Blogger #5 (bystander effect)

 

http://www.townsendpress.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/writing%20and%20motvn/vv_ch14.pdf

The Bystander Effect by Dorothy Barkin

The Bystander Effect is about how us as people tend to ignore crimes/ issues that are going on around us. It's either because we are to tired, lazy, watching television, scared, don't want to deal with the police, or waiting on somebody else to make the first move. In the story it gives us different hypothetical scenarios asking the readers how would you react if you were in this situation. It then tells the story of Kitty Genovese who was a 28 year old female who was brutally murdered. Kitty was a bar manager and was on her way home at 3am she got all the way home where she parked her car in the parking lot the entrance of her apartment was 100 feet away. She noticed a strange man in the lot and walked toward the police call box. On her way there a man grabbed her and she screamed, in the process of her screaming somebody in the apartment building turned on the lights and opened the window and the attacker stabbed her as she screamed please help me. A man from the upper window yelled let that girl alone. The attacker started towards his car but when the lights went out he returned as she was trying to reach her apartment he stabbed her again. She screamed I'm dying, the lights came on and the window opened again so the attacker ran to his car and drove off. Kitty struggling finally made it into the building the attacker came back a third time to find her slumped on the floor at the foot of the stairs and stabbed her again. The murder took over 30 minutes, within those 30 minutes at least 38 people heard her screams and desperate cries but nobody called the police or came out to see what was going on. When the witness was asked why didn't they call for help or try to help her they said they didn't want to get involved, they were tired, they assumed it was a relationship quarrel. Some said they were just plain scared. Reading the story the author wants us to be more aware of what's going on around us. If we see a crime or hear a crime to call the police or try to see if you can help in anyway because a live could be saved. That could easily be one of us out there crying and screaming for help and nobody comes to even see what's going on.

There is no organization that supports the bystander effect.

http://www.texasconflictcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Bystander-Training.pdf