July 20, 2011

The Bystander Effect


So I was just surfing youtube, and I stumbled upon the video above. The video itself isn't interesting, but the comments below it got me a bit riled up. Almost every user was complaining about how the onlookers just stood there and did nothing. They called it disgusting, and cowardly. I used to think like this when I was immature too, but I don't bullshit anymore.

It's called the bystander effect. Everybody expects someone else in the crowd to act, and when this sort of mindset is the natural psychological response, nobody ends up acting. You can talk and judge people all you want, but if you were in that sort of situation, I almost guarantee that you would do the exact same thing. Not everybody is a military combat expert with the experience necessary to safely incapacitate a criminal willing to assault or rob someone in public. Nobody that isn't a cop should be expected to put themselves in danger like that.


Sure, it's bad that someone's becoming a victim of crime in public, but its incredibly hypocritical to judge people for not acting. Besides, its plain impulsive and stupid to risk your life by involving yourself in something that has nothing to do with you. Call it cowardice all you want, but its just idiotic.

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