The viral photos of a Jewish woman, Rachel Groner, comforting a distressed autistic Muslim boy on an airplane sent a powerful message about compassion and patience.
But there’s another message here, too: It is sometimes OK — even laudatory — to touch and interact with a child who is not one’s own. Political correctness and the fear of prosecution for having any physical contact with most human beings have made many adults reticent to help a child whom they don’t know. It has been taken to an extreme.
From the political correctness standpoint, everything Mrs. Groner did was wrong: She held the hand of a strange child, who was of the opposite sex and who, no less, was Muslim.
From the normal human kindness standpoint, everything Mrs. Groner did was right: She used her experience working with special needs children to comfort a child who was freaking out. She calmed him and made him happy, much to the relief of his mother and fellow travelers.
Not all physical contact with a child is appropriate, but there are times when compassion should trump lawsuits and prurient fears.
Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News
