The Bystander Effect

[nissangirl74]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvGIwLcIuw[/youtube]

What would you do if you walked by and witnessed (what looked like) a man abducting a little girl? Would you just walk on by or would you intervene?

[themadscientist]

I have interevened in many situations that in retrospect were probably very dangerous, but that's just how I am.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Well, the "you're not my dad" line is used often with step-parents, etc. That girl sounded more like she was just whining rather than screaming bloody murder as well.

[gwoods]

I have asked the kid if everything is okay before when I see an adult being abusive but other then that unless your 100% sure its an abduction observe take pictures of the car/plate call the Police. I saw a strange truck parked across from my house one morning just idleing I walked out took a picture of it then a picture of the plate waved at the guy and went back inside LOL. Even the Police hate domestic calls for a reason one minute your helping an abducted child the next your fighting the kid and the dad.

I had a buddy who was the karate kid and he stopped a guy from beating a girl once which was pretty cool imo. Its AZ everyone has a pistol. Your personal liability is 1.5 million USD if you get sued. Couple other things to consider.

[300ZXttZMAN]

I feel like if the girl was screaming "mom where are you, this guy is hurting me" or "someone help me I don't know this guy" ect. I think alot more people would have interevened.

[Jesda]

To me, she looked frustrated rather than threatened.

[Jesda]

Also, the Kitty Genovese murder that stood for decades as the greatest example of the bystander effect and human indifference turned out to be less dramatic than imagined.

"We found out that people aren't as bad as you think they are, but they're probably not as good as you think they are, either. People are people," Dubner said.

Forty-five years later and back to that night Kitty Genovese was murdered: Were all of those people really as apathetic, as uncaring as they seemed? Turns out, what we've thought for 45 years about those apathetic neighbors was wrong.

"Most people imagine the crime as 38 people sitting by their windows or standing by their windows watching for half an hour while a woman is brutally murdered," De May pointed out. "That didn't happen."

De May says only a few neighbors actually saw anything. Most woke up confused. It was a cold night, so the windows were closed. Some only made it to their windows after Genovese got up. Others thought they were hearing noise from a rowdy bar.

But, had the story been reported accurately all those years ago, would we still be talking about it today?

"It might have been a four-day story. It might have been a four-week story. It would not have been a 45-year story," De May said.

And just how was Genovese's killer finally arrested? It was just a few days after the murder. Moseley was seen stealing a television set out of someone's home.

One neighbor ran to call the police while another removed the distributor cap on Moseley's car, disabling it and keeping him from getting away.

Minutes later, the killer was under arrest. And in the end, all because of neighbors who saw something...and helped.

That doesn't invalidate the theory, of course, but it does put it in a more realistic context.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/superfreakon ... N14I45NOgM

[4cefed]

As the father of a 9-year-old I wasn't very moved by watching this. Maybe if I didn't see some whiny little brat pull this on a daily basis it might gather more attention. I think this is more commentary on how we are raising children more than anything.

On a related note, are there other parents here that are in awe of how little attention some parents give there kids in public places? Call me over-protective, but I never let my daughter run around in some public space with a bunch of other people and not know where she is at any second. Have I seen too many movies? My wife is the same. In fact, the most horrified and scared we ever were was at Disney land in the "Honey I shrunk the kids" play area. It wasn't until she disappeared in a maze of tunnels we discovered there were about 10 different ways in and out of that area. I think this was a year after those two sickos drugged a little kid, changed her clothes, and almost made it out of Disney world with her in a stroller unconscious.

I really can't say how I would react in the same scenereo in the video. I might stop and watch for a minute and take a couple of pictures. See if it escalates or he starts talking to her in the manner a parent would.

[WDRacing]

^^ I love the parks on base, can't beat the security. When I'm off base, I am armed and I watch my kids like I'm a predator stalking them. If I see an "odd" person in the area, I have no qualms with getting all up in their personal space until i figure out their deal. Better safe than sorry X10.

The kid in the video clearly asks for help. I'm not sure if it's just me or what, but I'm finding out wtf is going on immediately. If you're not the father...well you're wearing me like stink on s***. If I was in the video, there would have been a "wait wait...it's for a news show" followed by me doing something I'd probably get arrested for these days.