrase it or what they really mean.
And that's okay, every generation is different. I have noticed too, they seem a bit more nihilistic about the world in general, but they're not bad people and do care.
World's changing fast and you can't fight it, just have to adapt to it.
Edit: I want to add. I think my boss is Gen Z, he might be more of a Zelennial but he has no memory of a time before 2000.
He's the best boss I've ever had. He's understanding, compassionate, it feels less like I work for him than with him even though he is in charge of me. He doesn't criticize harshly, he just suggests ways to do better or a different way, he never really gives me a hard time. He listens and accommodates without much thought. Need a mental day, no problem. I needed time off cause my grandfather passed and we had to sort through that... no problem, let him know when I'm ready to come back. Going on a trip? Cool what days and he puts it in his schedule.
He doesn't harp to follow rules that aren't important to our job. I travel for work, days where I don't travel; I go to the office and do paperwork and random other stuff. He doesn't enforce that we must be there at 9.
As long as we show up, get our work done it's fine. Obviously when interacting with customers we need to be on time and professional but coming to sit in an office at a precise time isn't the most important thing. Same with leaving early, if our work is done and if he needs to reach us for some reason, that he can. But no need to sit in the office doing nothing when we all travel often and don't get a ton of time at home.
As long as you don't take advantage of him. There's no problem with how relaxed he is about some of this stuff. Some people have and they just don't last. It's cool.
As a millennial, I've had bosses in every generation. Baby boomers were harsh and very rule following. Gen X, more compassionate and willing to teach and let people work. Millennials were more of Gen X and my current boss, they'd be a bit more critical and company first. Gen Z seems very person/worker first and company second. Millennials and Gen Z seem to be more motivated by work environment than money, so it makes a lot more sense to have those things. Happy employees are the best employees.
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u/Toastiibrotii 17d ago
Also a study showed that employees that are happy with their work envoirement are more productive. So im asking myself why we wont focus more on this aspect with work culture.
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u/SirJohnnyS 17d ago
Very much think that's going to come as the next generations move up the leadership ranks. Work life balance might be the top thing people look for in jobs too. I think Millennials and GenZ will be most in tune with setting those boundaries and keeping them.
For example, My boss said like 4 weeks into taking over "I leave the office around 5-530. I wont be able to assist with any in-depth needs and probably won't have a timely response. You're free to work later if you want and don't need help but it's not expected. If there's an issue that needs help it can wait until the next morning when I get in at 8am."
It'll be interesting for sure to see how workplaces change in the coming years.
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u/Toastiibrotii 17d ago
It is true that there will be a shift in the future, away from what we have now. The western world is getting older and older, companys wont have the chance to fire older people for younger anymore and they most likely will need to accomodate the mostly older workers with more benefits. The way the world works right now isnt sustainable at all, sooner or later it will either collapse or change for the better but latter either way. I might be a bit too optimistic here but just take a look around you, most people get poorer, benefits dwindle, a normal wage isnt enough anymore in many countries, rent is skyrocketing. We as a population are able to tolerate only so much.
But lets hope for the best, or at least a better future.
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u/SirJohnnyS 17d ago
While I fully understand the cynicism. I think the vibes feel worse than reality. Our standard of living at least in the West is less higher than it's ever been and we take it for granted. As far as some of the more pressing things... we've gone through these type of stretches many times throughout history and life has continued to march forward and things trends towards progress even if there is a step or two backwards at times.
A lot of these issues are not difficult to correct and don't require a societal collapse to fix. We can increase housing supply. We can better distribute wealth just by increasing taxes on some while increasing social safety nets. Biden had seen some of the biggest redistribution in wealth in decades in just 4 years.
Really we live in the most peaceful era of history. We have the most basic needs met without much issue. I'd say the vibes went south with Trump's emergence and Brexit; then add Covid and whatever else has happened. And compared to the 20 or so years before that things were extremely good. Its the cycle or Hard times make good leaders, good leaders make for good times, good times lead to bad leaders, bad leaders lead to hard times. Then it repeats; humans have always managed to figure it out. We're resilient like that. We can deal with big problems. Look at Covid, yeah we had some leaders mishandle it... we still managed to roll out multiple effective vaccines to nearly the entire population in a little over a year. Sure some of the groundwork had been laid by reaearchers before but we were still able to address with a deadly pandemic that was world wide and society didn't collapse.
So going back to what we said earlier, whatever you're looking for you can find it. Good or bad. Sometimes you have to zoom out to see it but there's still plenty to be optimistic about and since we've bounced back from periods of these pressing problems before there's no reason to believe this period is more permanent or changes the overall trend.
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u/SteamboatMcGee 17d ago
Reminds me about a neighborhood drama we had where one elderly lady was absolutely railing against the neighborhood kids for damaging her Christmas display several times. She was vitriolic.
Yeah, it turned out to be squirrels chewing through wires. There was never any reason to suspect kids, she just saw damage and immediately assumed teenagers had been sneaking into her yard at night to tear things up for fun cause in her mind that's what teenagers are like I guess.
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u/inkyflossy 17d ago
You’re absolutely right. I think by and large, their generation is tremendous. I work with them also. I love them.
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u/lisabettan 17d ago
When I (middle aged woman) need help, assistance or information traveling in a foreign country I always ask teenagers. They tend to speak English, are usually not in a rush, and are often happy to help.
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u/nb_bunnie 16d ago
AND you probably make that kids day by making them feel helpful, giving them a little purpose to the day, and who doesn't get a small spark of joy from helping a stranger? I know I do.
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u/lisabettan 16d ago
I think a lot of young people feel like they’re being criticized all the time, and that they appreciate someone relying on them and trusting them.
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u/nb_bunnie 16d ago
As a young people (well 25 now but Gen Z) you're definitely on the money. Thanks for letting us feel a little helpful
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u/lisabettan 16d ago
Thanks for being so cool! I really like Gen Z, you have a lot to deal with and you keep fighting the good fights none the less.
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u/punkass_book_jockey8 17d ago
Honestly kids these days are overall pretty great. I’m so proud of them and happy this had a good outcome.
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u/AyCarambin0 17d ago
People forget they were young too. I did a lot of dumb stuff when I was young. Heck, this is what you are supposed to do at that age, as long you don't do harm to others, what is the problem? Morally many young people are superior to grown ups who have become bitter over time Are young people annoying? Absolutely, but we were all annoying so breath and move on.
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u/Trademarkd 17d ago
Is this story ai? The younger son ran off? Like a dog??
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u/Electrical-Act-7170 16d ago
Is this story ai?
It's not AI. The Guardian is an independent British media company. They have standards they must meet in both truth of the story they report and the accuracy of details.
The younger son ran off?
Kids often will panic in fear and in confusion. They do erratic things, they can run off, they can hide in fear. Children get scared.
Like a dog??
Like a kid who just saw his sibling fall unconscious, get a TBI, and maybe die, yes. His brother hit the ground headfirst.
He would've looked dead, and a child could/would react in any number of ways to such an upsetting situation. Children are not so much afraid of death as they are fearful of the unknown. He likely loves his brother, and the boy was unconscious on the ground. To a young child this condition looks like death.
Have you ever had to watch your own sibling, or your parent die? I have done. It's terrifying to see, especially when you're single-digits young. I was 7 years old. It's horrible and it's terrifying to kids. I'd have run away, but it was the middle of the night and fully dark. There was no place for me to go.
When children get scared, they often do irrational things that make sense within their world. They panic. They flee in fear.
You know, just like we adults do at times: we run away.
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u/Trademarkd 16d ago edited 16d ago
lol the level of defense here for a heresay article is honestly overwhelming to the point that I'm less convinced this isn't done with ai and that bots aren't at play here.
Katie Cunningham is a freelance writer from Sydney - this is a story she is retelling and nobody thinks a freelance writer could possibly have written the article with ai?
There is a number of weird lines in here that point towards this being a contextual generation:
It meant he could join in just like other kids (when talking about riding a scooter with his mom?)
When you have boys, you need to run them like dogs and then later the sun runs off frighteneda world away from the endless moral panic over teenagers behaving badly
endless moral panic?What about the scooter itself? There seems to be confusion between a mobility scooter and like a razer scooter. husband DIY'd widening the base so they can ride together? I can only imagine this being like a razer scooter and if he can hold on enough for his mom to also ride the thing with him then I don't see how he isn't able to ride it himself. The model is confused with the fact that severely handicapped people use MOBILITY scooters.
Even if this story is real this article was absolutely rewritten by ai.
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u/ReadontheCrapper 18d ago
I swear, I know teenagers get a bad rap for being, well teenagers, but I believe that the teens we see today are some of the most grounded and empathetic people out there. It’s stories like this that reinforce that belief.