Would I have helped if she hadn't been beautiful and blonde?

Yesterday's post inspired multiple people to ask me that question. In her comment on the post, Maria summarized the query well:

...would you have even noticed the lady was having problems if she were middle-aged, overweight and unnattractive???

I'm actually quite confident in saying yes, I would have helped her. What got to me was not her looks. I won't deny noticing them; I'm definitely a guy who likes to look at women. What made me offer to help her were two things. First, she was at the end of her rope, exhausted and feeling buffeted by an indifferent system, and that sort of thing always touches me. Second, despite her feelings, she wasn't lashing out at anyone; she was taking it as best she could. I've helped other people in similar situations (though I'm not usually so crass as to write about it; for some reason, last night this was on my mind), and most have been just regular folks.

The question that actually troubles me is this:

Would I have helped if it had been a man?

I honestly don't know, though I like to think so. The issue is that guys turn into aggressive chimps so easily, and once a guy is in that state there's little value in trying to change it. If a guy were handling it as graciously as this woman, however, I think I would have done the same thing. I certainly hope so.