The following is reprinted from Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History Again The stabbing of Kitty Genovese lasted 50 minutes was witnessed by 38 people. Surely someone would pick up the phone and call the police, right? Wrong: here's the infamous story of what happened when good people stood by and did nothing. Kitty Genovese got home from work very late. As a bar manager, she had to close and clean up before she could head home to her Queens, New York, apartment. Usually her late hours were no problem. But on March 13, 1964, when the 28-year-old, 105-pound (48 kg) Genovese parked her car at 3 a.m., there was someone waiting for her. As Kitty began to walk toward her home, the man waylaid and stabbed her. A CRY FOR HELP She shrieked in terror, "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me!" Genovese's neighbors in the snug apartment complex, many of whom knew her, turned on their lights and opened their apartment windows. One male neighbor shouted from his window, "Leave that girl alone!" Kitty's attacker left. She began staggering to her apartment, bleeding from several stab wounds, while her neighbors shut their windows and turned off their lights. Kitty no doubt thought the worst was over. But her attacker returned and stabbed her again. "I'm dying!" she screamed. Her neighbors threw open their windows again, but nobody came out ot help. Kitty's attacker got into a car and drove away. Kitty crawled into the vestibule of an apartment house and lay there bleeding for several minutes. At this point she might still have lived. But once again her assailant returned. He cut off her underpants and bra, sexually assaulted her, and took the $49 from her wallet before stabbing her one last, fatal time. It was not until 3:50 a.m., a full 50 minutes after the attack began, that a neighbor called police. Two minutes later, police arrived to find Kitty's body. Crime scene photo showing the first and second attacks of Kitty Genovese NOT MY PROBLEM Police questioned Genovese's neighbors and discovered that at least 38 people had witnessed the killer attacking Genovese, yet no one tried to intervene. Only one had called the police - after Kitty was already dead. The public reacted with horror and mystifiction. Why on earth would 38 people, who could easily and safely have picked up the phone and helped, ignored a dying woman's calls of distress? The story caused deep rumbles in the psyche of Americans who were shocked and frightened by the spectre of their own dark sides - and the ultimate in big-city alienation. Would they, in the same situation, have helped? The neighbors offered numerous excuses for their behavior. They hadn't wanted to get involved, they said. They could see that others were witnessing the crime - surely those people were calling the police. Some claimed they feared for their own safety: others worried that their English wasn't up to the job of making a phone call. One heartless soul merely said, "I was tired." Another alleged that she didn't want to interfere in what she thought was a lover's quarrel." Police admitted that there was no law forcing witness to call for help. So the crime that the neighbors were guilty of, if any, was a moral one. SOME CONSOLATION The murderer was caught less than a week later. He readily admitted to killing Kitty Genovese, as well as two other local women, claiming he had an "uncontrollable urge to kill." In June 1964, 29-year-old Winston Moseley was found guilty, and he remains in state prison to this day. But Kitty Genovese has not been forgotten. The case has lived on in plays and TV dramas - it even spawned a whole new branch of psychology. When experts refer to the Genovese syndrome, they're theorizing that the neighbors' failure to act was due to "diffusion of responsibility" - there were so many people watching the crime that no one person felt they had any personal responsibility, because they were sure that someone else would do something. The case is still taught in every Psych 101 class in the country. Which is not much of a consolation for poor Kitty. |
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| The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History Again. The book is a compendium of entertaining information chock-full of facts on a plethora of history topics. Uncle John's first plunge into history was a smash hit - over half a million copies sold! And this seque gives you more colorful characters, cultural milestones, historical hindsights, groundbreaking events, and scintillating sagas. Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom Reader Institute | |
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Neatorama Note: Though the article outlined the Kitty Genovese story as it is generally accepted, more recent analysis of the case turned up discrepancies, such as a neighbor trying to call the police and was rudely dismissed, and sensationalization of newspaper accounts. For more information, check out: - Kitty Genoves [wikipedia] - Genovese syndrome: Fact or Fiction? - Kitty Genovese, the popular account is mostly wrong at A Picture History of Kew Gardens, NY |
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People suck.
We were taught it wasn't called a "syndrome" that the whole thing was called Bystander Behaviour.
Also, a reason why noone helped you stillpissedoff, is because people are far less likely to get in the middle of an argument between two people who are together (or seen to be together) as it's thought of as a domestic dispute.
If you shout (and this is for anyone in a similar situation to the one above this comment) "get away from me, I DONT KNOW YOU" people have been proven to be more likely to help.
I'm really sorry that happened to you stillpissedoff, people do suck. But if we try and change our own behaviour and not just walk by maybe it'll rub off on others.
I spent one week moving in and the rest of my time high tailing it out of there. It was a complete black hole. You'd think smaller communities would band together. They did, because every time I tried to do something "good" or "productive" about it they went through great lengths to either shut me up or threaten my family even AND they weren't part of the crimes! Unbelievable! I guess they lived by fear and abusive coercion.
I quickly moved to a snooty community with those crazy home owner's associations and it was just as cold. But at least it wasn't as "children of the corn" as the other place they just ignore you.
I'd help you. I can't stand to watch people get hurt with no help at all.
I'm guilty of wondering if I should intervene when the couple next door screams about double suicide, and ultimately deciding it's not my business, but if I knew that one of them were being physically assaulted, I'd call the cops and try to get up the nerve to go over there myself. I've called the cops about suspect noises before, but never without a lot of deliberation. People underestimate how much they can help, or if it's really all that serious.
The bystander effect is real, even if it was overstated in this case. We all hope someone stronger and more capable will come to the rescue so that we don't have to. Unfortunately, sometimes no one steps up and we all could benefit from learning how.
http://tigrepelvar2.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/may1006.jpg
I'd gladly share a room with Pixar's Sully, Howie Mandel's "Maurice" or even Frankenstein himself.
You started out by disagreeing that it's about people trained to ignore each other, and ended your first paragraph by stating that it's about people trained to ignore each other.
G-
Bestiality, you say? Where were *you* living?
Then I called them, 20mn later, to tell them not to bother, everybody was leaving...
I don't think they bothered much anyway...
In the good old days, helping out made you a hero. Now it just opens you up for all types of hassles.
With "everybody's a crook" cops, and lawyers ready to sue for anything and everything - you run a huge personal risk helping out strangers.
Isn't the land of the free great!
I have to agree that people nowadays are a lot more fearful in doing the right thing than in the past. I remember when I used to live in London, England I found a wallet on a double decker bus under the seat ahead of me when I accidentally kicked it. I delivered it to the police station and afterwards I got called back saying that I was a suspect! The owner said I stole all the cash but thankfully due to the high usage of security cameras in England (well known to be the city with the most CCTVs per person) it was proven all I did was pick it up and drop it off at the police booth. They then cited the guy who falsely accused me with a $300 (don't remember how much that is in British Pounds) fine for false accusation and misuse of police time.
As the old adage goes,"No good deed goes unpunished."
Regarding the article:
However, in the case of Kitty Genovese that is just horrendous. If someone were attacked I'd surely help in whatever capacity I could. Would I put myself in harms way? Maybe if I knew I could take down the attacker but if not I'd also be a bit hesitant. When the attacker had left someone should have had the balls to go out and grab that poor woman and brought her inside and wait for the police to arrive.
I do agree with Meg's point that people get used to hearing a lot of noises in cities, and that it's often hard to tell what's serious and what's not. However, even when faced with a situation that's as obvious as I think mine was, I doubt very much that anyone standing there at the end of the block would have reacted the same way those 2 guys did. One split second to contemplate that the person who punched me might also have been carrying a weapon would have dissuaded most people, I think.
Luckily the man is going to be ok, but the public's reaction shook me more than I can say.
http://www.ocap.ca/songs/smalcirc.html
And you know what, people? It IS your business!
For a better understanding try this link:
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/03/27/05
Sad, but oh so true.