Why trying to do the right thing is difficult

An anecdote from yesterday evening:

I got home around 9.30 pm yesterday, to find all our gates getting quickly closed. When I asked Anjaneyulu what was happening he said "there's a mad man who is trying to get into houses in the neighbourhood".

And even as we spoke, this man came into one of our gates, and Anjaneyulu ran to shoo him out, that's literally what he did. There was an edge and fear in his voice, which I seemed to pick up because I found myself rolling up my car window.

I drove in, parked, got into the lift..... and then better sense took over.

I got off and went out to see what was happening. By this time there was a small group of four to five people, and there was this 'mad man', and all of them telling him to go, some of them shouting at him, some of them laughing at him.

I found that he was clearly disoriented, nor drunk, coherent but also not talking sense, middle aged to old. He had a band around his wrist, likely belonged in an institution. 

He'd just get shoo'd out. Then what?

I suggested one of them walk him to the police station and have them take over.

Raju, a driver here said he could take him on his bike. I thought it was really nice of him, and left the scene thinking it was done.

At 10.30 pm I get a call from Raju, very angry and upset saying " madam, I listened to you, and now I am stuck. The police are saying I have to take responsibility and take him to an old age home, and that they will send a vehicle and constable...I shouldn't have listened to you, I knew this would happen". 

He yelled and hung up. I was in a quandry.

I called him back and asked if I should come. I could see an immediate difference, he calmed down. (it's the difference that moral support makes, be it 'to us' or 'by us'). I asked if the SI would speak to me. He luckily did.  But I found we were talking at cross purposes....me telling him no old age home would take a random stranger in without any credentials, and he telling me he was putting him on the police whats app group for missing persons ( in the middle of all this I couldn't help but be impressed that they were using what's app like that). 

It took persistence....it took three calls to the SI, as he kept hanging up on me.....a tense three conversations as I wasn't sure what I was letting myself into.  But suddenly at some point it shifted....he got convinced.... he agreed to let Raju leave, and take over responsibility. 

End of incident, the feeling that I, and hopefully Raju, were left with is 'yes it's difficult to do the right thing.....but it's also possible to do the right thing'.