I have a cel phone. I would call, but most likely NOT step in to stop the attack, as I am a small woman.

If it were my neighbor, and I was home, I might consider getting Hector or Louise out of their cases, if only to be prepared to protect myself. But I am trained in home tactics, and have a good home defense plan....

I HAVE called 911 on my cel before, to report road hazards on the freeway, drunk drivers, and crashes. I would surely call if I witness someone being stabbed or shot. Not sure if I saw someone being hit, as a crime scene can vanish before a cop even arrives.... I would try to get a picture of the perp, too.

My mom used to carry a polaroid camera with her, and took pix of taggers and delivered them weekly to the area police when she lived in Pacoima!

Would I help? Hell yes.

I thought that name sounded familiar... Yet another reminder of things left out in the Watchmen movie. I know, seemingly unrelated, but the tragedy of Kitty Genovese's murder was used in Rorschach's origin story in the graphic novel.

Back on topic completely, I would definitely call the police if I was ever in a similar situation. I know that people are unreliable. The "Diffusion of responsibility" that they mentioned is the opposite of my beliefs. I'm much more likely to think, "If I don't do something about this, who will?" than "Someone else will do something".

This is not the first time we read of an attack ignored by onlookers. Everybody hopes someone else will do something. Sadly, I think many of us fail in action regardless of what we say in places like this. I certainly hope I would not be one of those, but it's easy to say from the safety of one's keyboard.

So much for the whole theory that violent movies effect us that much! I mean wouldn't the effected person want to be like the hero in those movies? That is who is glorified, the hero! Open a can of whupass and show the bad guy what you are made of!

*reality sucks*

35 minutes! How would you live with yourself if you din't try to help.

I would help. I tend to be completely reactionary in situations like this. It may come from my father/parents who stepped into a similar situation when a woman was being attacked near our home.

This case is widely used in social psychology as a case study to demonstrate bystander apathy.

Darley and Latan carried out a study in 1968 into bystander responses to emergency situations and found that peoples reactions where directly affected by the number of other bystanders. The more people, the less and more slowly people respond.

Picture of Darley and Latan's model that illustrates the decision-making process that underlies bystander intervention.




It's thought that in situations like the Genovese
case that people are inclined to think that someone else will have already called the police or will intervene, among a host of other hypothesis

Fascinating subject. It's good to bear in mind when you're about to decry and criticise people as 'heartless' or 'uncaring' in situations that you read in the media where people seemingly ignore emergencies.

Yes, I would, and I have. Not in anything as violent, but when I see people needing help, I step in and try. Heck, I've driven past someone with a flat tire, come home, gotten my husband, and driven back to have him help change their tire.

To me it's about trying to be a good human being. I don't expect others to do so, but I damned sure am going to myself.

I would and have.

I am sure I learned this from my dad (stepfather) and believe if my mother hadn't married him, I might not be this type of person.

The one thing I can say about stepping up, is that it has NEVER turned out pretty. Just because you are doing the right thing, don't think you automatically get a thank you. And the most dire of circumstance you volunteer yourself to become involved in will change your life in ways you can never imagine.

But I still do it without hesitation, because I believe it defines who I am.

I would have called 911 in an instant, I have called on smaller things before. Growing up in an abusive home made me that way. There were many times when I was younger when I would pray someone would hear and make that call.

Yes, only a few people would react in a good way in such a situation.

The only time I was in such a situation, phone in my hand and about to dial the emergency number, the victim (a woman) after being chased indoors by her agressor (a boyfriend I believe) came out a few seconds later holding a pan filled with boiling water she proceeded to throw at him.

Apparently someone else called the police before I even tried to, because a car and an ambulance arrived shortly after.