Have we lost our humanity?

Here's an incident that went viral a few days ago:

An 80-year-old man was arrested by the police in his hometown for stealing a little less than 10 kilos of mangoes. The estimated worth of the produce is 6,000 pesos (USD 117). Bail was set for another 6,000, an amount which the man obviously did not have, so he had been languishing in jail for a week.

When questioned, the octogenarian said he was only picking fruit from the tree that he planted a long time ago, which unfortunately is now situated in the plaintiff's property, and which he was not aware of.

Many years ago, this would have been a small issue that the two parties would settle on their own with minimum fuss. This is especially true if the person who had done wrong was an elderly citizen. Courtesy would've been accorded the old man, and if it was properly explained to him, the mangoes would likely be returned to the property owner.

But not these days. Instead, a case was filed, a warrant of arrest issued, a manhunt conducted, and the elderly gentlemen arrested. His case was posted on Facebook and has gone viral. Naturally, the old man's situation riled a lot of people and stirred hearts, with many wanting to extend assistance, particularly to pay his bail.

Let's put all this in perspective:

The old man wanted to settle with the complainant. For him, it was a small matter that didn't require law enforcers or the court's intervention. At most, the two parties should have met before village (barangay) officials to put things to rest.

Many property lines in the provinces are not clear cut because of the absence of fences or at least definite markers. This is true even for land that has been subdivided and portions sold off, particularly when fruit trees planted by the original owners were never cut down.

The elderly man was not aware the mango tree was no longer part of his property. And if he's used to picking fruits to ensure they don't rot, he did it without thought that he could be trespassing, ergo, stealing from his neighbor.

Nothing was heard from the property owner who demanded the man's arrest other than wanting to be paid for the stolen fruit. The height of arrogance? Apparently, he or she is unaware of what being neighborly means.

That seems to be the problem nowadays. People care more about money, property, and possessions but know so little about humanity. How to relate to another human being. How to be more compassionate. To be considerate of other people, especially those who are not as fortunate.

The world is reeling from a pandemic that should have taught people more about compassion. Yet here we are reading stories of greed - even for little things - when life has become so precious because some invisible enemy can snuff it out anytime.

The elderly man has been released. One good Samaritan beat out many others and sent the funds to get him out of jail. A pro bono lawyer handled his case. Non-stop help has poured in for the man.

Okay, so there are still more people with good hearts willing to share what they can for someone who should not have gone through such humiliating experience.

And to the person who filed the case and had the elderly man arrested, shame on you!

Images from Unsplash