In class we talked about the Kitty Genovese case. She was beat mersalisly until she eventually died but it wasnt like she was brought out to the woods with nobody around. This happened outside her appartment building in Queens, New York. After everything was said and done several people said they were aware of what was going on but did nothing.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese
Why didn't anyone do anything? Most people most likely didn't want anything to do with the situation and just figured somebody else would just call the police. This is known as the bystander affect. Sometimes we do things we shouldn't and sometimes we don't react the way we should.
Another perfect example are prisoners in jail. If you knew what was good for you, you didnt ever see anything. Even though it goes against most peoples morals to not say anything, its not worth opening your mouth in jail. While i was locked up at Berks County Prison a fight broke out right in front of my cell and somebody had gotten stabbed. When i was brought in for questioning they asked plain and simple what i saw happen. In the back of my head i wanted to say, well blah blah hit blah blah and then blah blah came up and stabbed blah blah. Yeah i knew that would have been the right thing to do but i didn't want to be that guy getting beat up and stabbed. I wasn't willing to die to do the right thing. Most people aren't. I also figured that i wasn't even close to being let out yet but the guy in the next cell is getting out in a few days so maybe they will press him for answers and threaten to extend his sentence so he will talk. Even if they don't this doesn't concern me so i am best off not putting my nose where it doesn't belong.
Some people don't want to be bothered, some people figure somebody else will say something or jump in, and some people just know the possible negative consequences of doing the right thing. Whatever it may be, less and less people are doing what they should be. I wish i could go back to some situations i have been in and actually done the right thing but with others like my jail experience i wouldn't change a thing. So it's up to you. Will you do what you know is right, or will you turn your head the other head? Either way you have to live with the consequences of your actions.
Lord! My mouth is hard to keep shut. I have to say that I am one of the few who speaks up for others when things are going wrong. I hate to see people take advantage of others.
ReplyDeleteI was stabbed by my husband Marcus Calhoun and when I tried to call the cops for help he snatched the phone out of the wall. Thank you Jesus for neighbors or I may not even be able to write this comment.
Snitching and speaking up is two different things to my knowledge. Trying to stop a crime and telling on someone in my eyes are totally opposite. Trying to stop a crime is preventing others from being harmed, while snitching is telling what someone did. So the next time you see or hear that someone is in trouble, look at it as if your saving a life and the suspect just may get away before the cops or rescue squad arrive to save the victim.
Well correy I can't actually say that you were wrong for not snitching because you had to do what you had to do to protect your own life, and your right sometimes sticking your nose in other people's business can lead up to you getting killed or hurt. So I'm kind of glad you didn't say anything.
ReplyDelete@Correy, in today's society, many people don't want to get involved, it's a sad statement but true. For your experience in jail is a different circumstance, I totally understand. I think it all depends on the place or situation the assault is taking place. A few years back I drove by a charter middle school in the city, I witness a young boy surrounded by a crowd of students getting beat up by three other boys,and no one did or said anything to his defense; they were adults walking by and watching. I couldn't bear to watch I got out and intervened immediately, I screamed at the punks and called the cops on them; then the adults and other kids decided to help. After, talking with my parents and friends I didn't realize I was putting myself in danger with these students. For instance, I could've been stabbed, beat up or killed for helping a kid. At that moment it didn't cross my mind. Yes, I would help that kid, again, and whoever needs help depending on the situation.
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