Human kindness

I'm not a touchy-feely person, and I'm not moved when people are surprised that animals demonstrate many human-like qualities such as empathy, fear, pain, rage, intelligence and deductive reasoning. As a defender of a wide range of animal rights, I'm always surprised that people had never noticed these qualities before. 

I am forever surprised by human kindness that is either immaterial or irrational. 

Here is a link to a social experiment. It's making the rounds at HotAir, and it is fascinating. An arts student assembled a 10-inch tall cardboard robot and filmed it with a hidden camera as it made its way through Washington Square Park in NYC. It is fascinating to watch one person after another help it out of a jam (pothole, immovable object etc).  The robot is crude and cute. It is a couple of cardboard boxes, and for its face we have the classic "smiley face." It also has a pennant attached to a staff that comes out of its back. 

What interests me - and I just watched this - is what is it that compels the people to help? Except to its maker, there would be little cruel about either leaving it be or, for that matter, destroying it (again, except to its maker). I'm quite surprised it wasn't stolen. Anyway, it's quite interesting.