Emperor Norton I was the Emperor of the United States and protector of Mexico - his title only recognised within the bounds of San Francisco. Restaurants would welcome him, not charging him, but instead putting up plaques that said "upon request of his majesty".
One day, his majesty saw two gangs staring off, with tension mounting. It was clear there was about to be a fight. Emperor Norton calmly walked in between the two crowds, knelt, and began to say the Lord's Prayer. The crowds dispersed, unwilling to make any aggressive move, when royalty was there between them.
It's not clear why the gangs gave up at that moment. Perhaps because they respected his majesty, perhaps because they witnessed his great faith, or perhaps because it was nothing short of absurd. Now we might call this a "state break", a technique from neuro-linguistic programming - doing something so unexpected that people forget what their intentions were.
When we see fights break out in the street, it's easy to stand by, and it makes a lot of sense to stand by, not putting oneself at risk for the sake of strangers. When we do intervene, we might get injured... or we might actually help.
In this episode, Kurt tells some stories about times he stood by, and times that he did intervene. After all, Planet Earth is our home, and we can take responsibility for what happens in it.
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