Being Neighborly

One of the most heart-wrenching movie scenes comes from the classic movie “Rear Window.” One minor character is a lady who owns a small dog that she babies like a child. The lady is distraught when she discovers someone in the neighborhood has killed her pet. She steps into the courtyard of the apartment buildings and calls out to her neighbors: “Which one of you did it? Which one of you killed my dog? You don’t know the meaning of the word “neighbors’. Neighbors like each other, speak to each other, care if anybody lives or dies! But none of you do! But I couldn’t imagine any of you being so low that you’d kill a helpless, friendly dog. The only thing in this whole neighborhood who liked anybody! Did you kill him because he liked you? Just because he liked you?” As she calls out, her neighbors come to their windows, watch, and listen. They murmur to  themselves to go back in. “It’s only a dog,” someone says.

 

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