[Vision2020] A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

[Chasuk]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89164759

Morning Edition, March 28, 2008 · Julio Diaz has a daily routine.
Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway
commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his
favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto
a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and
pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here
you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute.
You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the
rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going
on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few
dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I
wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey,
you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to
say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do
you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says,
'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad
face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going
to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay
for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz
says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't
know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and
he gave it to me."

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're
the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them
your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that
they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated
world."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo.