Good samaritans

waterbabe

Yesterday I was reading an article about bystanders who are witness to a crime.It really shocked me.One example given was the Irish man stabbed on a bus last week.Everyone just watched while this frenzied stabbing took place.I mean I know it was dangerous to stop him but why didnt someone try to stop him,the stabber was outnumbered?afterwards people came to gawk at the man who was stabbed but none would even give the dying man a coat to keep warm till the ambulance came.Another example was tha case where a woman was attacked on the street she lived in.All her neighbours woke up and watched this out of the window.so while this woman was attacked over tha course of half an hour none of the 38 neighbours called the police.Aparrently everyone thought someone else had done it.So a woman who could have been saved was murdered in frint of these people with noone doing anything to help.aparrently a psychologist said that often helpful behavoiur is determined by how many witneses there are to an event.If there are many witneses often people turn a blind eye and say thats someone elses problem.So what are your opinions.If you saw someone attacked on the street being honest would you help or call the police?Do you think that apathy has taken over in Irish cities?

jcoote

yeah i'd help for sure...i know its easy saying that from in front of a PC screen but i would and would hope someone would do it for me...

BigEejit

If anyone did any sort of managment course you'd be familiar with this ... its called communal-irresponsibility ... if someone started to help others would have joined, but apparently no-one had the cojones to do anything

I suppose it depends on the attacker and peoples estimation of what injuries they would sustain themselves .... if the attacker in the first incident mentioned was 6' 10" and 18 stone, yoou wouldnt find many takers for trying to stop him....

grimloch

I imagine if someone was stabbed in front of me I'd be maybe too shocked to do anything straight away, or until it was too late.

Over half an hour though. I say now that I'd definately help her out or at least call the police.

That being said I've never been in a situation like that so I can't really say how I'd react but I hope it would be alot more helpful that the people you mentioned.

Sleepy

I could safely say I'd call the emergency services and assist the victim after the stabbing (I did life-guarding classes for years so it'd almost be second nature to do that). If I'm completely honest, though, I don't think I'm enough of a "have-a-go hero" to try subduing the assailant.

segadreamcast

The Bystander Effect - fascinating thing really, read more about it !

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

LadyJ

When I was 10 or so I saw some guy hitting his girlfriend on the street and pushing her to the ground so I ran into the nearest shop and got the guy working there to come and help but when he went over to them the woman just told him to **** off.

Tar.Aldarion

Sleepy wrote:

I could safely say I'd call the emergency services and assist the victim after the stabbing (I did life-guarding classes for years so it'd almost be second nature to do that). If I'm completely honest, though, I don't think I'm enough of a "have-a-go hero" to try subduing the assailant.

those classes are fun!!

anyways i would help to be sure and have helped a person getting attacked before..more than once....love the knackers i do...

cant believe nobody called the police or did anything for their neighbour ffs....it wasnt even a stranger,most likely a friend. /wehips out golf club tbh

iguana

I have helped out in an attack situation before. I knew the guy being attacked but I don't think it made a difference. The instant I realised what was happening I ran toward him. He was alone and being attacked by 7 guys and a girl. I ran into the crowd, while my two friends pulled the guy out. It gave him a chance to get on his phone for help. This was in the mid 90's and none of the rest of us had phones.

I've since asked advice from people as to what to do. If you can call the police do that straight away. Then if you feel you must intervene one of the best things to do is to yell that the police are on their way. You've just seen them. This can make the attacker run away which is better than confronting them yourselves.

If you feel you have to confront someone who you believe is going to kill someone, then the eyes and ears are your best target. It doesn't matter how big they are, it only takes eight pounds of pressure to rip off an ear!!

Oriel

waterbabe wrote:

One example given was the Irish man stabbed on a bus last week.

And you're surprised?

waterbabe wrote:

Everyone just watched while this frenzied stabbing took place.

Why oh why is EVERY knife attack "frenzied". I'm sure they're not. Media crap.

waterbabe wrote:

I mean I know it was dangerous to stop him but why didnt someone try to stop him

Just read that sentence again. Please.

waterbabe wrote:

aparrently

Sums up your post. In more way than one.

The Real B-man

maybe this good samaritan could help

digitally-yours

:rolleyes:

waterbabe

sinecurea wrote:

And you're surprised?


Why oh why is EVERY knife attack "frenzied". I'm sure they're not. Media crap.


Just read that sentence again. Please.


Sums up your post. In more way than one.

Dear god someone was obviously having a bad day!Yes i'm surprised no one stopped him what is so stupid about thinking that?
I agree the media tends to exaggerate everything but if you call being stabbed to death six times not "frenzied" maybe you should look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary.Ok maybe I didnt read over the post and therefore there are spelling mistakes.But to be honest why do you care so much?Just because you have about 1300 posts doesn't make you superior to someone who has just posted once.Maybe it is amusing to analyse someones post and criticise it piece by piece.Maybe you need to get a life.I notice its often only the same few people who post again and again in boards.ie.If you want more people to visit this site there needs to be a bit of a change in attitude.

ExOffender

That's the thing... they don't want more people. They'd far rather bask in the warmth of 5 or 6 like-minded people than actually have an open conversation.

And I'm pretty sure most knife attacks could be described as 'frenzied'. If you go for someone with a blade, you're most likely actively trying to kill them, or you just don't care either way. Neither case lends itself well to a 'restrained', 'listless' or 'half-hearted' stabbing. How many of those have you personally witnessed, sinecurea?

And by-the-by:

sinecurea wrote:

I'm sure they're not.

Sums up your post just fine.

whiskeyman

I remember seeing on one of those CCTV shows some footage of a women who fell on a footpath in England, hit her head on the kerb and then stumbled out on the road, bleeding and unconscious.
The footage shows cars then approaching her and actually driving around her and going by without stopping.
crazy....

Another show did an experiment with a stuntman, having him dressed as a business man and then as a scruffy homeless person - in both incidences he fell down a flight of stairs in an open public area.
As a businessman, someone (and then everyone) would always rush to his attention immediately.
When he was dressed scruffy, no one came to his attention at first... only one passer asked if he was ok around a minute later as he lay on the ground.

JackKelly

sinecurea wrote:

Why oh why is EVERY knife attack "frenzied". I'm sure they're not. Media crap.

that's bull. What is it than? A polite inserting? "pardon while i park my knife in you"?

Catsmokinpot

i keep a baseball bat at the front door and if i see any **** happening outside im right out there seen too much **** happening to just stand by and do nothing, and your totally right there are way too many indifferent people out there! people who can stop things from happening but who dont

Catsmokinpot

TimAy wrote:

that's bull. What is it than? A polite inserting? "pardon while i park my knife in you"?

RuggieBear

when i was in Airlie Beach in Oz, i saw two big ****ers (both over 6'4'') kicking a guy on the ground. I jumped in and pushed them off him...i'm not light (19st) and i was grabbed by scruff of me neck and lifted clean of the ground by one of these guys and ****ed against a shop shutter...but i kept talking them and nothing worse happened to the guy on the ground when i argued how stupid their reasons were for giving him a beating when they told me why they were...

turns out the poor guy on the ground had looked at one of these guys girlfriends and they'd taken exception :rolleyes: Basically after much heated debate, they ****ed off when a police car came travelling by.

gandalf

iguana wrote:

I have helped out in an attack situation before. I knew the guy being attacked but I don't think it made a difference. The instant I realised what was happening I ran toward him. He was alone and being attacked by 7 guys and a girl. I ran into the crowd, while my two friends pulled the guy out. It gave him a chance to get on his phone for help. This was in the mid 90's and none of the rest of us had phones.

I've since asked advice from people as to what to do. If you can call the police do that straight away. Then if you feel you must intervene one of the best things to do is to yell that the police are on their way. You've just seen them. This can make the attacker run away which is better than confronting them yourselves.

If you feel you have to confront someone who you believe is going to kill someone, then the eyes and ears are your best target. It doesn't matter how big they are, it only takes eight pounds of pressure to rip off an ear!!

Jaysus the first post of yours I see since I met ya in London and you are still talking about ripping bits off people. Get that man of yours to take you out for a relaxing meal please!!!

Blush_01

waterbabe wrote:

Yesterday I was reading an article about bystanders who are witness to a crime.It really shocked me.One example given was the Irish man stabbed on a bus last week.Everyone just watched while this frenzied stabbing took place.I mean I know it was dangerous to stop him but why didnt someone try to stop him,the stabber was outnumbered?afterwards people came to gawk at the man who was stabbed but none would even give the dying man a coat to keep warm till the ambulance came.Another example was tha case where a woman was attacked on the street she lived in.All her neighbours woke up and watched this out of the window.so while this woman was attacked over tha course of half an hour none of the 38 neighbours called the police.Aparrently everyone thought someone else had done it.So a woman who could have been saved was murdered in frint of these people with noone doing anything to help.aparrently a psychologist said that often helpful behavoiur is determined by how many witneses there are to an event.If there are many witneses often people turn a blind eye and say thats someone elses problem.So what are your opinions.If you saw someone attacked on the street being honest would you help or call the police?Do you think that apathy has taken over in Irish cities?

Apparently it's a psychological thing. Sort of like the more people who witness something, the less help you'll get because everyone assumes someone else will offer a helping hand. I'm not sure what the theory is exactly, it's over a year since I finshed first year psych, but the case study we were given was of a young woman called Kitty (I think) who was stabbed in broad daylight outside her apartment block and nobody helped. Turns out if you're attacked you're better off just having one witness to the crime - you're more likely to get help that way.

I'd still risk it though, I think - I mean, if the situation was reversed I'd appreciate someone helping me. Obviously there's no point in risking the person's life further by making a stupid move if the person is only threatening to attack the victim, but calling someone who can help would be an automatic reaction.

Dizzyblabla

I remember years ago working in Dublin I was walking along the Canal (I worked in Wilton Place) and saw a guy lying face down in the grass on the inside of the little wall. Of course, me being me, I went rushing over to help him and was about to step over the wall when I saw the girl beneath him... I'm just glad I saw her before I got to him!

I've gone into the middle of fights before, (alcohol induced) and tried to sort them out, but I remember getting a thump to the head once (it was an accident, he was swinging for the other guy and I just got in the way), but it does make me reluctant to help, but I definately would call someone else, like a bouncer or guard or call 112 or 999 (112 is the new 999, it even works when your mobile is locked, try it!).

It is scary to think that people wouldn't come to my help if I needed it, but it goes back to the saying that I've known for as long as I remember, if you are being attacked/raped, scream fire, cause noone will come to help if you shout for help...

ExOffender

Blush_01 wrote:

a young woman called Kitty (I think)

Kitty Genovese. Horrible.