I stumbled across a rather interesting theory called
The Diffusion of Responsibility Theory. Basically its the idea that the more people present around an emergency, the less bystanders feel obligated or responsible to interfere on the behalf of the helpless, or victimized.
"This phenomenon has been thoroughly researched since the murder of
Kitty Genovese in New York in 1964. She was attacked at night just outside her home. She fought the murderer off, but he returned and attacked her again as she lay in the street. Repeatedly he ran away and returned, the murder taking a full half hour. Although she was screaming for help in a densely populated neighbourhood, no one came to her assistance, nor even alerted the police, although police established afterwards that her screams were heard by at least
38 of her neighbours." -
It's truely awful that this woman had to die, but it just makes me wonder why these aren't rare or isolated occasions. These events (maybe not to such an extreme) happen everyday, and we walk right by them feeling as though it's "not our business." I have to admit, if I saw a woman being stabbed to death in the middle of the street the following thoughts run through my head:
1. DAMN! Is he really stabbing her!?
2. OH MY GOD, he's really stabbing her?!
3. THAT'S FUCKED UP!
4. I SHOULD HELP HER!-
----PAUSE----(insert reality)
5. HELL NAW I'M NOT HELPING HER, if he THAT bold to just stab someone in the middle of the street, then he will surely would have no problem coming after my black ass. Plus, I don't know what she did to him. Shit, I need to know the whole story before I go risk my life for some white bitch that just simply, wasn't fast enough.
6. I hope somebody calls the cops man, this is really fucked up.
You may ask, "Well, Dexter, why don't YOU just call the police, you think-for-yourselfer? The answer is simple. Warrants. I have them. And cops are too damn nosey. I'm joking, I don't have warrants, but I'm not calling the police because I don't know how deep this thing goes. I've seen Four Brothers and I know that cops can be crooked and corrupt and like I said before. I'm not going to risk my life without knowing the whole story. I don't blame those people that stayed in the safety and comfort of their home and did nothing. And who knows, maybe it was just too damn cold or rainy or a combination of both to be outside trying to wrestle a knife away from somebody. See what I mean, details are important. Her neighbors simply wanted to live...heeaaarrrd that!
SO FUCK THIS SHIT!
but it is rather interesting.
Source:http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/socinf/diffusion.html
For more information on this theory...google it, I guess.
