Social Science Bystander effect

[pekay-norwest]

Bit of topic but similar. Here's the scenario. You're driving down a road in the middle of nowhere and see a bird flagging you down to help her with a car issue. Would you help?

My first thought would be "nope, there's a guy hiding somewhere who's gonna rob me or whatever as soon as I get out my car" so I'll just look straight ahead and pretend I didn't see her. Would any of you pull over?

Nope, I've seen a poooorno where it all worked out well.

 

[Roobs321]

I guess this underlines the ongoing relevance of community in human society. If we approach a stage where we know nothing about our neighbours, and also have no 'perfect god' ideal to aspire to be like, then it makes you wonder what the impact will be on the good samaritan capacity in human society.

Throughout my entire life, I've always been the first to jump in and break up a fight, or even use myself as a human shield (I'm a pacifist by nature). But those situations have typically involved someone I know, and I've also never gone through the experience of being bashed. In a situation involving 2 strangers, and all the different possible contexts, it's hard to say how one will react in the moment. There is also the danger of a white knight misreading a situation, so just catching a snippet of a context without being aware of the full picture would probably delay my reaction.

I don't have a no intervention policy, but in some circumstances I would maybe be reticent to step in with immediacy.

Several years ago when I started to go out as myself for the first time (transgender person), I often had fears of being in a transphobic situation where no one would help. Thankfully, nothing even remotely like this has ever happened.

 

[brahj]

Can you imagine if some dude is belting the piss out of you in the middle of Exhibition Street at high noon and no one stopped to help?

What little faith I have in the Human race would surely be lost. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

 

[BEEG]

In 2007 Brandon Kieler was a 43yo solicitor on his way to work who went to the aid of the girl being beaten up in the streets of melbournes CBD by Christopher Wayne Hudson, along with a dutch backpacker Paul De Waard 25yo

Hudson shot them both, Kieler died

I know a bloke who saw a lady in StKilda getting bashed he went over there to break it up and got into it with the bloke the police saw it pepper sprayed him and charged him this is after about 10 people made a statement that the man was a hero
This women was in a bad way
he was fined and took it to court where he ended up getting made not guilty still had court fee's to pay for
Why would people bother?

 

[PP34]

I know a bloke who saw a lady in StKilda getting bashed he went over there to break it up and got into it with the bloke the police saw it pepper sprayed him and charged him this is after about 10 people made a statement that the man was a hero
This women was in a bad way
he was fined and took it to court where he ended up getting made not guilty still had court fee's to pay for
Why would people bother?

Shocking attitude.

Again, not everything will turn out badly.

 

[BEEG]

Shocking attitude.

Again, not everything will turn out badly.

Say what you like but that kind of stuff happens all the time the guy who did the bashing got away with it

In this day and age you don't know what people are capable of

 

[BEEG]

Problem is there's a lot of 'roided and iced morons out there who are volatile as ****.

Far more than there used to be.

Morals/ethics have changed in the last 40 yrs also. Fights are not 1:1 anymore.

If I saw a kid or a woman being assaulted by one guy, I'd step in. Beyond one guy, I'm basically writing my own death sentence if I step in. I'd call cops etc, obv...

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[PP34]

Say what you like but that kind of stuff happens all the time the guy who did the bashing got away with it

In this day and age you don't know what people are capable of

It's the last thing I'll be thinking about if any kind of situation arose.

Sure I probably would be shitting myself deep down.

 

[Underdog]

Shocking attitude.

Again, not everything will turn out badly.

You're my hero

 

[PP34]

You're my hero

Nice, a sarcastic post.

I don't see how wanting to help someone out is brave. It's something everyone should do. Place some faith in your fellow man to repay you.

 

[sprockets]

My uncle was on a train one night and a couple of toughs started picking on him. He actually asked the people around him to step in to calm the situation but nobody helped. A fight eventually started and he beat them up. He'd been a top Australian boxer a few years earlier and hadn't lost his touch.

A friend of my brother's wife had a physically abusive husband and when she visited them this day she had two black eyes and that was enough for my brother to beat the hubby up. No charges were laid against the husband but my brother did a short stint for assault. I really get peed off when a wife stands by an abusive husband.

I was in outback Qld one time, far from any town (closest was Normanton) sitting alone fishing by a river when up rocked a local who got out of his old car, dragged the missus out and started slapping her about the head. I thought about intervening but being alone and nobody even knowing I was there apart from these two I thought i might never be seen again if things went wrong. Maybe if it had got really nasty I would have intervened but luckily it didn't and they drove off, although I have no doubt it was a regular occurrence between them.

What we don't see sometimes, especially in one on one guy fights is what caused it; the guy you see copping the hammering is sometimes the aggressor and might well deserve his beating.