I really dont understand sometimes whats wrong with people..

[Sketch]

I found this mans rant while looking up something and i agree with him

April 21, 2006

It's a Morality Issue
Situation: During rush hour, a woman gets on the A train in the Village headed for uptown. She takes a seat down on the one side of the crowded train and a man sits on the other side of the train opposite them. The woman and the man exchange glances and suddenly the man screams at her to "stop staring" at him. Words are exchanged and he gets up and punches her several times and then stabs her. The rest of the crowd on the train moves to the other end of the car to avoid the altercation but does nothing to help the woman. When the train arrived at the next stop, the woman chased him off the train while holding her own stab wound. She got assistance in the station.

A month or so ago, one of the late night news stations did fake abductions of young child to see who would help to get involved. The child would scream how the person grabbing them wasn't their dad, and except for 2 guys, nobody would help them.

That this happened is disturbing enough, but that nobody would help is what's bothering me today. Let me put this plain and simple for everyone.

IF YOU SEE SOMEONE ATTACKING SOMEONE ELSE, IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE ACTION!!! Not to look the other way, not to move to the other end of the train, and never to just ignore the whole thing. Doing that makes you as guilty as the freak doing wrong.

What the Fuck? Grab your bag and throw it at the mother fucker's head. Make noise! Call 911 on the cell phone. Where are the supposed good Christians when all this is going on? You would think attacking an attacker get them that free pass to heaven they all seem to hope for. Attack the guy with the gun...if you die...you go on a good note...if not...you're sure to get a story on the news.

Tonight...I'm taking the bus.


Here’s my 2 cents.. I don’t think its a matter of religion i don’t know why he brought that up (probably cause many Americans, where this took place are Christian and Christian religion teaches the do unto others bit) I don’t care why he brought it up, whatever religion you are, if you don’t have one or whatever that isn’t relevant … you should still do something! i agree with him.. DO SOMETHING .. not just sitting around and watching it happen .. I'm not saying take on someone with a gun or do something stupid and get yourself killed.. But call 911 or something! dont people care anymore?? What in the name of heaven is wrong with people!?

[Shandriz]

Not all people are like this, though. ^^ If you want proof, look at Satine's topic. Her friend Heather was attacked and two people who'd never met her before did everything they could to help her out.

I don't think this is really as prevalent as this guy lets off. Most people do help. You just don't hear about that quite as much. Negative things get more publicity than positive ones-- that's the way the world works.

[Kugyou]

Just to kick in my two cents- Also, depending on the area, there's a mindset from the police that civilians should not attempt to do anything but "be a good witness" when a crime occurs. Not to try to help, not to use a weapon to save a life (yours or anothers), but to make sure you get that assailant's face in vivid Technicolor detail for the police sketch artist. It doesn't matter if the crime escalates to murder, it seems - unless your area has a Good Samaritan law in place that can make it a crime *not* to help, it's always possible that the people backing away from a crime scene may be more afraid of repercussions for helping.

Strangely enough, though many areas have laws that allow a citizen to make an arrest on the behalf of police, that law may or may not protect them, as people have been charged with false arrest in areas with that law in place - when the person they arrested is convicted of the crime. It's a sick and litigious world we live in these days, where the threat of being sued out of house and home by an attempted murderer because you bruised his pinky (yes, I'm exaggerating) can be an effective deterrent against helping someone out.

Then again, there's another simpler argument that can be made: some people just get paralyzed in a situation like that. Afraid that they won't be able to stop the attacker and will become another victim. Or having no clue how to handle a situation with a child claiming to be abducted - if the child is lying, how can a civilian hope to tell? I've heard Wolf cried in shopping centers more often than I care to count.

To wrap up my rant (which by now is probably half-threadjack, but I'm not caffeinated enough to tell), it's absolutely wonderful when a person rushes to another's aid. But when they don't, it's not always out of a lack of morals or ethics, but often out of pure fear - especially the fear of being unable to do anything positive and becoming a victim.

[Satine]

Many times in a situation like this, people freeze. Although in the story this man told, it sounds like the people on the train had a bad case of "it's not my problem". If it doesn't bother them, they're not going to do anything.
I think it also depends on where you are. Here in New Orleans, people are very friendly. You could be waiting in line with someone you've never met before, and end up in a conversation with them. People tend to make interpersonal connections here. I've noticed it in Atlanta too. In New York, many people are worried about their own business--I have nothing against New York, I love the city and its people. But some people are like that.

However, Shandriz is right. The two people who helped out Heather gave me a little more hope that humanity isn't completely gone to shit. I'd like to think there are more people like that.

[Ultrawolf]

Adding on to what you just said Satine, I've felt that way too. Here in GA, everyone has seemed to be much friendlier and more open to strangers than back home in Los Angeles. In L.A. it's like life moves so fast, you can't stop for anyone but yourself. I don't think it's fair to condemn for inaction, but those people will face the guilt of knowing that anything that person did after they failed to stop them will be on their conscience.

Albert Einstein once said "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."

[Cheshire]

It's called the Bystander Effect. There's a psychological tendancy to ignore conflict. They started studying it when a woman was stabbed to death in NY I think and none of her neighbors called 911. Part of it is people assume that someone already called for help and part is it's not their responsibility. There's a whole lot of study about it, you learn about it in Psy 101 at OU.

[Antinua]