Would you stop?

[Guest infamous me 235]

Originally posted by The Stig:

What happened was bystander apathy, the most frustrating of sociologies quirks. It's a direct result of lazyness, apathy, and selfishness. The idea being "I dont have to, because someone else will". This line of though permiates every aspect of daily life, and is one of the main reasons that humans suck.

 

It's common, unless your a fucked up individual that feels honnored by being presented with the opportunity to help some one. Those of us who would stop are the fucked up minority.

Try it some time, show up 1/2 hour late for work, tell your boss "I stopped and helped a bleeding kid who was hit by a car". Most (51% or more) of your bosses will hold it against you. 90% will probably first ask "was it you that hit him?", assuming that no one would ever stop unless it directly effected them.

The bystander effect (also known as bystander apathy) is a psychological phenomenon where persons are less likely to intervene in an emergency situation when others are present than when they are alone.

 

Solitary individuals will typically intervene if another person is in need of help: this is known as bystander intervention. However, researchers were surprised to find that help is less likely to be given if more people are present. In some situations, a large group of bystanders may fail to help a person who obviously needs help.

 

An example which shocked many people is the Kitty Genovese case. Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death in 1964 by a mentally ill serial rapist and murderer. The murder took place over a period of about thirty minutes, during which at least 38 alleged "witnesses" failed to help the victim. For this reason, the name Genovese syndrome or Genovese effect was used to describe the phenomenon at the time.

 

The death of Deletha Word in 1995 after witnesses failed to thwart her attackers, as well as the James Bulger murder case, may have been other well-publicized cases of the effect.

[Akula]

The kid was white but for me it doesn't matter. I think the little bit of training I got in the Navy made me react, along with the fact that in the military it is drilled into your head that you never just let things go by. It has been an interesting thing to observe reactions to my little story and I agree with everyone, just know if you get hit by a car and I see it, I stop.

[Lustalbert]

I would have stoped.