Is doing the right thing worth it in New York City? That's the question that's probably going through John Rote's mind right about now. 

As RedState reported, Rote saw a woman being attacked on a subway platform, at which point he decided to spring into action, draw his firearm, and fire off a warning shot to scare the assailant off. It worked, and the woman was saved from the robbery or worse. 

What did Rote get for being willing to step in and help someone in danger? He got arrested and charged. He also got chastised by Richard Davey, head of the transit authority in the city. 

I want to be clear: we don’t tolerate this kind of conduct in NYC Transit, period. Once again cameras recorded a perpetrator, and we are grateful the NYPD made an arrest within hours. Thank goodness nobody was hurt here – but what occurred was outrageous, reckless, and unacceptable.

Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished, and things just got worse for Rote. The woman he saved has thrown him under the bus, saying that she wishes he hadn't used a gun to intervene. 

Do not help people in New York City pic.twitter.com/Y3tVmOPOkO

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) November 12, 2023

“Of course, I am happy that that man tried to help me and that nobody was injured during this incident, but it’s scary to think that people are carrying guns around the city. I understand why people do it, they see it as their only means of protection,” the woman said.

(...)

“In this case the man risked a lot to protect me, his safety, and the safety of other people on the platform. Yes, I do think he is a hero, but I don’t know, I would likely think him a bigger hero if he tried to help me without the gun. In my eyes, the gun is a little extreme. It was a very dangerous situation, anything could have happened.”

What an incredibly selfish thing to do. It's one thing for this woman to believe the things she does. It's another for her to run to a newspaper and say it publicly, effectively nuking Rote's defense in the process. He saved her and all he got was a self-righteous woman wanting to lecture about how "scary" it is that people carry guns for protection. Just astonishing.

The lesson here is clear: Do not help people in New York City or any city run by Democrats. 

These blue bastions would rather throw someone in prison for "vigilantism" than enforce the law against actual, repeat criminals. If you step in to stop an attack and protect others, you will end up in handcuffs. It's not worth it. I know that goes against everything some of us stand for, but the situation has become untenable. At the very least, if you do decide to step in, know what the consequences will be. 

It shouldn't be this way. The right move here would have been to give Rote a warning and acknowledge that he was just trying to help someone in the heat of the moment. Instead, he was slapped with multiple charges, and it looks like the woman he saved won't even testify in his defense.