It is better to give than receive.....

CA-35

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A New York City police officer, Lawrence DePrimo, was photographed giving a pair of boots to a homeless man on the street.

DePrimo saw the older homeless man without shoes sitting on 42nd Street. DePrimo, 25, left and then returned with a pair of $100 boots he bought at a nearby Skechers store. "It was freezing out, and you could see the blisters on the man's feet,"

cop-shoes-nypd.jpg


Some things just bring tears to my eyes.
 

FNG

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That cop was on the tube awhile ago. Sharp looking kid.

Good on him.
 

fronobulax

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Follow up stories say the store owner found out and retroactively gave the policeman the "employees discount" on the boots.
 

CA-35

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fronobulax said:
Follow up stories say the store owner found out and retroactively gave the policeman the "employees discount" on the boots.

Yes, most likely true. It makes no difference to me if the officer received them for free or at a discount, the act in and of itself is extremely and uncommonly compassionate. Probably something we all should do a little more of. After all, 'tis the season. :D
 

davismanLV

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CA-35 said:
fronobulax said:
Follow up stories say the store owner found out and retroactively gave the policeman the "employees discount" on the boots.

Yes, most likely true. It makes no difference to me if the officer received them for free or at a discount, the act in and of itself is extremely and uncommonly compassionate. Probably something we all should do a little more of. After all, 'tis the season. :D
Well, but, Scotty, it DOES make a difference because there were more people involved than just the cop. It shows the "spirit" of giving. Maybe we're not doomed as a species.... but I think we probably are. Good on him and to Sketchers as well.....
 

adorshki

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Darryl Hattenhauer said:
I hope this event does something to erode the negative stereotypes of cops.
I hear ya.
I'll never forget a really early episode of "Cops" wherein two officers were called to a hotel to investigate possible child endangerment.
They found a single father who was a bit overwhelmed by all the wrong turns life had dealt him recently, sober with 3 safe and happy kids in his care but a little challenged in the housekeeping skills.
They told him "Look we can see the kids are fine but if you could just clean the place up a little, that'd be great. We'll come back in a couple of hours to see how you're doing."
They came back with several bags of groceries.
It wasn't even Christmas.
It literally brought a tear to my eyes then and still does just thinking about it.
 

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Stories like that trigger all kinds of reactions.
The first one, and I like to believe the unanimous one, is one of admiration for such a nice testimony to compassion and generosity as demonstrated by this cop.
Then we go on to talk about the store owner, then we reflect on cops and on mankind in general.
What this story makes me wonder, is how is it even possible to witness so many such instances of human misery, reminiscent of the medieval Europe peasant's condition, in 2012 in the richest country on earth...

I know, I'm a dreamer..... :roll:

Hats off cop!
 

taabru45

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davismanLV said:
CA-35 said:
fronobulax said:
Follow up stories say the store owner found out and retroactively gave the policeman the "employees discount" on the boots.

Yes, most likely true. It makes no difference to me if the officer received them for free or at a discount, the act in and of itself is extremely and uncommonly compassionate. Probably something we all should do a little more of. After all, 'tis the season. :D
Well, but, Scotty, it DOES make a difference because there were more people involved than just the cop. It shows the "spirit" of giving. Maybe we're not doomed as a species.... but I think we probably are. Good on him and to Sketchers as well.....[/quoted

Good points Tom. Actions like that keep on living, and maybe changing lives. Steffan
 

southernGuild

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bluesypicky said:
What this story makes me wonder, is how is it even possible to witness so many such instances of human misery, reminiscent of the medieval Europe peasant's condition, in 2012 in the richest country on earth...
Right On Bluesy. :wink:
Seems that the distribution of wealth could be a bit better...distributed. :oops:
 

fronobulax

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bluesypicky said:
Stories like that trigger all kinds of reactions.
The first one, and I like to believe the unanimous one, is one of admiration for such a nice testimony to compassion and generosity as demonstrated by this cop.
Then we go on to talk about the store owner, then we reflect on cops and on mankind in general.
What this story makes me wonder, is how is it even possible to witness so many such instances of human misery, reminiscent of the medieval Europe peasant's condition, in 2012 in the richest country on earth...

I know, I'm a dreamer..... :roll:

Hats off cop!

Please don't follow me down the political rabbit hole but I do have to say that it is difficult to help people who do not want to be helped. I'm not saying we shouldn't or couldn't do more, but there is a level of misery that will be with us no matter how resources are allocated.

On the story at hand, don't forget the internet cynics who speculated that the recipient walked around the corner and sold or swapped the shoes for booze or drugs. No proof of that, only speculation, but "haters gotta hate".
 

griehund

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The simple giving of gifts is a difficult concept to understand. Giving a gift means giving something to someone with no strings attached and expecting nothing in return. If I give a "gift" and expect a specific behavior then my gift is closer to blackmail. If I give a "gift" and expect something in return then my gift is closer to barter. So a cop gives a homeless man new socks and boots. Isn't that the end of the story? Basic humanity can be such a beautiful thing. Peace. :)
 

Zelja

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Well said griehund.

I don't want to get political at all, especially about a country that I do not live in, but I was pretty shocked about all the homeless people I saw when I first visited the US in 1990 - especially in NYC & San Francisco. From what I understand there were a lot of homeless people turned out onto the streets who needed psychiatric care - it just doesn't seem right that these type of people, who aren't in a position to help themselves, are not provided with some basic care.
 

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fronobulax said:
… that it is difficult to help people who do not want to be helped. I'm not saying we shouldn't or couldn't do more, …
It would be a sad day for me, if that argument made us stopping to try to help where possible.
Griehund: thanks for your thought …
Markus :D
 

CA-35

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fronobulax said:
Please don't follow me down the political rabbit hole but I do have to say that it is difficult to help people who do not want to be helped. I'm not saying we shouldn't or couldn't do more, but there is a level of misery that will be with us no matter how resources are allocated.

FNG said:
I saw an article where this homeless guy was spotted again barefooted. He said he hid the boots because they were worth money, and that he wanted a cut of the pie from all the publicity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/nyreg ... boots.html

Unfortunately Frono might be right. He just might. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. :(
 
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