Helping Strangers in Need

kumate_champ07 · 05-12-2012 06:45PM

everyone knows it takes a huge distance for any train to stop after hitting the brakes, the photographer had time to react to take a photo, so he made the choice not to help.

lounakin · 05-12-2012 06:46PM

I tend to believe the photographer! Say you were him and saw a guy on the tracks, you only have a few seconds to act and you chose to wave frantically at the driver but you think it might be in vain so you decide to flash the camera right at his face... It's possible...

ItAintMeBabe · 05-12-2012 06:47PM

Of all the shocking photographs I've seen, nothing has shaken me like that. That poor, poor man. RIP.

kumate_champ07 · 05-12-2012 06:51PM

ItAintMeBabe wrote: »

Of all the shocking photographs I've seen, nothing has shaken me like that. That poor, poor man. RIP.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xS2dNW4uTvE/TyQRBwN_tlI/AAAAAAAACek/xW1LkW0rIe0/s1600/Eddie_Adams_Saigon_Execution.jpg

Esoteric_ · 05-12-2012 06:51PM

This is one of the most horrific, shocking things I have ever seen.

That poor man must have been terrified, trying to get back onto the platform and wondering why the fúck nobody would help him.

I can't say for certain, because I have never been in that situation, but I don't think I could ever NOT try to help somebody in that situation.

fundlebundle · 05-12-2012 06:55PM

There was a guy (pretty sure a junkie) unconscious on the main street in malahide a while ago, I saw three people physically step over him before I ran over to help. But as I was checking his pulse and calling an ambulance a crowd had gathered around me. It's odd the way people behave in groups.
It must be terrifying to look to a crowd for help and see only shocked faces staring back.

southsiderosie · 05-12-2012 06:57PM

lounakin wrote: »

I tend to believe the photographer! Say you were him and saw a guy on the tracks, you only have a few seconds to act and you chose to wave frantically at the driver but you think it might be in vain so you decide to flash the camera right at his face... It's possible...

That's nonsense. The photo was perfectly framed, with the victim dead center. If he was really running through a dark subway station and trying to warn the conductor, the photos would be haphazard and fuzzy. In this case, the photographer is trying to cover his ass.

Moll'll fix it · 05-12-2012 06:58PM

My brother was attacked by a bull some years ago. The bull had knocked him unconscious and was goring his head with his horns when a 16 year old schoolboy who was mitching school looked into the field, saw what was happening and straightaway ran to his assistance, picked him up and pulled him over a fence to safety. Now there's a hero!

Esoteric_ · 05-12-2012 06:59PM

southsiderosie wrote: »

That's nonsense. The photo was perfectly framed, with the victim dead center. If he was really running through a dark subway station and trying to warn the conductor, the photos would be haphazard and fuzzy. In this case, the photographer is trying to cover his ass.

Plus, surely if you were trying to get the flash to alert the subway driver, you'd aim the camera directly at the window of the train, and not at the victim, being sure to get the incoming train in the photo, too?

My name is URL · 05-12-2012 07:28PM

imediaethics.org have torn apart the obvious lies from the photographer. He maintained that all he had time to do was point the camera and get a shot, but the website shows that he actually took time to frame the shot correctly etc

http://www.imediaethics.org/News/3640/Clues_that_abbasi_lied_about_new_york_post_subway_photo_.php

Guy's a scumbag. Pity there's no 'good samaritan' type law under which he could be charged.

lounakin · 05-12-2012 07:29PM

southsiderosie wrote: »

That's nonsense. The photo was perfectly framed, with the victim dead center. If he was really running through a dark subway station and trying to warn the conductor, the photos would be haphazard and fuzzy. In this case, the photographer is trying to cover his ass.

You're right, I should have phrased my thought better, I only mean it's a plausible explanation in the absolute but obviously in this case it's hard to believe. But the photo isn't directly aimed at the man, it's in between the man and the train. I think it's even more cynical: the guy actually seems to have taken his time to take the best shot possible with the driver in the train included.

pontia · 05-12-2012 07:33PM

fundlebundle wrote: »

There was a guy (pretty sure a junkie) unconscious on the main street in malahide a while ago, I saw three people physically step over him before I ran over to help. But as I was checking his pulse and calling an ambulance a crowd had gathered around me. It's odd the way people behave in groups.
It must be terrifying to look to a crowd for help and see only shocked faces staring back.

if i saw a junkie on the ground i wouldent touch them either,non junkie yes

southsiderosie · 05-12-2012 07:39PM

fundlebundle wrote: »

There was a guy (pretty sure a junkie) unconscious on the main street in malahide a while ago, I saw three people physically step over him before I ran over to help. But as I was checking his pulse and calling an ambulance a crowd had gathered around me. It's odd the way people behave in groups.
It must be terrifying to look to a crowd for help and see only shocked faces staring back.

pontia wrote: »

if i saw a junkie on the ground i wouldent touch them either,non junkie yes

I was in a similar situation a few years ago - I was walking down the street and saw people stepping over and around what appeared to be a pile of rags - then realized it was a person. Another passerby noticed as well, and I stayed with the man while he ran to the fire station a block away to get help.

Even if you don't want to touch a stranger on the ground, the least you can do is call for help and stay until the police or paramedics arrive. I don't think that human kindness is something that should be reserved for the well-to-do.

Pottler · 05-12-2012 07:40PM

Crappy alright, but I'm not too sure I'd start slinging mud at everyone. I've seen people get trapped/crushed etc, up close and personal, and everyone just froze, and I mean froze, rooted to the spot, almost without exception. It's like peoples brains are rutted into a certain safe routine and when somthing out of the ordinary happens, it does just not compute.

I don't, but that's just the way my brain is wired, I lash in to help without even a seconds thought, but i don't think any less of people who freeze - people are funny and are all wired differently. Until you're there, you don't know how your body will react. Some people also get rooted to the spot with helpless panic, some just genuinely don't give a sh1t. Funny old world. Me personally, I get the shakes like hell afterwards, but at the time, I'm ice cool. Just wiring really.

Peregrine · 05-12-2012 07:45PM

That's upsetting, and it's absolutely shameful that nobody helped him.

Lollers · 05-12-2012 07:47PM

They have made an arrest http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/10558904

Greenmachine · 05-12-2012 08:14PM

On one level it is identical. The two people talking in the background with the camera could potentially have been videoing a man burnt alive.

krudler wrote: »

then there's the opposite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGTyANMFb4

Gongoozler · 05-12-2012 08:14PM

At first I thought I believe the photographer, but the more I think about it, no, I don't. He even said himself, he had 22 seconds. 22 seconds is a bloody long time in which to try to do something. It's also a long time in which to stand there flashing your camera. If after even 5 seconds you could see it was doing no use, you'd surely do something else. He was doing that supposedly to help, so he wasn't stood there shocked like we could at least credit the others with.

But yeah, I don't get why no one did anything. Don't know how they can go on living, knowing they did nothing to help.

UCDVet · 05-12-2012 09:19PM

I have to agree with others; I wouldn't be so quick to criticize. I don't see anyone immediately next to the guy who would just pull him up. Maybe there are people right outside of the shot, but I can't tell.

In a situation like that, most people don't know how to respond. It's a very unreal and unexpected thing. Yes, logically, sitting on our computers, it's easy to say, 'Just run and pull him up'. But in practice, a lot of people are just awe-struck. They freeze up.

We live in really safe times. Most of us aren't used to or ready to handle life or death situations. If you take a first-aid class one of the things they teach you to do is *NOT* say 'Call for an ambulance' out loud, because if you are in a room with 50 people, studies show that all 50 are going to stand there and stare at you. Instead, turn to someone who looks able and say, to them, '*YOU*, You go and call for an ambulance, NOW.' Because that person will gladly do it.

I witnessed a purse-snatching and I did nothing. Not because I didn't want to help - but because I didn't know wtf was going on. By the time my tiny brain processed what was happening some guy was half a block away, turning down an ally and some lady had screamed.

irishdude11 · 05-12-2012 09:27PM

Eh, in a situation like this somebody would be putting themselves in severe danger by attempting to save the man. Anybody who attempted to help him up could easily end up getting pulled onto the tracks themselves. I don't know about you but I am not putting my life at serious risk for a complete stranger...family or friends yes but some random person, not a chance in hell.

Adhamh · 05-12-2012 09:28PM

Assuming the guy who took the photo is a professional photographer and not some randomer with a camera, then his reaction was more understandable. I remember seeing a documentary a while back about war photographers and how most of them are in mental health hospitals due to the guilt of photographing people in compromised states instead of helping them. It's second nature for photographers to shoot things without thinking.

Still awful though.

Larianne · 05-12-2012 09:30PM

Doesn't look like there's anyone else on the platform from that pic??

ItAintMeBabe · 05-12-2012 11:25PM

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xS2dNW4uTvE/TyQRBwN_tlI/AAAAAAAACek/xW1LkW0rIe0/s1600/Eddie_Adams_Saigon_Execution.jpg

I've seen that picture before, and yes it is shocking, absolutely, but that man was going to be shot regardless of who tried to help him. The man on the platform had time to be helped and saved, but instead it became more important for a photographer to get his picture instead. That's why I find it more shocking. You are right though, terrible scene in the photo you posted as well.

blacklilly · 05-12-2012 11:37PM

Even if the photographer didn't have enough time to run and help him, surely he should have at least tried.
I know no one can say for definite what way they'd react but usually instinct kicks in and you try to help.
Unfortunately I've witnessed a few horrible things and I've always tried to help, I think most honourable people would. Once you are not putting your own life at risk and you'd be surprised how quickly you can access the situation when you're in that position.
I've also been in a few situations where I've needed help and thankfully decent people were around those days, in fact one man actually put his own life at risk trying to save me from drowning, I literally owe my life to him.
How anyone could stand there and take a picture is beyond me, what was the picture for? A sensational horriffic death? Surely that is not in the public's interest.
You never know when you will need the help of a stranger and I'm glad we don't hear many stories like this one.

frankosw · 05-12-2012 11:47PM

Saw two eastern european girls standing beside thier car in a carpark in Dublin last week.

Flat battery,no problem i had some leads in the car.

Opened up the bonnet but the leads werent long enough to stretch.

There was a guy sitting in a car right beside them the entire time who i asked would he pop the bonnet so i could give then a jump start.

He glared at me but eventually got out of his car...as i attached the leads he stood there staring at me and i noticed he was pissed out of his tree..i dont mean he just smelt of drink..he was swaying around the place..thats why he didnt want to help.

As soon as the other car was started and i'd removed the leads got in his car and drove off.

repsol · 06-12-2012 01:03AM

My sisters friend had her bag snatched on O'Connell St Dublin in broad daylight.She is a very small person but she struggled with the scumbag for about 20 seconds.Nobody helped her.My sister had her own bag robbed outside Holles St hospital and a guy jumped out of a truck, caught the guy and kicked his head in before handing him to the cops.Some people will help,some won't.Its the same in every country

Laneyh · 06-12-2012 02:05AM

People probably moved down the platform away from the argument so were not nearby and not inclined to rush bak to try and help.
It is pretty grim and somewhat horrific.i suppose there wasn't much time to do something but if even 2 or3 people linked each other they could have tried to pull the man up with no risk to themselves. However the guy who pushed him was still around so I assume most people were afraid of him and the man himself was the worse for wear so mightn't have been the most cooperative. I'd like to think I would have tried to help but if not I dunno I think I would have run away from there so I didn't see a man being killed

Many months ago I was waiting to cross the road at the O'Connell Bridge ed of Eden Quay
There were a band of the usual junkie scumbags gathered at the same set of lights.
One of them was standing facing the group with his back to the oncoming traffic
He was kind of walking backwards whilst talking so ended up on the road
He nearly walked into traffic and a car was rapidly approaching him I shouted out to him and even reached forward as if the grab him out of the way.
This was a guy whose existence normally ruins my day but I still didn't want to see him get knocked down.

Even leaving aside the media and general publics salaciousness for graphic coverage of the news what about the poor train driver? It's a traumatic enough thing to happen but now he also has his face published in this photo.
The photo doesn't add anything to the reporting of the event and if there is video footage of the argument that is honestly enough to relay the story.

Gordon Gecko · 06-12-2012 02:14AM

Was watching the very captivating documentary "The Bridge" about people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gates bridge in San Francisco and there was a segment in which they interviewed a guy who photographed a woman who had climbed over the railings and was about to jump. I remember thinking what a d*ckhead the guy was and how callous he was as he explained how stunned and captivated he was by what was happening and that was why he was photographed her as opposed to helping her. He then talked about how he realised what was happening and the cameras recording the Bridge showed him pulling the woman back over the railings against her will and "sitting on her" until the police arrived. May not have an awful lot to do with this thread but my initial perception of the man was changed by his actions. He helped a stranger in need and saved her life as a result.

Scruffles · 06-12-2012 02:41AM

Gongoozler wrote: »

At first I thought I believe the photographer, but the more I think about it, no, I don't. He even said himself, he had 22 seconds. 22 seconds is a bloody long time in which to try to do something. It's also a long time in which to stand there flashing your camera. If after even 5 seconds you could see it was doing no use, you'd surely do something else. He was doing that supposedly to help, so he wasn't stood there shocked like we could at least credit the others with.

But yeah, I don't get why no one did anything. Don't know how they can go on living, knowing they did nothing to help.

agreed,trains take a while to stop so being that close and flashing the camera at the driver isnt any use,he coud have put that time to better use by pulling the poor guy up instead god what an awful way to go.

one thing am wondering,if the guy had had the thinking available coud he not have laid on the tracks under the train?

perhaps in todays climate of people not giving a sht about other people,we shoud have plastic pull out/fold out emergency steps on the sides of these platforms.
these shoud not cost a lot at all but coud save lives.

Little Acorn · 06-12-2012 03:03AM

Scruffles wrote: »

perhaps in todays climate of people not giving a sht about other people,we shoud have plastic pull out/fold out emergency steps on the sides of these platforms.
these shoud not cost a lot at all but coud save lives.

I have never understood why there isn't some sort of a safety barrier between the people and the tracks. In my head I could picture really tall electrically powered sliding gates working. When the train has arrived and opens it's passenger doors, the electric gates slide open just at the train entrance doors to allow the passengers to board the train.
It seems so simple to me, but I'm guessing there must be some reason that I'm not thinking of that it doesn't get done??

Edited To Add
Just did a google search and there actually are some cool safety barriers at tracks around the world. I think every track should have them
http://alicegordenker.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ikebukuro.jpg?w=640&h=480
http://alicegordenker.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/barcelona-metro.jpg?w=640
http://alicegordenker.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/london1.jpg?w=640&h=479

Helping Strangers in Need

Comments