The Bystander Effect and Catherine Genovese

        In case you don't know, "The Bystander Effect" or "Genovese Syndrome" is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation. This most commonly occurs when there is a group of people witness to an event, because they believe that someone else will do something about it. Even the idea of the concept makes me sick and causes me to often lose faith in humanity. Regardless, of what you may think, this is a legitimate phenomenon. Those of you in my generation might remember the last two episodes of Seinfeld, when the main characters were arrested on a duty to rescue violation, after watching a man get hijacked at gunpoint, and failed to do anything about it. The movie, "kick-ass" also has a great scene where the main character protects a man from getting beaten and probably killed from 3-4 assailants. These, of course, are designed to be dramatic and funny and make money, but this is a very real and very scary idea. The idea that, if I am in danger, or more importantly, my wife or kids are hurt or need help, and there are witnesses that could do something, they might not do anything. I don't get scared often, but this terrifies me.
        Those of you that know me personally, know that I believe every person has an important story and that story should be shared. Well, I didn't really want to share this story, but if I didn't, then I too would know I was doing nothing, victim of this bystander effect. I understand that there is nothing that I can do for this person, but I believe that there is probably someone out there that will find themselves in a situation that could truly help to change a persons life. If you find yourself in a situation like that, just please, remember this story:   


        The most infamous example of the bystander effect took place on March 13, 1964, in Kew Gardens, Queens, NY, when Catherine Genovese was entering her apartment building at about 3:15 AM, from work. She was stabbed twice in the back by Winston Moseley, a heavy machine operator, who later explained that he simply “wanted to kill a woman.”Genovese screamed, “Oh, my God! He stabbed me! Help me!” and collapsed. Several neighbors in surrounding buildings reported hearing her voice, but decided it was probably just a drunken brawl or lovers’ spat. One man shouted from his window, “Let that girl alone!” which scared Moseley away. This neighbor was sure to have seen Genovese crawling across the street, under a streetlight, to her apartment, but did nothing to help her. Witnesses saw Moseley drive away, then return about 10 minutes later. He had put on a wider-rimmed hat to hide his face, and searched for Genovese in the parking lot, the train station, and the apartment complex, for 10 minutes, before finding her prone in the external hallway at the rear of the building, where the door was locked. She could not get in. Moseley proceeded to stab her to death, inflicting multiple wounds in her hands and forearms, indicating that she tried to fight him off. She finally succumbed and he raped her as she lay dying. He then stole around $50 from her and fled. The whole incident spanned 30 minutes. A newspaper blasted it the next day as “Thirty-eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call Police,” but this is inaccurate. There were approximately 12 people who claimed to have seen the first attack. Many of them later stated that they “just didn’t want to get involved.” A simple phone call to the police would have sufficed, but everyone assumed someone else would do it.

        It is our responsibility as humankind to do what we can to try and stop the suffering of our fellow man. I am not asking anyone to be heroes, in fact quite the opposite, do what is in your means, just be aware and take responsibility for your surroundings. Call the cops, if that is what it takes, but more than likely, changing someones life involves much less than that. Listen, be a friend, correct each other. If we don't hold each other accountable for our actions, how can we expect to grow as a society? 

Thanks for Reading
-Phillip