One of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. Options

[Hellfighter]

Ok, be forewarned this is a vid of a hit and run vic- he didn't die but is paralyzed.
The next sickening thing to the actual hit/ and the driver racing away, is the reaction of the bystanders.
I'm judging most of you are action people that help strangers in situations where others prefer to just stand in a crowd gazing at the situation without making any effort to intercede;
This is about the worse case of such morons..... take your pick- cars driving by the struck victim or people just standing yards away simply looking at the victim...... sickening case of human uselessness.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3s4zAh3-HEE

[Genocide Junkie]

I saw a program a while back that discussed group dynamics. They would set up a situation where they had 2 people together and they would simulate some sort of emergency. Then they would do the same experiment with a group of 5 or more. For example the subjects were sitting in a room taking a survey or something like that and they began to pump smoke into the room. When it was 1-2 people in the room they immediately got up and went to get help. When it was a group they all looked around at each other looking to see what if anything someone was going to do. It was very interesting. They showed all sorts of stuff including an experiment where they put a group of people in a "jail" and randomly made some the guards and some the inmates. After a couple of days the guards were basically torturing the inmates even though it could have just as easily been them in the other position.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

One other thing about what I saw... they did another one where one guy was set up in a room with an electric shock machine. In the next an actor would "respond" when the button was pushed for increasingly greater and greater electric shock. The meter on the machine said warning extremely dangerous etc as it got to higher levels. As it got worse and worse the person who was suppose to be administering the shock would try to back out asking if the man was ok. However, the professor or person in charge of instructing the person administering the shock would tell them they must continue the experiment. Even at levels that literally sounded like the other guy was dying, pleading for their lives, and then even after there were no more sounds from the other room a huge percentage of the people would continue to administer what they believed to be electric shock to the person in the other room.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

What this taught me is that no matter how morally sound I might think I am I don't know what I'd do in a given situation. These people were average decent people just like the rest of us and this really was disturbing. We can tell ourselves that we wouldn't react like those guys in the video but the reality is people are f'd up. Even most of us when in those situations. I wish I knew where I had seen that. Discovery or Nat Geo or something like that I'm sure. The dynamics of group think and obedience is quite interesting. This is just a portion of the things they showed and talked about but it certainly gives insight into how people can sit by and watch (or even participate) as horrific things take place.

[Hellfighter]

.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

.......... We can tell ourselves that we wouldn't react like those guys in the video but the reality is people are f'd up. Even most of us when in those situations. I wish I knew where I had seen that. Discovery or Nat Geo or something like that I'm sure. The dynamics of group think and obedience is quite interesting. This is just a portion of the things they showed and talked about but it certainly gives insight into how people can sit by and watch (or even participate) as horrific things take place.

There was actually a good German movie based on that experiment that came out a coupla years ago.

As for what we might or might not do; I think Tim has seen this kind of bystander complacency in his time as a firefighter and has seen it all regarding the human condition in that setting as an emergency worker.
In my former line of work in downtown/tourism areas I saw many a thing too. Bottom line is there is no excuse at all not to assist someone who immediately needs help. I've been in a few situations jumping in to help and it nauseated me how EVERYTIME the crowds of people who could've intervened to make a difference just stood motionless like they were watching TV-you can be sure there will only be 1 out of 50 people witnessing an emergency scene will directly help -a few may call 9-11. So for me it's predictable that one person NEEDS to help immediately because likely noone present will bother.

Here's 2 of the more bizarre situations amongst many that I acted in;
1] I'm walking along a sidewalk... a bus-stop is 20yds ahead of me with a lineup of people - parked cars are ahead of the stop. One woman in the lineup steps out into the street to see if the bus is coming. Parked car nearest the stop backs up slowly[to drive out]. People notice the car backing up and stare at the woman in the street who has her back to the car that is going to hit her - I was stunned noone uttered a word to warn her-it's apparent the driver is clueless about his idiocy. Still far away I yell at the woman-only then does some1 in the lineup think to directly pull the woman onto the sidewalk just before the car hits her.... I pass by the lineup staring daggers at the morons.

2]With a couple of acquaintances on a sunny busy day downtown - suddenly behind me, a guy-not too big but scuzzy looking is there slugging and throwing around his gf. Dozens of people around...noone moves in-I motion one acquaintance to follow and break things up....he chooses to stand back! I move ahead alone- the other acquaintance starts to move -AND grabs my arm "Don't get involved!" he pleads to me !!!! I felt 'Should I hit him first'?! Anyway I just intimidated the gf-beater to back off -along with people shouting at the guy from a safe distance.

From what I've seen the people that directly help in these situations are emergency/care workers, people not 'fearful' of helping, and people with awareness of both the danger AND the ramifications to that victim of not assisting. Everyone else just thinks about what they could do/ who else might do something and have no sense of being a 'citizen' -ie, they end up doing sweet nothing.
Point is just 'ACT' -either get help if you can't properly help right away OR act to help someone immediately - the 'overthinking' what to do option could cost that someone who needs immediate help their life.


This post has been edited by Hellfighter: 06/05/08 1:49pm